Mark Twain

He took the name from a river call, then made the river American literature.

Samuel Clemens set type, piloted steamboats, tried silver mining, and became a newspaperman. The Innocents Abroad made his travels a bestseller. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn followed; so did a Yankee in Arthur's court, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and more journeys. Bad investments helped drive him into debt. He lectured around the world to pay it back.

The jokes travel easily. The anger underneath them comes too.