Here are some interesting facts about Mark Twain (1835–1910) and his story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
• Mark Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens; the name Mark Twain came from the words used by riverboat captains as they measured the depth of the river bottom. At various times in his life, he worked as a printer, a writer, and a riverboat pilot. He traveled widely and wrote about what he saw, usually in a humorous way. • Twain’s story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” made him famous. It was fi rst published in 1865, when Twain was a struggling journalist in California, and it inspired a contest that is still held today. The Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Contest is held the third weekend of each year at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds, better known as Frogtown.