-
Edgar Allan Poe is Born
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned at a young age when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him -
Rosalie Mackenzie Poe
Rosalie seems to have had a distant, if not antagonistic relationship with her famous older brother. She herself claimed that she was "a good size girl" before she even knew she had a sibling--an incredible statement considering they were raised in the same city. -
Poe's Parents Died
The conditions of the individual deaths of Poe's parents is only certain for his mother. She died in 1811 of tuberculosis, or as it was perhaps better known, the red death. -
Poe writes his first poem
Poes first poem did not have a title. -
Poe enlists in the U.S. Army and shortly after his first book is published
On January 28, 1831, a court-martial tried a young cadet at the U.S. Military Academy on charges of gross neglect of duty and disobedience of orders. Sergeant Major Edgar Allan Poe was found guilty of both charges and discharged from the service of the United States only six months after he had arrived at the academy -
Poe's older brother died
After the death of their parents, the three Poe children were split up: Henry lived with family in Baltimore, Maryland, while Edgar and Rosalie were cared for by two different families in Richmond, Virginia. Before the age of 20, Henry traveled around the globe by sea before returning to Baltimore and becoming a published poet and author -
Marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
Poet Edgar Allen Poe wed his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm in 1835, ten years before finding instant success following the publication of “The Raven.” -
Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Aruthur Gordon Pym
The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the Grampus. -
Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes
Poe may have been using these terms as subdivisions of Gothic art or Gothic architecture in an attempt to establish similar subdivisions in Gothic fiction. -
Publishes the poem The Raven
"The Raven" was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845. Its publication made Poe widely popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success. -
Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx
On January 29, 1847, Poe wrote to Marie Louise Shew: "My poor Virginia still lives, although failing fast and now suffering much pain.Virginia died the following day, January 30, after five years of illness. Shew helped in organizing her funeral, even purchasing the coffin.Death notices appeared in several newspapers. -
Edgar Dies
The death of Edgar Allan Poe has remained mysterious: the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker. He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 7. Poe was never coherent enough to explain how he ca
