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Jan 19, 1809 Edgar Allan Poe is Born
Poe was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe 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. -
Dec 10, 1810 Poe’s Sister is born.
Rosalie Mackenzie Poe was the younger sister of American writer Edgar Allan Poe and oldest child William Henry Leonard Poe. Each child was taken in by a different family when their mother, actress Eliza Poe died December 8, 1811. Their father, actor David Poe, Jr., had already disappeared by this time. -
Dec 8, 1811 Poe’s Parents Die.
Elizabeth Poe died of tuberculosis in Richmond, Virginia. News soon arrived that David Poe had also died of the same disease, within days of his estranged wife. -
1824 Poe writes his first poem.
In 1824, when he was fifteen and back in Richmond, Poe penned his first poem: "Last night, with many cares & toils oppres'd,/ Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest." -
May 26, 1827 Poe enlists in the U.S. Army and shortly after his first book is published.
In 1827, Poe enlisted in the U.S. Army under the name "Edgar A. Perry." He did well as a soldier, rising to the rank of sergeant major. He also continued to write. A book of his poetry was published anonymously (the author being listed only as "A Bostonian"). In April 1829, he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. A few months later, he published his second book of poetry, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems. -
Aug 1, 1831 Poe’s older brother dies.
william henry, a sailor, amateur poet and the older brother of Edgar Allan Poe (Sartain painting above) and Rosalie Poe. -
May 16, 1836 Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, 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 -
1838 Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym 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. Aboard this vessel, Pym and a sailor named Dirk Peters continue their adventures further south. -
1840 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. -
1845 Poe publishes the poem, The Raven.
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, 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. -
Jan 30, 1847 Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx.
In January 1842, while singing at the piano, his wife Virginia began to bleed from the mouth—a symptom of tuberculosis. The dreaded disease that had killed his parents and his brother now seemed poise to strike his wife as well. -
Oct 7, 1849 Edgar Allen Poe Dies.
The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, 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.[1] He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 7.