The American literary icon who wrote “Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer,” is only sometimes remembered today as Sam Clemens. To the public in his day, and still today, he was and is Mark Twain – a successful writer, noted lecturer, and humorist. He was famous during his lifetime and his style was comparable to the legendary comedic trailblazing of Richard Pryor.
Less known is Clemens’ very close friend, Henry Huddleston Rogers, a Wall Street tycoon, industrialist, and ruthless financier. He was the brains and muscle that powered Standard Oil as its vice president behind the more well-known president, John D. Rockefeller. While feared and hated by the financial moguls of his day, he was a quiet and generous man personally, being one of the greatest philanthropists this country has ever known.
When Sam Clemens was forced to undergo bankruptcy, it was Henry Rogers who took control of his finances, and cleared Clemens of all his debts. After fiercely defending Clemens in bankruptcy court and putting him on the road to a new fortune, Rogers then advised Clemens to pay off all of his creditors in full. Which Clemens did.
They were the best of friends, and their tale of friendship is one of the lessor known stories of the great Mark Twain. Join these two for a fun, light-hearted, humor filled excursion!
