On this day 98 years ago, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died. The author of such classics as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn became a printer’s apprentice at the age of 12 after his father died. He subsequently became a steamboat pilot, working on the Mississippi River until the outbreak of the American Civil War. He tried his hand as a miner before securing a job as a journalist in Virginia City, Nevada, and thereafter he worked as a writer, humourist and lecturer.
Mark Twain visited Australia on a lecturing tour in 1895-6, spending Christmas 1895 in Melbourne. His Australian travels are chronicled in his book, Following the Equator. Twain’s satire made him exceptionally popular, and he was one of the most sought-after speakers of his time. Some of the witty quotes for which he was famous include:
- There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.
- Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
- It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.
- I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
- It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
- The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet.