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Edgar Allan Poe is Born
Edgr Allan was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic. He is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. He was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone. -
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. 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
A fifteen-year-old Edgar Allan Poe pens 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." He claims he was 22 years old even though he was only 18. After enlisting, a collection of his poetry called Tamerlane. -
Poe’s older brother dies
Henry, who was a heavy drinker and may have been an alcoholic, died of tuberculosis on August 1, 1831, in Baltimore and and was buried in a family-owned plot near his grandfather. -
Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
Poe fell in love with Virginia Eliza Clemm, his first cousin, while he was living with his Aunt Maria at a time when Poe could not support himself. He became quite taken by her and married her when he was 27 and she was 13. And, at that time, it was more acceptable to marry a cousin though 13-years-old was quite young even then. -
Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
Poe's first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published. It is his only complete novel. Critics responded negatively to the novel and Poe himself later called it "a very silly book." -
Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is a collection of previously published short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1840. 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 publishes the poem, The Raven
Poe's poem, The Raven, is published in the New York Evening Mirror. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It remains one of the most famous poems ever written. -
Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx
Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx. Poe has been so despondent during the final months of her illness that friends thought he was going insane. The loss of his wife sends Poe into a downward spiral of alcoholism. -
Edgar Allen Poe Dies
After being found unconscious in a Baltimore gutter, Poe is taken to the hospital and pronounced dead of causes still unknown. He is buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore.