Mark Twain is best known as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Praised for his humour and his exceptional wit, he is regarded by many as America's greatest humorist and the father of American literature. He was born shortly after an appearance of Halley's Comet, and mused that he might "go out with it" as well - and, the day the day after the comet returned, he did.
