Samuel Langhorne Clemens is the actual name of Mark Twain. Mark Twain was his pen name with which he used to write for the Keokuk Post. Before starting as a writer, Mark Twain worked as an apprentice printer, then served in the army for some time as soldier in American civil war, and then in a mine. One of the jobs for which he got recognition for other than writing was that of a lecturer. He was profoundly known for his story telling abilities and stage presence. Mark Twain was born weeks after the Halley's comet was seen and died on the same day as the Halley comet was next seen, a span of 75 years. "Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish."