-
Edgar Allen Poe is Born
On this day in 1809, poet, author and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston, Massachusetts. By the time he was three years old, both of Poe's parents had died, leaving him in the care of his godfather, John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant. -
Poe's Sister is Born
Rosalie, sister of Edgar Allan Poe, is said to have been born in December of 1810, but we have no solid documentary evidence for this assertion. All we know for certain is that she was born long enough after the disappearance of her mother Eliza's husband, David Poe, for questions to arise about the girl's paternity. -
Poe's Parents Die
Edgar Poe (the Allan came later) was born 19 January 1809 in Boston to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr. His parents were traveling actors. The family was dirt poor. ... On 8 December 1811, Elizabeth Poe died of tuberculosis in Richmond, Virginia. -
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 enlists 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 thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemn
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's first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published. -
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. -
Poe publishes the poem, "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. -
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 Allen 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.
