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Edgar Allan Poe is Born
orn January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. American short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and horror initiated the modern detective story, and the atmosphere in his tales of horror is unrivaled in American fiction. -
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
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. -
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."31 -
Poe enlistst in the U.S. Army and shortly after his first 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. The author is listed only as "A Bostonian." -
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—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 Arther Gordon Pym
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Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes
Although dated as 1840, the set probably appeared in early November of 1839. The number of copies printed by the publisher has been given as 750 or 1,750. The number generally accepted is 750, which is verified by both a manuscript note in the records of the publishers and unfavorable circumstances. -
Poe publishes the poem, The Raven
The poem attracted a lot of attention. After it’s reprinting in the February 1845 issue of American Review, the poem was reprinted in many publications around the country including The Liberator in February of 1945 with an interesting introduction -
Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the 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
In an analysis almost 147 years after his death, doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center believe that writer Edgar Allan Poe may have died as a result of rabies, not from complications of alcoholism.