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Birth of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Poe was born to the two poor actors, Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe, Jr. -
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Edgar Allan Poe
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Poe is Adopted
"Edgar was taken in by the family of John and Frances Allan, a well-to-do Richmond couple unable to have children of their own. He added his foster family's name to his own, becoming Edgar Allan Poe" (Shmoop). -
Poe's 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'" (Shmoop).
"Poe revitalized American literature, producing perfectly crafted stories and poems" (Shmoop). -
Poe Joins the Army
"Poe enlisted in the U.S. Army under the name "Edgar A. Perry." He did well as a soldier, rising to the rank of sergeant major. He also continued to write. A book of his poetry was published anonymously" (Shmoop). -
Poe Goes to West Point
"Poe is appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. A few months later he publishes his second book of poetry, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems" (Shmoop).
He is kicked out 2 years later. -
Poe Marries
"Poe—now 27 years old—marries his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, at a ceremony in Richmond, Virginia" (Shmoop). -
Poe Starts Writing A Lot
"Poe's first novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is published" (Shmoop).
"Poe is hired as an editor at Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, a job he holds until June 1840" (Shmoop).
"Poe's story collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is published in two volumes" (Shmoop).
This happened over a time of three years. -
Poe Creates a New Genre
"Poe begins as an editor at Graham's Magazine, where he works until May 1842. The magazine runs Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," the first-ever entry in a genre now known as the detective story" (Shmoop).
"while creating whole new genres (we have Poe to thank for the detective story, for example)" (Shmoop). -
Poe Moves Up In Life
"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" (Shmoop). Which then fails a year later. -
Poe's Wife Dies
"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" (Shmoop). -
Poe's Death
"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" (Shmoop).