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Edgar Allan Poe is Born.
American writer, critic and editor Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his tales and poems of horror and mystery, including "The Raven" and "The Fall of the House of Usher." -
Poe’s Sister is born.
There is a tradition that Poe's sister Rosalie was born on December 20, 1810, but there is no solid documentary evidence for this claim. All we know is that she was born long enough after the mysterious disappearance of her mother’s husband for questions to arise about the child's paternity. -
Poe’s Parents Die
Elizabeth and David Poe got married after her first husband died in 1805. They had three children, Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie. She had separated from her husband and had taken her three kids with her. Elizabeth Poe died in 1811, when Edgar was 2 years old. -
Poe writes his first poem
Poe's first published work was titled "Tamerlane and Other Poems", but it was published annonymously. The cover said "By a Bostonian." -
Poe enlists in the U.S. Army
Using the name "Edgar A. Perry", he claimed he was 22 years old even though he was 18. He first served at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor for five dollars a month. That same year, he released his first book, a 40-page collection of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems. -
Poe’s older brother dies
William Henry Leonard Poe, often referred to as Henry Poe, (January 30, 1807 – August 1, 1831) was a sailor, amateur poet and the older brother of Edgar Allan Poe and Rosalie Poe. Henry Poe was an inspiration to his brother's life and writings and the two had similar writing styles. -
Poe marries Virginia Clemm
Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe was the wife of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The couple were first cousins and married when Virginia Clemm was 13 and Poe was 27. Biographers disagree as to the nature of the couple's relationship. Though their marriage was loving, some biographers suggest they viewed one another more like a brother and sister. -
Poe writes his first novel
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the Grampus. Various adventures and misadventures befall Pym, including shipwreck, mutiny, and cannibalism, before he is saved by the crew of the Jane Guy. -
Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes
It was published by the Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard and released in two volumes. The publisher was willing to print the anthology based on the recent success of Poe's story "The Fall of the House of Usher". Even so, Lea & Blanchard would not pay Poe any royalties; his only payment was 20 free copies. Poe had sought Washington Irving to endorse the book, writing to him, "If I could be permitted to add even a word or two from yourself... my fortune would be made.” -
Poe publishes the poem, The Raven.
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. -
Poe's wife Virginia dies
It was in Philadelphia that Mrs. Poe first displayed symptoms of "consumption," today called tuberculosis. She died five years after that incident, in New York, on January 30, 1847. She was 24 years old. Poe was devastated by this incident and many say this drove him to drink more. -
Edgar Allen Poe Dies
Poe’s death 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, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him. 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 came to be in this condition.
