Other CT Humanities Programs
Creative Commons Licensing
Now Viewing:
Mark Twain
George Griffin: “Devoted Friend” to Samuel Clemens
Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and used his “good-natured” and “devoted” servant, George Griffin, as a likely model for one of literature’s most memorable figures—Jim, the runaway enslaved man.
Read
The Slaters Go Round the World
In 1894, a well-to-do Norwich family set sail from New London on a ship outfitted with Persian rugs, oil paintings, a library, and 75 cases of champagne.
Read
Emile Gauvreau and the Era of Tabloid Journalism
Emile Gauvreau, former managing editor of the Hartford Courant, became a pioneer in the rise of tabloid journalism.
Read
Typing History
Home to companies such as Royal and Underwood, Connecticut became an important manufacturing center for typewriters in the early 20th century.
Read
Charles Dudley Warner: 19th Century Writer and Social Commentator
Author Charles Dudley Warner penned significant volumes of work, leaving an impact through his enduring social commentary in the second half of the 19th century.
Read
Holmes at Home: The Life of William Gillette
William Gillette was an American actor, playwright, and stage director most famous for his stage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and for the stone castle he built in East Haddam.
Read
A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens
Samuel Clemens experienced America’s rapid change—from westward expansion to industrialization‚ the end of slavery‚ advancements in technology‚ and foreign wars.
Read
Any Month with an “R” in It: Eating Oysters in Connecticut
Lack of refrigeration and higher bacteria counts in tidal waters once made summer months a dangerous time to eat oysters.
Read
Joseph Hopkins Twichell: Asylum Hill’s Religious Leader and Mark Twain’s Closest Friend
Inspired by his friendship with Mark Twain, Joseph Twichell took up such causes as labor rights, immigration, education, and interfaith advocacy.
Read
Samuel L. Clemens Receives Scrap-book Patent – Who Knew?
Writer and humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, invented more than tall tales and novels.
Read
Connecticut Arms the Union
By the Civil War’s end, Connecticut had supplied 43% of the total of all rifle muskets, breech loading rifles and carbines, and revolvers bought by the War Department.
Read
Where Mr. Twain and Mrs. Stowe Built Their Dream Houses
This bucolic oasis on Hartford’s western edge became home to great literary talents, social reformers, politicians, and other nationally-regarded luminaries of the mid-to-late 1800s.
Read
Hartford’s Nook Farm
This small enclave in the capital city’s west end became home to many of the 19th century’s most celebrated and creative personalities.
ReadMore Articles