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. Widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole, he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story.
  • Poe's Sister is born

    Poe's Sister is born
    Rosalie Mackenzie Poe, née Rosalie Poe, was the estranged sister of Edgar Allan Poe. Rosalie, born approximately December 1810 in Norfolk, Virginia, was the last of Elizabeth Arnold Poe’s children. There is debate who her father is, because David Poe, Eliza’s husband, had abandoned the family around the time Rosalie would have been conceived. There is speculation that John Howard Payne, a prominent fellow actor of the time, was Rosalie’s father; however these are just rumors.
  • Poe's Parents Die

    Poe's Parents Die
    Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families.
  • Poe writes his first poem

    Poe writes his first poem
    Tamerlane and Other Poems, attributed with the byline "by a Bostonian". Only 50 copies were printed, and the book received virtually no attention.
  • Poe enlists in the U.S. Army and shortley after his firsr book is published.

    Poe enlists in  the U.S. Army and shortley after his firsr book is published.
    The War Department records show that Poe enlisted in the army on May 26, 1827, under the alias of Edgar A. Perry. Although only eighteen, Poe listed his age as twenty-two, and stated that he was a clerk from Boston. His enlistment records describe him as having gray eyes, brown hair, a fair complexion, and a height of five feet, eight inches. He was immediately assigned to Battery "H" of the First Artillery, stationed at Fort Independence, Boston Harbour. Next few months of his life are scarce.
  • Poe's older brother dies.

    Poe's older brother dies.
    Henry traveled around the globe by sea before returning to Baltimore and becoming a published poet and author. One of his works, "The Pirate", was a fictionalized account of his brother's first relationship with Sarah Elmira Royster in Richmond. Henry died of tuberculosis in 1831 at the age of twenty-four.
  • Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm.

    Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm.
    couple were first cousins and married when Virginia Clemm was 13 and Poe was 27. Biographers disagree as to the nature of the couple's relationship. Though their marriage was loving, some biographers suggest they viewed one another more like a brother and sister. In January 1842 she contracted tuberculosis, growing worse for five years until she died of the disease at the age of 24 in the family's cottage, then outside New York City.
  • Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

    Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.
    only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the Grampus. Various adventures and misadventures befall Pym, including shipwreck, mutiny, and cannibalism, before he is saved by the crew of the Jane Guy. Aboard this vessel, Pym and a sailor named Dirk Peters continue their adventures further south.
  • Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.

    Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.
    It was published by the Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard and released in two volumes. The publisher was willing to print the anthology based on the recent success of Poe's story "The Fall of the House of Usher". Even so, Lea & Blanchard would not pay Poe any royalties; his only payment was 20 free copies.[1] Poe had sought Washington Irving to endorse the book, writing to him, "If I could be permitted to add even a word or two from yourself... my fortune would be made".
  • Poe pubishes the poem, The Rraven.

    Poe pubishes the poem, The Rraven.
    "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, Is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore.
  • Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their ome in the Bronx.

    Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their ome in the Bronx.
    The disease and eventual death of his wife had a substantial effect on Edgar Allan Poe, who became despondent and turned to alcohol to cope. Her struggles with illness and death are believed to have affected his poetry and prose, where dying young women appear as a frequent motif, as in "Annabel Lee", "The Raven", and "Ligeia".
  • Edgar Allan Poe Dies.

    Edgar Allan Poe Dies.
    The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious: the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker. He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 7. Poe was never coherent enough to explain how he ca