The pen name of which American writer means “two fathoms deep”?
Like many of history’s literary greats, Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens used several pen names during his illustrious writing career. He experimented with various aliases, such as Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, Sergeant Fathom, and "Josh," before ultimately embracing the maritime term "Mark Twain" which signifies a depth of precisely two fathoms or 12 feet. This term held significance as a call used by riverboat pilots to indicate safe navigational waters, and it is widely believed that Twain chose this pseudonym as a nod to his experiences working on the Mississippi River.
This is one of your bits of trivia I actually knew, thanks to an overly zealous high school American Lit teacher.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Mark Twain who captured so much of our important heritage.
ReplyDeleteI didn't. Thank you. Did you know that he was the first to send his publisher a TYPEWRITTEN manuscript.
ReplyDeleteInteresting
ReplyDeleteAll this time I thought his name really was Mark Twain.
ReplyDeleteI Did know this...I love anything historical.
ReplyDeletehugs
Donna
Yes, I remember this info from school day readings
ReplyDeleteI kind of sort of remember this from high school. Sort of....
ReplyDelete