Famous American Writer, Samuel Langhorne Clemens is remembered better by his pen name Mark Twain.  (Because pen names are awesome, Clemens used several others as well: Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, W. Epaminandos Adrastus Blab, Sergeant Fathom and Josh. )  The inspiration for  Clemens' famous pen name is up for debate. Clemens claimed it was a borrowed name from a trustworthy mariner's water level report - basically meaning two fathoms.  But experts on Twain claim the name is derived from his running bar tab at a Virginia City saloon (-apparently two fathoms deep.)

Twain was inspired by his adventures. He worked as a devil's apprentice, which led to some editorial work, and took him west where he convinced his boss to send him to South America to write. But he paused for 3 years on the Mississippi to become a riverboat captain.  Then the Civil War nudged him ashore where he headed west to strike it rich.  But Twain seemed to fall back on his writing.

Mark Twain's large body of work is partly due to Clemens' ineptness as a business man. Clemens made many so-so investments. He also patented several products: Mark Twain's Memory-Builder Game, Mark Twain's Elastic Strap, and Mark Twain's Patent Scrapbook.

One of Twain's claim to fame was that he was born on or 'Came in on' the arrival of Halley's Comet and left on her tail (as he predicted.)  He also vividly dreamed of his brothers funeral which came to exact fruition.