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Edgar Allen Poe is Born
Edgar Poe is born in Boston to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr., both traveling actors. The couple already has one son named Henry. -
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. 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.
A fifteen-year-old Edgar Allan Poe writes 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. -
Poe's Older Brother Dies
Edgar's older brother Henry has either tuberculosis or cholera and dies at the age of 27. -
Poe Marries His Thirteen Year Old Cousin, Virginia Clemm.
Poe who is 27 years old, marries his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, in Richmond, Virginia. -
Poe Writes His First Novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym".
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published. This was also Poe's first book. -
Poe's Story Collection "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque" is published in two volumes.
The short story collection "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque" written by Poe are published in two volumes. -
Poe Publishes the Poem, "The Raven".
Poe publishes the poem, "The Raven", and it is wildly successful, bringing the writer the fame and fortune that have long eluded him.Soon after Poe becomes the 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. Poe has been so despondent during the final months of her illness that friends thought he was going insane. Poe starts drinking because of his loss. -
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.
