Mark Twain:
Mark Twain was born in the small town of Florida, Missouri in November of 1835. When Twain was just twelve years old, his father passed away. He then worked for ten years as an apprentice printer. Soon after that, he would pilot boats along the the Mississippi for the next four years. He eventually launched a literary career when his short story "The Celbrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published. After that, he went on to become one of America's most influential and iconic authors of all time.