Sam apprenticed to Joseph Ament of Missouri Courier newspaper

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, later known by his pen name Mark Twain, began his career in printing at a young age. In 1839, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. Around 1848, at approximately 12 years old, Clemens was apprenticed to Joseph Ament, the publisher of the Missouri Courier, a local newspaper in Hannibal. His duties included setting type, operating the press, and performing general shop work. This apprenticeship gave Clemens his first practical experience in the newspaper business and exposed him to the mechanics of printing and written communication. The skills he learned during this period formed the foundation for his later work as a compositor and printer in other cities, and ultimately contributed to his development as a writer and humorist.