Talk:Mark Twain

Mark Twain: Social Critic

With permission from International Publishers, I've scanned Mark Twain: Social Critic and put it online for anyone to read. I've also added it to the "Further reading" section since I figure it is a commonly-cited book (even the article cites it a few times.) --Ismail (talk) 11:51, 19 January 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 May 2018

There are two birth years in this article. I doubt he was born in 1945. 2001:569:FB25:F900:596E:D213:7B69:DDFA (talk) 01:48, 10 May 2018 (UTC)

Done. Thank you for catching that bit of minor vandalism. --Calton | Talk 01:57, 10 May 2018 (UTC)

Edit request, 12 May 2018

Please remove Category:Critics of Christian Science. There is no support for it in the article text. Alternatively, retain and bolster it with material from Christian Science (book), which includes 4 usable WP:RS. 2600:8800:1880:91E:5604:A6FF:FE38:4B26 (talk) 04:33, 12 May 2018 (UTC)

His book thereon is covered in Christian Science (book) linked directly in this article already. In addition View of Mark Twain seems quite clear. Removal of the category seems undue when a single sentence would remedy the fault, if it be a fault. Collect (talk) 17:24, 12 May 2018 (UTC)

Per WP:CATV: Categorization of articles must be verifiable. It should be clear from verifiable information in the article why it was placed in each of its categories. Use the {{Category unsourced}} template if you find an article in a category that is not shown by sources to be appropriate or if the article gives no clear indication for inclusion in a category. Surely it would not hurt to add 'verifiable information in the article' to support this category? 2600:8800:1880:91E:5604:A6FF:FE38:4B26 (talk) 18:10, 12 May 2018 (UTC)

I think that an article on a book by Mark Twain, entitled Christian Science, is quite likely to be on that topic. Especially since the article on Christian Science itself mentions this book as being critical. Collect (talk) 19:46, 12 May 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: Content of which removal is requested passes verification Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 02:01, 13 May 2018 (UTC)

Citation found for second paragraph of Writing:Overview

A source for the claim: " The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been repeatedly restricted in American high schools, not least for its frequent use of the word "nigger",[citation needed]" can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/banned-adventures-huckleberry-finn/ as well as https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12058648/American-school-bans-Huckleberry-Finn-from-lessons-because-of-use-of-N-word.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rincewind Lanbatal (talk • contribs) 05:45, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Origin of Pen Name

The story that he took the name from Captain Isaiah Sellers death in 1869 would seem to contradict the fact that "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published under that pen name a few years prior to 1869. Perhaps this is just a problem with the year of Sellers' death?

Also,the May/13/1867 Philadelphia Evening Telegraph states that Twain's real name is C.H. Webb: "... the genial 'Mark Twain,' of California, whose proper and real name is C.H. Webb." — Preceding unsigned comment added by DiffuseGoose (talk • contribs) 12:29, 10 June 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 July 2018

Add this reference under Further Reading

Nathan G. Alexander, "Unclasping the Eagle's Talons: Mark Twain, American Freethought, and the Responses to Imperialism." The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 17, no. 3 (2018): 524-545. Nameno1staken (talk) 21:49, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

 Done LittlePuppers (talk) 01:42, 4 August 2018 (UTC)

Question about footnote 85

There is an odd symbol I do not recognize, apparently the only thing to click in the footnote text. However, it leads to the current best seller list of the Times, which seems not relevant to this article. The text is discussing the popularity of Twain's autobiography, published in 1910. Perhaps other readers are confused, as I am. Eleanorba (talk) 14:05, 3 September 2018 (UTC)

I've removed it. It was silly. EEng 14:36, 3 September 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 March 2019

2601:150:100:DA70:1532:5DCE:2E04:6818 (talk) 00:40, 14 March 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: to request that a draft be created, please see WP:AFC DannyS712 (talk) 07:42, 14 March 2019 (UTC)

name style

Name was Clemons, not Twain. Article should be revised and other references standardized — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1702:4300:71F0:19BA:9475:E9BE:94D2 (talk) 00:51, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

We don't necessarily use a person's legal name in titling articles. See WP:COMMONNAME. "Mark Twain" is how this person is usually referred to, not "Samuel Clemens". Dhtwiki (talk) 20:58, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Connecticut Yankee is NOT 'alternate history'

For crying out loud. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.97.112.255 (talk) 18:31, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

The text doesn't say that it is. It only says that the plot device in Connecticut Yankee was used in alternate histories. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:53, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 December 2019

Please change the first sentence of the article to the following:

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, lecturer, and racist.

This edit request adds information which is 100% verifiable by the text of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", which Clemens, a white man, wrote and used the N word countless times in. Antifa for justice (talk) 23:47, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

References

 Not done. See presentism – Thjarkur (talk) 00:24, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

Concurring comment, In the spirit of assuming good faith, and in the spirit of not making the assumption that every good faith contributor is already knowledgeable of All Things that have Ever Happened (and for whom, thus, simply redirecting to presentism would do none good, if they weren't aware of the facts), I would like to make brief note here of the situation regarding that word as it was, verses how it is. In a nutshell, in those days "nigger" was not a hateful slur; it was slang, informal, &c, but back then the word itself did NOT carry an implication of malice. It is also the Latin word for "black" (the Latin spelling is niger, but the pronunciation was like English nigger). Even as recently as 1955 (according to one legendary black American musician for whom a popular beat is named after), "black" and "nigger" were, at that time, of roughly equal offensiveness (the one becoming more positive and the other dramatically more negative). And THAT is why you cannot judge a person from centuries past by the vocabulary that they use. It isn't only "Well everyone was racist back then, so oh well!" It is also that: wordsb that are "racist" now were not "racist" then (and vice versa!). And that is a critical facet of the "presentism" that is spoken of. Have a nice day :) 2600:1702:4960:1DE0:5010:5C21:EA43:B649 (talk) 20:08, 2 November 2021 (UTC)

"buried side by side"

@Dhtwiki: When people are "buried side by side", "side by side" is an adverb; no hyphens are needed or helpful. In "The enclosed cockpit had two side-by-side seats for instructor and student", "side-by-side" is an adjective, and needs hyphens. There are a couple of guys who are experts at this, and have a neat website, merriam-webster.com. No fancy explanation is necessary when editing an article to conform to spelling and punctuation that are laid out in a dictionary. Happy editing! Chris the speller ^yack 00:49, 10 March 2020 (UTC)

Edit request, 1 April 2020

Proposed addition to "Marriage and children" subsection, to give a fuller picture of Twain's social circle:

Twain and Olivia were friends of landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church, whose art Twain admired, and were visitors at Olana, his home in Hudson, New York.

Varronis (talk) 19:28, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

Doesn't seem especially notable. The fact that Church's article makes no mention of Twain indicates the friendship was nothing out of the ordinary. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:50, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

References

Semi-protected edit request on 8 May 2020

In the "Pen Names" section, in the quotation derived from note 144, change "He died in 1869" to "He died in 1863" per the source cited. The link in note 144 shows the correct quotation from which this is taken. (The timing of Twain using the pen name from 1863 on would make no sense if Sellers had died in 1869.) Xanduh (talk) 21:53, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

 Done – Thank you. I have made the suggested change, which is indeed in accordance with the source, and with making sense. Dhtwiki (talk) 22:33, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

Page image

Brady-Handy, 1871. This is not a "portrait", but a crop of Twain, who posed with two other men.

Bradley, 1907

Which image is more iconic of Twain and his bio?

The infobox has contained the A.F. Bradley photo of Twain at age 72 since February 2019. This is the way most people alive today remember Twain. One user switched it with the 1871 Matthew Brady portrait (age 36). This is not at all a familiar image today of Twain. I believe the important thing for a biographical image is the rememberance of the individual, not necessarily the aesthetics of the photograph. The Bradley photo has also been assessed as "the most valued image on Commons within the scope: Mark Twain". What say you all? JustinTime55 (talk) 22:51, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

Why do we want to have 4 photos of Twain as an old geezer and 2 from other parts of his life, when we can have 3 of each? Because that is the way people "remember" him now? Contrary to popular opinion, Twain was not an old man all of his life. Should we pander to the popular view, when we could have a picture of him in his prime writing life (taken by Matthew Brady) right at the top? This old man nonsense probably started just because photos were more easily printed at the end of his life, so the mass distributed photos are now mostly of the old man, Hal Holbrook seems to have picked up on this, so the popular image is now just a curmudgeon. Such a crude view. Like most authors, much of his best work was as a younger man. Trying to pass off the "popular" grossly over-simplified view of him as a curmudgeon, is just giving our readers a dumbed down POV. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 00:23, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

First, let me say I'm surprised such an experienced editor is apparently unfamiliar with what WP:Consensus means, and how the WP:Bold, Revert, Discuss cycle is to be used rather than WP:edit warring. Consensus doesn't mean re-revert and explain why you dissent; it means that ideally other people participate and everyone compromises on a solution. The next step is WP:Request for comment, but that page recommends starting with talk page discussion which I am attempting to do.

The Brady portrait is still there (just farther down), so the score is 4 to 3. But that's not the point; the point is, which photo is taken to be iconic of Twain and represent the article in external contexts? Your hostility to Twain's image as an "old geezer" and curmudgeon (which is an image he worked to cultivate), and that is simply your opinion, and we call that WP:original research. Wikipedia is not to be used as a WP:soapbox to preach to people how they should think of notable people.

And I wonder if you know as much about Twain as you think. Like most authors, much of his best work was as a younger man. His most notable works are recognized to be Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and these were written in Hartford, CT during his "old geezer" period. JustinTime55 (talk) 16:29, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

The younger man is a crop of an image wherein Twain happens to be. The older man is a portrait of Twain. Age is irrelevant. Opinions of Twain are irrelevant. For the older man is an inherently better image. The cropped image is a great disservice to the original image. The crop should not even be an option. Untitled50reg (talk) 18:01, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for pointing out what I discovered, and is as another reason not to use that photo as the lead. I replaced the "portrait" with the complete photo in context. We can use crops for lead photos when no other choice is available, but that's obviously not the case here. Calling the crop a portrait misleadingly implies it was a special pose of Twain. JustinTime55 (talk) 15:21, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

Twain's best work - to each his own, I guess - but I'll put his best work as:

• The Innocents Abroad (1869)
• Roughing It (1872)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
• A Tramp Abroad (1880)
• Life on the Mississippi (1883)
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

So, his best work was produced over a span of about 15 years, before he was aged 50 (22 years before the photo you propose) and after he was 34 (starting a couple of years before the photo I propose).

As far as I can see you are the one pushing the point of view that the old man image is "iconic" - why is that? - and that this is what people remember him as - which is nonsense - nobody alive remembers him from real life - all they know is of the photos they've seen. Is there any reason not to give an image of him at his prime rather than the dumbed-down "he was a grumpy old man" images that people publish from pure laziness or ignorance? Smallbones_(smalltalk) 04:21, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

The images that I see of Clemens on book covers tend toward the "old" version of him, and the job of the infobox image is to let people know they've come to the right article, not to surprise or educate them with a photo that differs from the usual. Even in the photo/drawing-heavy Following the Equator, the drawing of him about 1870, when he met General Grant for the first time, is of an older man than the "young" photo here shows. Dhtwiki (talk) 22:13, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

Well I have to say, this discussion from nearly a year ago is one of the most ridiculously absurd discussions I've seen in a while...but I agree with Smallbones, and the arguments for the suppressing the photo of him that was taken during his heyday are flat out BAD arguments. Other than the nonsense about a cropped photo (WHO CARES?), the arguments can all basically be summarized as: "it doesn't matter if the general public's common perception about something is inaccurate, we must preserve the general popular images of things, be they accurate or nay!" Reakly?? That is what an encyclopaedia is meant to do? The statement directly above that the job of anything on here is "not to educate people" I find truly alarming. That is PRECISELY what encyclopaedias are meant to do! And seriously...what reader would seriously think, "Oh, this must not be the right Mark Twain that wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, because that Mark Twain was an old man." Readers are not that dumb! 2600:1702:4960:1DE0:5010:5C21:EA43:B649 (talk) 22:14, 2 November 2021 (UTC)

No, readers are not usually that dumb. However, I hold out the possibility that those who think that others have to be led by the nose to realize that Twain was a young man once are kind of dumb, or maybe just need to find a reason to browbeat others. We include the un-cropped version of his youthful self, which is hardly "suppressing" it. The older picture is probably closer to what people saw when they attended lectures given in his maturity, as well as when printing of photographs became commercially feasible, when Twain had a more mature look than when he wrote his most famous classics — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dhtwiki (talk • contribs) 10:10, 18 November 2021 (UTC) (edited 08:41, 19 November 2021 (UTC))

Citation needed: which Buffalo newspaper did Twain really work for?

The photo of Twain posing with George Alfred Townsend and David Gray has opened up another can of worms. There are no cited sources for these contradictory facts:

• The Buffalo Courier-Express page says this paper was merged in 1926 from two papers which existed in the 1860s and 1870s.
• The photo bears a description on Commons stating that Gray was editor of the Courier.
• This page says Twain wrote, edited, and was part owner of the Express.
• The Courier-Express page agrees with this page that Twain's paper was the Express, but no citation is given on either page.
• The Courier-Express page says Gray was editor of the Courier (also no citation given).

Why would Twain pose with a competing editor (especially when he owned a stake)? Isn't it more likely that Gray actually edited the Express? The person who uploaded the photo could have carelessly wrote "Buffalo Courier" because of the title of the merger page, and the editor of that page could have carelessly listed Gray as editor of the Courrier because of the photo (or vice-versa). I went out on a limb and made the caption of the photo here agree with our page, but we need to find a source for this. JustinTime55 (talk) 17:13, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

That didn't take much Google searching, to find sources which confirm that Twain indeed worked for the Express, but that surprisingly, Gray worked for the rival Courier. That's why WP:verifiability is so important.

Twain apparently had a friendly relationship with Gray, whose shared love of poetry, he said provided "solace" for the death of his child. JustinTime55 (talk) 01:14, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

Christian Science

I find it interesting that Mr. Clemens actually wrote a book on this religion, on top of the fact that his wife and one of his daughters joined the church, and there is not a single mention of this anywhere in the Wikipedia bi0. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.37.31.103 (talk) 04:53, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

I'm not aware of the fact. Of course, what is needed is reliable sources that tell of that. Can you supply some? Dhtwiki (talk) 21:07, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

See our article Christian Science (book). I'm skeptical about his family's religious choices as stated above. But there are lots of references in the article on the book. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 19:02, 17 November 2021 (UTC)

I don't see much at the linked article that tells of Twain's feelings, other than his having written ironically on it. That article doesn't say anything about Twain's family's involvement, which would give his attitudes more weight that just a humorist commenting on a national phenomenon or institution. Dhtwiki (talk) 10:01, 18 November 2021 (UTC)

Censorship

The censorship section seems unnecessary since it was already mentioned that some of his work was censored because of the language.Gmora1011 (talk) 18:13, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Twain and Sir Walter Scott

Twain heartily disliked Sir Walter Scott's novels. If a reader types in Google "Mark Twain and Sir Walter Scott" he or she can find a long attack on Scott's deficiencies. Shouldn't this fact be added to the discussion of other authors Twain disliked, such as Jane Austen and Fenimore Cooper? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.154.183.50 (talk) 00:37, 6 June 2021 (UTC)

If we were to include something, what would it be and where would it go?

Twain could be seen to be attacking the effect that Scott's novels had on the culture of the South, not so much Scott's own deficiencies, as a person or a writer. And Twain could be prone to overstating things. I think the Harper's piece, which talks of Scott having started the Civil War, seems to be trying to out-Twain Twain (what happened to the role Harriet Beecher Stowe played?). Dhtwiki (talk) 14:37, 6 June 2021 (UTC)

Italics?

Why is the page title in italics? AllegedlyHuman (talk) 17:06, 12 June 2021 (UTC)

Maybe because it is a pen name? MOS:PSEUDONYM and WP:ITALICTITLE do not seem to imply that there is a need for an italic article title — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 20:54, 12 June 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 September 2021

65.51.244.114 (talk) 13:24, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. — LauritzT (talk) 13:51, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

Mark Twain Canadian Visits

This section says Mr. Twain visited Toronto twice, 1864 and 1865. The King Edward Hotel page includes Mr. Twain among a list of celebrity guests, but the King Edward didn't open until 1903. Is there any way to resolve this apparent contradiction? The use of the word ""twice" suggests only twice. Perhaps change visited Toronto twice, 1864 and 1865 to visited Toronto in 1864 and 1865. Greenfielddude (talk) 15:44, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Is a blog a good source to claim twain was a rightwing libertarian and in favor of Laissez-faire capitalism?

Is a blog a good source to claim twain was a rightwing libertarian and in favor of Laissez-faire capitalism? Under the Views section his views seem to contradict his qoute about oppressors and his association with leftists. 73.134.202.198 (talk) 17:05, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

No, not good sources, and I've removed that stuff. But that's just a tiny gesture toward cleaning up the giant mess that is the Views section. EEng 18:00, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

I think the below section should be completely removed. I read the book and it doesn't seem to suggest any pro laisse faire capitalism anywhere in the book. The other source is a review on the book from the 1970s, not sure if that is a good source.

Politics

Twain was a staunch supporter of technological progress and commerce. He was against welfare measures, because he believed that society in the "business age" is governed by "exact and constant" laws that should not be "interfered with for the accommodation of any individual or political or religious faction". He opined that "there is no good government at all & none possible". According to Washington University professor Guy A. Cardwell:

By present standards Mark Twain was more conservative than liberal. He believed strongly in laissez faire, thought personal political rights secondary to property rights, admired self-made plutocrats, and advocated a leadership to be composed of men of wealth and brains. Among his attitudes now more readily recognized as liberal were a faith in progress through technology and a hostility towards monarchy, inherited aristocracy, the Roman Catholic church, and, in his later years, imperialism. 73.134.202.198 (talk) 18:44, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

I think the entire section from "Politics to before Labor" should be removed. It qoutes a book that does not suggest he was Pro-Captialist. A blog and a review by a professor in the 1970s. After doing research the claims appear to be completely unfounded — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.134.202.198 (talk) 18:33, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 28 September 2022

62.88.128.134 (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2022 (UTC)Eftersom han har jobbat mycket på tidningar, skrev han mycket från tidigt ålder. Om sina äventyr som silver brytare i Nevada skrev han små berättelser som han samlade och gav ut mycket senare i en bok med titeln Slita hund den kom ut år 1943. Det var på den tiden han mötte indianer för första gången. 

Efter 1861 börjar han använda pseudonymen Mark Twain. Genombrottet i hans författarskap var hans novel Jim Smiley och hans hoppande groda som kom ut år 1865. Man kunde läsa det i tidningen i hela landet. Tack vare denna novellen fick han uppdraget att göra resereportage i Hawaii som blev också väldigt omtyckta. Eftersom han gillade resa åkte han till Europa och Palestina. Han gav ut sin första bok efter denna resan och den hette En tripp runt gamla värden. (1869) Den blev enormt populärt. Hans mest kända romaner är Tom Sawyers äventyr, Huckleberry Finns äventyr ( han har börjat skriva samtidigt 1876 men Huckleberry Finns kom ut bara 1884). Lika känd är Mississippi. I dessa romaner berättar han äventyr från sin barndom.

Tom Sawyer äventyr utan tvekan hans mest populära roman. Han skrev det 1876. Dess huvudpersoner är barn som tänker som barn, pratar som barn och agerar som barn. Händelsen blir extra spännande när Tom och Huck bevittnar ett mord i kyrkogården en natt.

En av hans mest kända verk är Huckleberry Finn äventyr. Den handlar om en ung kille som rymmer från sin alkoholistiska far som slår honom. Finns äventyr ett inblick i amerkíkanska samhället från början av 1900-talet på ett intressant och humoristisk sätt.

Livet på Mississippi är en samlings av berättelse delvis av personliga minnen av sin egen liv. Han jobbade på olika ångbåtar på Mississippi. Sedan innehåller den en massa anekdoter från Mississippi områden. Vi får läsa om hur det är att styra fartyg över floden som ständigt förändras. Boken börjar med en berättelse om den första europenen som såg floden 1542. Vi får även läsa upptäcktsresande och nybyggare som bosatte sig vid floden. Denna bok den första som hade ett maskinskrivet manuskript till förlaget.

Mark Twins böcker är antingen reseberättelser eller äventyrsromaner.

Slutet av 1800-talet, början av 1900-talet kallas för Realism i litteraturhistoria. Tidigare skrev man mycket om känslor och historiska händelser. Realismens författare är mest intresserad av samhällsfrågor, de förtjänar ingenting, de visar samhället som det är. Twins romaner är fortfarande intressanta därför att han skrev om samhällsproblem som fortfarande är utmaningar i USA och i de flesta länderna: rasism, klasskillnader tillgång till utbildning , hur landskapet förändras genom mänsklig aktivitet.

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. The text of this edit request seems to be in swedish. Please ote that in the english Wikipedia, all article space contributions should be in english, and talking to editors in a foreign language might make communication difficult. Perhaps try contributing to the swedish Wikipedia instead? Victor Schmidt (talk) 07:53, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

"Mark twain" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Mark twain and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 November 7#Mark twain until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. TartarTorte 18:53, 7 November 2022 (UTC)

Family geographical origins

Samuel L. Clemens' father and grandfather lived on the Ohio River in what is now Lakin in Mason County, West Virginia. West Virginia Historical Society has placed a historical marker beside Route 62 between Point Pleasant and Mason, West Virginia. PaulaLNapier (talk) 22:06, 25 January 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 April 2023

In the section on Twain's death, there is a claim that he died one day after Halley's Comet's closest approach to earth. While he did die one day after the Comet's perihelion in 1910, and possibly its closest approach in that year, Halley's Comet's closest approach to Earth was in 837, when it passed approximately 3 miles from the Earth. I worry that this language is ambiguous in the first section (less so when mentioned later in the article), and I suggest a change in the first section to "Twain was born shortly after an appearance of Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well, dying the day after the comet's 1910 perihelion." Here is the Nasa.gov text on the Comet's closest approach: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/1p-halley/in-depth/#:~:text=The%20comet's%20closest%20approach%20to,of%20Venus%20at%20greatest%20brilliance. This is a very fun fact about Mark Twain! Erinshapland (talk) 14:31, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

 Done (kinda). The source listed in the article already helpfully lists the perigee - this appears to be about a month off from his date of death and so I have corrected the article to use this date rather than misrepresent perihelion as the closest approach to Earth. Tollens (talk) 20:40, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

What is Mark Twain's maxim on statistics?

Mentioned in: User:Michaelbusch #Objection 5: insert flawed statistical argument. The user (Michaelbusch) is retired from wp.

Ping welcome, Steue (talk) 07:45, 30 April 2023 (UTC)

@Steue: They're talking about "Lies, damned lies, and statistics". Just FYI, in the future you should ask this sort of stuff at the reference desk instead of article talk pages. Elli (talk | contribs) 08:09, 30 April 2023 (UTC)

Thanks Elli, for both of your answers, and the ping.

I did know of this 'Reference Desk', but my thoughts were:

• Where better than on the talk page on Twain could I find the experts?

And

• Would one of them read the questions of the Reference desk?

I also couldn't find a topic which seemed to promise an answer, in the content table of Mark Twain, so I thought, maybe this lack could and should be solved too.

Steue (talk) 08:32, 30 April 2023 (UTC)

That's reasonable. As for inclusion... maybe in the legacy section? Which honestly should be much more fleshed out in general. Elli (talk | contribs) 08:40, 30 April 2023 (UTC)

If at first you don't succeed

Apologies for not having a source for this, but an educator with the library support organization Ohio Library Council once told his audience (including this writer) that he came into the profession after failing as a school teacher, and that based on this experience he was mindful of a version by Mark Twain, which he quoted as "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again - and then give up: don't be a damn fool about it." 2603:6010:4E42:500:5D2D:8B07:BCAB:7290 (talk) 03:53, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

numbers

his salary shouldn't be one hundred and fifty, it should be one hundred fifty no and Bubs008 (talk) 13:49, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

I'm sorry, it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Could you explain what you would like to be revised/added/removed? Professor Penguino (talk) 01:38, 1 November 2023 (UTC)

@Bubs008: In the first place, that's in a direct quote, which you should never, ever change. In the second, either phrasing is acceptable. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:27, 13 November 2023 (UTC)

Where Mark Twain's parents met and married.

In the section, Early Life, the Wikipedia article on Mark Twain states, "His parents met when his father moved to Missouri. They were married in 1823." Although, they were married in 1823, Mark Twian's father, John Marshall Clemens and his mother Jane Lampton met in Kentucky where they both lived and were married in Kentucky on May 6, 1823. This edit is from "Mark Twain, A Biography: The Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens" (The Official Biography of Mark Twain), written by Albert Bigelow Paine. ShyeTK (talk) 03:43, 13 November 2023 (UTC)

@ShyeTK: Fixed based on the bio I can read. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:52, 13 November 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, whoever I'm replying to! FYI: If you're interested, you can listen to Albert Bigelow Paine's biography of Twain, "Mark Twain, A Biography: The Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens" (The Official Biography of Mark Twain) free of charge on Librivox. Librivox is an app you can download on your phone where there are thousands of books read aloud. That's how I happened to come across the discrepancy on Wikipedia's bio of Twain. Thanks again. ShyeTK (talk) 16:00, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

Comedian

@Clarityfiend Referring to the recent removal of the category pertaining to comedian. I wondered what your thoughts were on these sources. [1] [2]

Elvisisalive95 (talk) 00:05, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

@Elvisisalive95: I see David E. E. Sloane pushing the thesis that Twain was a "literary comedian". Both he and Judith Yaross Lee are professors and Twain authorities. Author Richard Zacks wrote Chasing the Last Laugh: Mark Twain’s Raucous and Redemptive Round-the-World Comedy Tour. But these are just three voices in the wilderness. Everybody labels him as a humorist; these are about all I can find who call him a comedian. Is that enough? I don't think so. YMMV. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:25, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

@Clarityfiend I appreciate your input & knowledge on the matter. Makes sense to me, my library is the Mark Twain Library & the librarians always call him a comedian! But by definition, humorist definitely describes Twain Elvisisalive95 (talk) 01:40, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 20 March 2024

The grammar is a little wrong with the birthday of Mark Twain can it be okay if I change it so people can understand this article better? MochaCat12 (talk) 03:14, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

Looks okay to me. What do you think is grammatically wrong? Clarityfiend (talk) 03:34, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. v/r - Seawolf35 ^T--C 19:21, 21 March 2024 (UTC)

Typo

There is a typo. It says, " It was written at the time of his bankruptcy and Twain was convinced that would it would save his financial disposition." The first "would" is a typo. I want the typo to be changed so it says, " It was written at the time of his bankruptcy and Twain was convinced that it would save his financial disposition." 74.74.144.209 (talk) 02:01, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

 Done. Thanks for spotting. Rasnaboy (talk) 14:28, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 September 2024

I forbindelse med livet på Mississippi bruges ordet pilot hvor der retteligt må være tale om ordets betydning af lods 83.93.192.90 (talk) 20:42, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Jamedeus (talk) 21:46, 3 September 2024 (UTC)