Mark Twain
In Mark Twain's 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Hank Morgan awakes from a blow to the head only to find that he has been mysteriously transported back in time. It is early medieval England, the time of King Arthur and Hank is taken to the Camelot castle by a Knight of the King's. Ridiculed for his funny manner and dress sense, and sentenced to burn at the stake, Hank recovers through an incredible stroke of luck,
...Before his literary career took off and he emerged as one of America's foremost men of letters, Mark Twain worked as a steamboat pilot in the antebellum South and Midwest. This fascinating account offers a brief history of commercial boating in the period and a probing, insightful, and eminently entertaining look at Twain's own experiences.