Print entitled: "Mark Twain (center) George Alfred Townsend on his right, David Gray on his left, 1871." Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910) better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) often called the Great American Novel. He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age,"and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature." George Alfred Townsend was a noted war correspondent during the American Civil War, and a later novelist. David Gray was the editor of the Buffalo Courier.
