History and Legacy
These are some of the key dates in the history of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. Read more about the Center and its mission on the About page. For a timeline of events related to Mark Twain and his family in Elmira during his lifetime, click here.
The Mark Twain Study is presented to Elmira College by Dr. Ida Langdon on behalf of her family. Dr. Langdon, niece of Mark Twain, was Professor of English Literature at Elmira College for twenty years.
Quarry Farm is given to Elmira College by Jervis Langdon, Jr., Mark Twain’s grand-nephew. The Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies is established.
“The Trouble Begins At Eight” lecture series begins. Drs. James Cox, Hamlin Hill, Leo Marx, Henry Nash Smith, and John S. Tuckey are the featured speakers.
The Center for Mark Twain Studies holds its first conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies. The conference marked the centennial of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts a second conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies. Dr. Louis J. Budd’s lifetime achievements are saluted and the tenth anniversary of the Center for Mark Twain Studies is celebrated.
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its third conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies. The centennial of the publishing ofFollowing the Equator and the occasion of Dr. Hamlin Hill’s retirement are celebrated.
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its fifth conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies. Keynote Speaker Ron Powers, author of Mark Twain: A Life (2005) along with many other books on Mark Twain and other topics, delivered the Keynote Address. Sixty papers were shared.
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its first Weekend Symposium, A Centennial Symposium on Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger. Chaired by Joseph Csicsila, Eastern Michigan University, and Chad Rohman, Dominican University, the Symposium featured twelve scholarly papers and a Keynote Address by Alan Gribben, Auburn University at Montgomery.
August 6-8, 2009
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its sixth conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies. Keynote Speaker Russell Banks, author of more than a dozen novels and short story collections, delivered the Keynote Address. Seventy-five papers and presentations were shared.
October 15 & 16, 2010
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its second Weekend Symposium, en route: Mark Twain’s Travel Books – A Tramp Abroad and Following the Equator. Chaired by Terry Oggel, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Symposium featured twelve scholarly papers and a Keynote Address by Louis J. Budd, Duke University Emeritus.
October 19 & 20, 2012
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its third Weekend Symposium, Complicating Twain: Biography, Autobiography, and the Personal Scholar – Remembering Michael J. Kiskis. Chaired by Ann Ryan, Le Moyne College, and Kerry Driscoll, Saint Joseph University, the Symposium featured twelve scholarly papers and a Keynote Address by Laura Skandera Trombley, Pitzer College President and Mark Twain Scholar.
August 1-3, 2013
The Center for Mark Twain Studies hosts its seventh conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies. Keynote Speaker Peter Kaminsky, creator and producer of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and author of many books, delivered the Keynote Address. Eighty papers were shared. Conference attendees viewed a private screening of HOLBROOK/TWAIN.