Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
	Poe, 1848
Born	January 19, 1809; Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died	October 7, 1849 (aged 40); Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Virginia
Genre	Horror stories; Poems
Notable works	"The Fall of the House of Usher"; "The Tell-Tale Heart"; "The Raven"; "To Helen"
Spouse	Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe; (m. 1836; her death, 1847)
Parents	Elizabeth Poe (mother) David Poe, Jr. (father)

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer. He wrote horror stories and poems.

Early life[change | change source]

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809. His parents were two touring vaudeville actors, David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins. David left the family under unknown circumstances while Poe was an infant. When Poe was two his mother died of tuberculosis, leaving Edgar an orphan. The wealthy John Allan took Edgar into his home in Richmond, Virginia. In 1815, the Allan family moved to England. Young Poe went to an English private school. After five years, the family moved back to Richmond, Virginia.

After moving back to Virginia, Poe entered the University of Virginia in 1826. While there, he gambled, lost money, and went into debt. John Allan became angry and cut off all contact with Poe. In 1827, Poe published his first poetry collection, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Poe did not have his name published in the book; it was attributed to "a Bostonian."

Military life[change | change source]

Poe joined the army using the name Edgar A. Perry and falsely claimed to be older than he was. He did well in the army and was quickly promoted to the rank of sergeant major. While he was in the army, his foster mother, Frances Allan, passed away. Poe also tried to repair his relationship with John Allan during this time. Poe soon left the army and enrolled at West Point in New York state.

Poe didn't like his time at West Point and felt very bored. In March 1831, he was expelled and at that time, John Allan disowned him. Other cadets liked Poe and they gave money to help him publish a book of his poems called "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems". He soon moved to Baltimore, Maryland.

Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York[change | change source]

In Baltimore, Poe lived with his aunt, Maria Poe Clemm, who was the sister of Edgar's real father. Clemm also had a daughter named Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe. Virginia admired Poe very much. In 1836, when Virginia was thirteen, she and Poe married.

By the 1830s, Poe was writing a lot. He sold his first short story in 1832 but didn't earn much money from his writing. He also worked as an editor for various magazines, gaining recognition for his literary criticism. During this time, Poe also struggled with alcoholism off and on.

In 1842, while living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with Clemm and Virginia, Virginia fell ill with tuberculosis. They moved to New York City and later settled in The Bronx. On 29 January 1845, Poe gained popularity by publishing his most famous poem, "The Raven". Virginia passed away on 30 January 1847 due to pulmonary tuberculosis, leaving Poe devastated.

Death[change | change source]

On September 27, 1849, Poe left Richmond after a short visit. It is not known what happened to him until October 3; On that day, he was discovered outside of Gunner's Hall by Joseph W. Walker in Baltimore. He was taken to Washington College Hospital. While in the hospital. he became delirious and started seeing hallucinations. He died on October 7, 1849, in the hospital. It is not known what his cause of death was. There are several possible theories. They include congestion of the brain, alcoholism withdrawal, tuberculosis and rabies.

Poe was buried in the grounds of the Westminster Church and Burying Ground after a small funeral with only a few people. On May 17, 1875, Poe was reburied at the front of the churchyard after a city-wide campaign to raise money to build a large monument. He is buried there alongside his wife Virginia, and Virginia's mother Maria Clemm.