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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. -
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. -
Poe writes his first poem
Poe writes a two-line poem: “Last night, with many cares & toils oppres‘d, Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest.” This is Poe’s earliest surviving poem. It was never published during his lifetime, nor used as part of a longer poem. -
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." Shortly after, his first book—a poetry collection entitled Tamerlane and Other Poems—is published. The author is listed only as "A Bostonian." -
Poe’s older brother dies.
Edgar's older brother Henry dies of either tuberculosis or cholera at the age of 27. -
Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
Poe at age 26, married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. 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 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 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. Docking on land, they encounter hostile black-skinned natives before escaping back to the ocean. The novel ends abruptly as Pym and Peters contine to the South Pole. -
Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.
It was published by the Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard. The publisher was willing to print the anthology based on the recent success of Poe's story "The Fall of the House of Usher." 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. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. -
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
The death of Poe 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. 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 got in his conditon.
