Edgar Allan Poe

  • Edgar Allan Poe is born

    Edgar Allan Poe is born
    Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre.
  • Poe's sister is born

    Poe's sister is born
    Poe's sister Rosalie is born. Shortly after her birth, or possibly even before it, David Poe deserts the family, leaving Poe's mother alone with three children. Making matters worse, Elizabeth Poe soon falls ill with tuberculosis.
  • Poe's parents die

    Poe's parents die
    Elizabeth Poe died in 1811, when Edgar was 2 years old. She had separated from her husband and had taken her three kids with her. Henry went to live with his grandparents while Edgar was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan and Rosalie was taken in by another family. John Allan was a successful merchant, so Edgar grew up in good surroundings and went to good schools.
  • poe writes his first poem

    poe writes his first poem
    A fifteen-year-old Edgar Allan Poe pens his first known poem: "Last night, with many cares & toils oppres'd,/ Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest."
  • Poe enlist in army and writes first book

    Poe enlist in army and writes first book
    Poe enlists in the U.S. Army under the name "Edgar A. Perry." Shortly after, his first book—a poetry collection entitled Tamerlane and Other Poems—is published. The author is listed only as "A Bostonian."
  • Poe's older brother dies

    Poe's older brother dies
    Edgar's older brother Henry dies of either tuberculosis or cholera at the age of 27.
  • poe marries his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm

    poe marries his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
    Poe—now 27 years old—marries his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, at a ceremony in Richmond, Virginia
  • poe writes his first novel "The narrative of arthur gordon pym

    poe writes his first novel "The narrative of arthur gordon pym
    Poe's first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published
  • Poes story collection

    Poes story collection
    Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.
  • Poe publishes The raven

    Poe publishes The raven
    Poe publishes the poem , The Raven in the New York Evening Mirror. It is wildly successful, bringing the writer the fame and fortune that have long eluded him. He soon becomes editor and owner of a magazine called the Broadway Journal, a doomed enterprise that is already in debt when Poe takes over.
  • poes wife dies of tuberculosis at their home in bronx.

    poes wife dies of tuberculosis at their home in bronx.
    Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx. Poe has been so despondent during the final months of her illness that friends thought he was going insane. The loss of his wife sends Poe into a downward spiral of alcoholism.
  • Edgar Allan Poe dies

    Edgar Allan Poe dies
    After being found unconscious in a Baltimore gutter, Edgar Allan Poe is taken to the hospital and pronounced dead of causes still unknown. He is buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore.