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Edgar Allan Poe is Born
Born in Boston on January 19, 1809 to David and Elizabeth Poe, Edgar Poe Poe grew up to become one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. -
Poe's Sister is Born
On December 10th, 1810, Poe's younger sister Rosalie is born. It is around this time that their father abandons the family, leaving their sick mother to care for the three children. -
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. -
Poe Writes His First Poem
At fifteen years old, Poe writes his first two-line 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
Unable to support himself financially, Poe enlists in the military, earning five dollars a month. He enlisted shortly after publishing his first forty page book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which only yielded fifty copies. -
Poe's Older Brother Dies
At the Age of 24, William Henry Leonard Poe, who was known to be an alcoholic, died of what was determined to be tuberculosis. -
Poe Marries Virginia Clemm, His Thirteen Year Old Cousin
At the age of 27, Poe married his first cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm when she was 13 years old, in Richmond, Virginia. -
Poe Writes His First Novel
In July of 1838, Poe's first and only complete novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, is published. Reviews are for the most part negative. -
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is Published in Two Volumes
Defending himself from criticism of "Germanism", Poe wrote in the preface, "If in many of my productions terror has been the thesis, I maintain that terror is not of Germany but of the soul". Reviews of the stories were mixed. -
The Raven is Published
At the time of its publication, The Raven was extremely successful, and brought significant fame to Poe and his writings. However, it did not bring him the financial success he needed. -
Virginia Poe Dies
After five years of Illness, Virinia Poe dies of tuberculosis at the age of 24. It was Virginia's death that sent Edgar Allan Poe into a downward spiral. -
Edgar Allan Poe Dies
In the days leading up to his death, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance." On October 7th, 1849, at the age of 40, Poe died in the hospital. The exact cause of Poe's death is unknown, but several theories such as alcoholism, suicide, and even rabies have been suggested.
