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Jan 19, 1809 Edgar Allan Poe is Born.
Born in Boston, he was the second child of two actors. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year. Thus orphaned, the child was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia. Although they never formally adopted him, Poe was with them well into young adulthood. Tension developed later as John Allan and Edgar repeatedly clashed over debts, including those incurred by gambling, and the cost of secondary education for the young man. -
Poes 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 matter worse, Elizebeth Poe soon falls ill with tuberculosis. -
Poe's parents die
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. -
Poe writes his first poem
Fifteen year old Edgar Allan Poe pens his first known poem. "Last night, with many cares & toils oppres'd,/Weary -
Poe enlists in the U.S. army and shortly after his first book is published
Poe enists in the U.S. Army under the name "Edgar A. Perry." Shortly after, his first book. -
Poe's older brother dies
Edgar's older brother Henry dies of either tuberculosis of cholera at the age of 27. -
Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemn
They were married for eleven years until her early death, which may have inspired some of his writing. -
Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.
The only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. -
Story collection Tales of the Groteque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.
It was published by the Philidelphia firm Lea & Blanchard and released in two volumes. -
Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in 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. -
Poe dies.
After being found unconscious in a Baltimore gutter, Edgar Allan Poe is taken to the hospital and pronounced dead of causes still unknown. He is buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore
