Sac History Happenings: Track four decades of "Mark Twain on the Platform"

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

December 19, 2012

Track four decades of "Mark Twain on the Platform"

The great 19th century writer Mark Twain was a prolific speaker who took the stage for over 40 years in cities around the globe.

Now the Mark Twain Project of the California Digital Library has launched an interactive database containing information on every one of his lecture appearances. "Mark Twain on the Platform" lets users filter the information by several parameters: type (lecture or reading); event (lecture series); city; year and works read. There's also a digital world map pinpointing appearances.

As a younger man Twain spent a lot of time in Northern California and so it's not surprising that he spoke many times in the state. Did he ever come to Sacramento? Yes, twice:

1st Western Tour, Sacramento, Calif.
Date: Thr, Oct 11, 1866
Type: Lecture
Event: 1st Western Tour
Venue: Metropolitan Theater
City: Sacramento, Calif.
Works: Sandwich Islands Lecture
Source: Sacramento Bee, 12 Oct 66, 3

3rd Western Tour, Sacramento, Calif.
Date: Fri, Apr 17, 1868
Type: Lecture
Event: 3rd Western Tour
Venue: Metropolitan Theater
City: Sacramento, Calif.
Works: Pilgrim Life
Source: Sacramento Union, 18 Apr 68, 2

IMAGE CREDIT: "Mark Twain, America's best humorist," illustration by Joesph Keppler that appeared in the Dec. 16, 1885 issue of Puck. Library of Congress

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California and Sacramento have a long, rich, vibrant history. And our region is blessed with an abundance of historical resources maintained by museums, libraries, archives and societies. This blog aims to alert readers to the latest developments in local/state historical education and research.

Send tips concerning upcoming exhibits, tours, lectures and meetings, as well as new books, magazine articles and online collections to the blog's contributors.

The Contributors:

Michael Dolgushkin

Michael Dolgushkin is Manuscript Librarian at the California State Library History Section. He is co-author of San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars and is a frequent contributor to the California State Library Foundation Bulletin. Contact him at mdolgushkin@library.ca.gov.

Amanda Graham is a Certified Archivist working in the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library. She earned a BS in History from Southern Oregon University and a MS in Information Studies with an emphasis in archives from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact her at agraham@saclibrary.org.

Pete Basofin is Director of Editorial Research at The Sacramento Bee. He previously worked at The St. Petersburg Times and Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. Contact him at pbasofin@sacbee.com.

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