Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon in 1870.
Olivia, affectionately called Livy, met Samuel Clemens—Mark Twain's real name—in December 1867 through her brother Charles. Clemens had encountered Charles during the Quaker City voyage later described in The Innocents Abroad. He reportedly became fascinated with Olivia after seeing her photograph, and the two began a courtship that relied heavily on letters.
Olivia initially rejected Clemens's first marriage proposal, but they became engaged in November 1868. Their wedding took place in Elmira, New York, in February 1870. Congregational ministers Joseph Twichell and Thomas K. Beecher performed the ceremony. Twain was ten years older than Olivia.
The couple later lived in Buffalo and Hartford, where Olivia became an important editor and adviser for Twain's writing. They had four children: Langdon, Susy, Clara, and Jean. Olivia helped edit many of her husband's books, articles, and lectures, and Twain praised her judgment and care. She died in 1904, six years before Twain.