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Edgar Allan Poe is Born
Edgar Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. That makes him Capricorn, on the cusp of Aquarius. His parents were David and Elizabeth Poe. David was born in Baltimore on July 18, 1784. Elizabeth Arnold came to the U.S. from England in 1796 and married David Poe after her first husband died in 1805. They had three children, Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie. -
Poe's Sister is born
Rosalie Poe (often called Rosie or Rose) is born in Norfolk, Virginia. -
Poe's Parents Die
Elizabeth Arnold Poe, Edgar’s mother, dies in Richmond, Virginia. Her remains are buried at Old St. John’s Church in old Richmond. (The exact cause of her death is unknown other than some illness, perhaps pneumonia. Suggestions that she died from tuberculosis are unfounded. The location of her death is discussed in some detail by A. H. Quinn, pp. 732-741.) David Poe, Edgar’s father, apparently dies within a few days of his wife. (According to W. F. Gill, this would be Dec. 10.) -
Poe writes his first poem
Poe writes a two-line poem: “— Poetry - Edgar A. Poe — 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 United States Army under the name Edgar A. Perry. -
Poe's older brother dies
William Henry Leonard Poe, Edgar’s older brother, dies in Baltimore, probably of tuberculosis or cholera. (Discounting the possiblity of cholera, it has been noted that the disease did not arrive in the United States until 1832.) -
Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
Edgar (aged 27) and Virginia (aged 13) marry in Richmond, Virginia. The ceremony is officiated by the Reverend Amasa Convers, a Presbyterian minister who was also editor of the Southern Religious Telegraph. -
Poe writes his first novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is published in New York by Harper & Brothers. -
Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes
Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (two volumes) is published in Philadelphia by Lea and Blanchard. -
Poe publishes the poem, The raven
Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven” is published in the New York Evening Mirror, where it becomes a sensational hit. It is widely reprinted and brings Poe considerable praise and fame, although financially he receives only about $15 for the initial printing. (Many stories have been told of the writing of “The Raven.” Indeed, the list of people who claimed to be present at its infancy seemed to grow with each reminiscence published after Poe’s death. Poe’s explanation of the poem’s creation. -
Poe's wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis at their home in the Bronx
Virginia Poe dies of tuberculosis in Fordham, New York. She is entombed on February 2 in the Valentine family vault in the Dutch Reformed Church at Fordham. (The bed in which she died may still be seen in this house. The tops of the posts at the foot of the bed are cut off so that it will fit under the sloping roof.) -
Edgar Allan Poe Dies
Edgar Allan Poe dies in Baltimore in the Washington University Hospital (later Church Home and Hospital).
