Edgar Allen Poe Timeline

By jadenrichardson1

  • Edgar Allan Poe is Born

    Edgar Allan Poe is Born
    American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered 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 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.

    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.

    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 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.

    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 marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm.
    now 27 years old—marries his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, at a ceremony in Richmond, Virginia.

  • 1838 Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

    1838 Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
    Poe's first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published.

  • Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.

    Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.
    Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes.

  • 1845 Poe publishes the poem, The Raven.

    1845 Poe publishes the poem, The Raven.
    Poe publishes the poem , The Raven in the New York Evening Mirror. It is wildly successful, bringing the writer the fame and fortune that have long eluded him. He soon becomes editor and owner of a magazine called the Broadway Journal, a doomed enterprise that is already in debt when Poe takes over.

  • 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'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.

    Edgar Allen 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.