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Edgar Allan Poe is Born
Edgar Poe was born to Elizabeth and David Poe Jr. in Boston Massachusetts. He was their second son. -
Poe's Sister is Born
Edgar's mother gives birth to a daughter: Rosalie. Around the same time Poe's father deserts his family leaving Elizabeth alone with three young children. -
Poe's Parents Die
Elizabeth falls ill with tuberculosis and dies on December 8th, 1811. Poe's father also fell ill with tuberculosis and died the same year. This led Poe and his siblings orphans. They are taken in by John and Frances Allan. -
Poe Writes his First Poem
At 15, Edgar Allan Poe writes 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
Poe racked up debt via gambling and when John Allan refused to pay to settle the debt, Poe left and moved to Baltimore in March of 1827. Shortly after, in May, Poe enlists in the Army as "Edgar A. Perry." His first book - a poetry collection entitled "Tamerlane and Other Poems"- is published under the author "A Bostonian" around the same time. -
Poe's Older Brother Dies
Edgar's older brother Henry dies on August first of tuberculosis or cholera at the age of 24. Poe successfully gets himself kicked out of West Point and publishes several anonymous short stories and another book of poems in this year. -
Poe gets Married
Poe - now 27 years old - marries his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm, at a ceremony in Richmond, Virginia. He then takes his new wife and mother-in-law to New York and then to Philadelphia. -
Poe Writes his First Novel
"The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" is published. It does not include Poe's name but is written as if by Pym himself. -
Poe's Story Collection is Published
"Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque" was a collection of already published short stories by Poe. It was published in two volumes. -
Poe Publishes the poem, "The Raven"
"The Raven" was published in the New York Evening Mirror and was really successful. He soon became the editor and owner of a magazine called Broadway Journal. By the time he had come to ownership the business was already in debt, in 1846 the magazine closes due to financial problems. -
Poe's Wife Dies
Poe's wife Virginia died of tuberculosis at their home in New York. He was so heartbroken and in such a down state that his friends thought he was going insane. Her death leads him to alcoholism. -
Edgar Allan Poe Dies
Poe was found unconscious in a gutter in Baltimore. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead of unknown causes leaving behind a fiancee.. He is buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland. His body was moved to a larger monument in 1875.
