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Birth
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned young when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. The remaining children were cared for by others. Poe's brother William died young and sister Rosalie become later insane. -
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Edgar's Life Span
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Adoption? Not really..
Edgar was taken into the home of a Richmond merchant John Allan at about the age of two, but was never legaly adopted by him, so instead of using taking his last name, he made Allan his middle name. -
Well this isn't every exciting now is it?
This was a very uneventful period in Poe's life, he would go out on his own often, writing poetry and short stories all the while. -
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School! Yay!
Poe was brought up partly in England, where he attended Manor School at Stoke Newington. Impressed his teachers with his artistic capabillitys. -
Poe: Love? Life: NEVER!! *sigh*
Poe became engaged to Elmira Royster, but her parents broke off the engagement. -
More school!.... Oh...
Poe attended the University of Virginia, but was expelled for not paying his gambling debts. This led to quarrel with Allan, who refused to pay the debts. Allan later disowned him. During his stay at the university, Poe composed some tales, but little is known of his apprentice works. -
Military
Unable to support himself, Poe enlisted in the United States Army as a private. Using the name "Edgar A. Perry", he claimed he was 22 years old even though he was 18. -
A new house to live in!
Poe lived in Baltimore with his father's sister Mrs. Maria Clemm. During this time he wrote some of his best known stories. -
Gotta love the insest.. *gag*
Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm. -
Uh oh, sadness overload..
After the death of his wife, his writing autimaticly became more depressing, but all the more beautiful. -
Death of a wife..And a cousin..
She burst a blood vessel, and remained a virtual invalid until her death from tuberculosis. When the cemetary where she was buried was destroyed, William Fearing Gill, one of Poe's earliest biographers, rescued her remains and stored them in New York in a box under his bed. Her remains were reburied in 1885. -
Wrote 'The Raven'
One of his most successful peices, it is his most popular even today. -
Nearing the end.
Poe began to lose his struggle with drinking and drugs. He had several romances, including an affair with the poet Sarah Helen Whitman. -
Death and Legacy
Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, suicide, even rabies. In his supernatural fiction of a life, Poe dealt with paranoia rooted in personal psychology, physical or mental enfeeblement, obsessions, the damnation of death, feverish fantasies, the cosmos as source of horror and inspiration.