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Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, his father left the family and his mother died when he was young, he became an orphan that was adopted by John Allan.
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Rosalie Poe was the third child of Elizabeth and David Poe. Her parentage has been debated, from only being a half-sibling of Edgar, to being an adopted orphan unrelated entirely.
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His mother, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe, died of tuberculosis, when Edgar was only two.
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His first work was a collection of poetry called Tamerlane and Other Poems, Poe didn't credit himself by name, instead referring to himself as "a Bostonian".
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After his first work was published, Poe enlisted in the U.S. military. He used the name Edgar A. Perry and lied about his age, he rose to the rank of sergeant officer. After his foster mother died, he left to return home.
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William Henry Leonard Poe, Edgar's older brother, dies of tuberculosis at 24
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Poe obtained a license to marry his cousin Virginia on September 22, 1835, when he was 26, and she was 13. On May 16, 1836, he and Virginia Clemm held a Presbyterian wedding ceremony at their Richmond boarding house, with a witness falsely attesting Clemm's age as 21
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It's the only complete novel written by Poe. The story starts out as a fairly conventional adventure at sea, but it becomes increasingly strange and hard to classify.
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The publisher was willing to print the collection based on the recent success of Poe's story, regardless, they refused to pay Poe royalties.
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The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references.
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It's been debated over if his wife's untimely death affected Poe's later, more depressing works.
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On October 3, 1849, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, He was sent to a hospital, but due to his incoherent nature, he couldn't explain what caused this to happen. All medical records have been lost, including his death certificate.
