Edgar Allan Poe

  • Edgar was born

    Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Dead of Edgar's mother

    In 1811, his mother died and the children became orphans.
  • Adoption of Edgar

    In 1815, Edgar went to Richmond, Virginia, to live with John and Francis Allan.
  • "Tamerlane and Other Poems"

    In 1827, he published a forty-page booklet called "Tamerlane and Other Poems", which ultimately proved a failure.
  • Edgar's independence

    Edgar left the house to live on his own and enlisted in the U.S. Army for a five-year term. He served under the name Edgar A. Perry.
  • Other publications

    In 1831, he published Poems by Edgar Allan
    Poe and began to submit short stories to magazines.
  • The prize

    In 1833, Edgar received a prize for his work entitled "Ms. Found in a Bottle," and a
    friend got him a job working for the Southern Literary Messenger.
  • Edgar's wedding

    In 1835, Poe married with Virginia and moved to Richmond.
  • Moved to New York City

    In 1837, he stopped working at the magazine and moved to New York City.
  • Moved to Philadelphia

    In 1838, he moved to Philadelphia and started
    working as coeditor of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine.
  • Collection of stories

    In 1839, Poe published a collection of stories.
  • The new genre

    In 1841, Poe started a new genre of detective fiction with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".
  • Publications in the 1840s.

    Poe won a literary prize in 1843 for "The Gold Bug," a tale of secret codes and hunting treasure. He also published a short story called "The Tell-Tale Heart".
  • Dead of Edgar's wife

    In 1847, Poe’s wife became ill with tuberculosis and died. Edgar was devastated by the loss of his wife and started abusing alcohol. His depression intensified over the next few years.
  • Edgar died

    On October 7, 1849, he died, the actual cause of death
    was never determined, though acute alcohol poisoning, meningitis, or even rabies, were thought to be possible causes of death.