Edgar Allan Poe Timeline

  • Edgar Allan Poe is Born

    Edgar Allan Poe is Born
    Edgar Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. That makes him Capricorn, on the cusp of Aquarius. His parents were David and Elizabeth Poe.
  • 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 Arnold Poe dies of tuberculosis in Richmond, Virginia. Within days, David Poe also dies of tuberculosis. With no parents to take care of them, the three children of the family are split up. Henry goes to live with his paternal grandparents. A Richmond couple, John and Frances Allan, take in Edgar as a foster child. Rosalie is taken in by another Richmond family named Mackenzie. Both Edgar and Rosalie adopt their foster families' names as their middle names.
  • 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 the U.S Army and shortky after his book is published

    Poe enlist in the U.S Army and shortky after his book is published
    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.
  • 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 thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm

    Poe marries. his thirteen 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

    Poe writes his first novel
    The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published
  • Poe's story collection

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

    Poe publishes poem
    Poe publishes the poem , The Raven in the New York Evening Mirror. Its succesfull!
  • Poes wife dies from tuberculosis

    Poes wife dies from tuberculosis
    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.
  • Poes death

    Poes death
    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.