on this day he got his pilot's license !
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on this day he got his pilot's license !
by growler Tue Apr 09, 2013 9:50 am
Mark Twain receives steamboat pilot's license
On this day in 1859, a 23-year-old Missouri youth named Samuel Langhorne Clemens receives his steamboat pilot's license.
Clemens had signed on as a pilot's apprentice in 1857 while on his way to Mississippi. He had been commissioned to write a series of comic travel letters for the Keokuk Daily Post, but after writing five, decided he'd rather be a pilot than a writer. He piloted his own boats for two years, until the Civil War halted steamboat traffic. During his time as a pilot, he picked up the term "MARK TWAIN," a boatman's call noting that the river was only two fathoms deep, the minimum depth for safe navigation.
On this day in 1859, a 23-year-old Missouri youth named Samuel Langhorne Clemens receives his steamboat pilot's license.
Clemens had signed on as a pilot's apprentice in 1857 while on his way to Mississippi. He had been commissioned to write a series of comic travel letters for the Keokuk Daily Post, but after writing five, decided he'd rather be a pilot than a writer. He piloted his own boats for two years, until the Civil War halted steamboat traffic. During his time as a pilot, he picked up the term "MARK TWAIN," a boatman's call noting that the river was only two fathoms deep, the minimum depth for safe navigation.
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Re: on this day he got his pilot's license !
by observer Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:29 pm
Interesting how these "nom de plumes" might have come about. I always wonder why people didn't just use their real names
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