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Jan 19, 1809 Edgar Allan Poe is Born
Poe was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.[ -
Dec 10, 1810 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. -
Dec 8, 1811 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. -
1824 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." -
May 26, 1827 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." He claims he was 22 years old even though he was only 18. After enlisting, a collection of his poetry called Tamerlane and Other Poems is published but is not a success -
Aug 1, 1831 Poe’s older brother dies
Edgar's older brother Henry dies of either tuberculosis or cholera at the age of 27. -
May 16, 1836 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 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
Poe's first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published. -
1840 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. -
1845 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. -
Jan 30, 1847 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. -
Oct 7, 1849 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.
