Twain and Halley's Comet

Twain was born in 1835 and died on 21 April 1910, both years Halley's Comet passed. In 1909 he said he expected to leave with it.

Snopes, citing a museum devoted to Twain, gives Twain's real name as Samuel Clemens. He was born on 30 November 1835 in Florida, a Missouri town, and died on 21 April 1910, aged 74. Both years saw Halley's Comet pass by Earth.

The story of Twain's tie to the comet starts with his own words. Wikipedia reports that in 1909 he predicted his own end: he had arrived alongside the comet in 1835, it would return the next year and he expected to leave with it. He added that missing that exit would be a great disappointment. He said the Almighty had probably decided these two unaccountable freaks must go out together as they came in together.

The dates are close but loose. NASA and Lapham's Quarterly say Twain was born about a fortnight after the comet's perihelion of 1835, its closest point to the sun. They say he died the day after the 1910 perihelion. Snopes says the museum makes the point about years, and that the dates of nearest approach differ. Wikipedia records that he died of a heart attack.