Poe'sThe life of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allen 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 considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
Jan 19,1809 – Born in Boston, Poe was the second child of Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and David Poe, Jr, both actors.
Dec 10, 1810 – Sister (Rosalie) is born
Poe's father abandons the family
His mother falls ill with tuberculosis
Dec 8, 1811 – Mother dies of tuberculosis
David, having left the family, also dies of tuberculosis
John and Frances Allan take Edgar in as their own
Jun 22, 1815 – Edgar enrols at a school in England
Jun 27, 1820 – The Allans return to Virginia
Nov 1824 – 15 year old Edgar writes his first poem “Last night, with many cares and toils oppres’d / Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest”
Mar 1827 – Edgar gets into gambling, and soon owes well over $2000 in debt
John Allan refuses to give Edgar money to pay off the debt, so Edgar ditches college and moves to Baltimore, where he moves in with relatives.
May 26, 1827 – Edgar enlists in the U.S. army under the name “Edgar A. Perry”
Poe published his first book, “Tamerlane and Other Poems”, under the alias “A Bostonian”
Feb 28, 1829 – Frances Allan (foster mother) dies
Apr 15, 1829 – Edgar is appointed to the U.S Military Academy at West Point
Published his second book “Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems”
1831 – Poe gets kicked out of the military
He publishes several anonymous short stories and another book of poems
Aug 1, 1831 – Edgar’s older brother dies at age 27
Dec 1835 – Edgar gets a job as an editor of Southern Literary Messenger
May 16, 1836 – 27 year old Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
1837 – Poe moves his new wife and mother-in-law to New York and then to Philadelphia
Jul 1838 – Poe’s first novel “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” is published
Jul 1839 – Edgar is hired as editor at Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine
June 1840 – Edgar quits his job
1840 – Poe’s story collection “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” is published in 2 volumes
Apr 1841 – Poe begins a job as an editor at Graham’s Magazine
The magazine runs Poe’s short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”
Jan 1842 – Virginia develops symptoms of untreated tuberculosis
May 1842 – Poe quits his job
Nov 1842 – Poe begins delivering poetry lectures
Apr 1844 – Poe, his wife, and her mother move to New York City
Poe gets a job at the New York Evening Mirror
1845 – Poe publishes his most popular poem and claim to fame, “The Raven”
Poe becomes editor and owner of “Broadway Journal” magazine, which was already in debt
Jan 3, 1846 – The Broadway Journal folds due to serious financial issues
Jan 30, 1847 – Poe’s wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis
Poe descends down the path of alcoholism
Nov 1848 – Poe proposes to poet Sarah Helen Whitman, who agrees on the condition that he quit drinking.
Edgar can’t quit, Whitman calls off the engagement a month later
Aug 1849 – Poe convinces childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster Shelton, to become his fiancée.
Poe joins the Sons of Temperance, an organization that forbids drinking (similar to alcoholics anonymous)
Oct 7, 1849 – Poe was found unconscious in a Baltimore gutter and taken to hospital
Pronounced dead, unknown causes
Buried at Westminer Presbyterian Church in Baltimore
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Jan 19,1809 – Born in Boston, Poe was the second child of Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and David Poe, Jr, both actors.
Dec 10, 1810 – Sister (Rosalie) is born
Poe's father abandons the family
His mother falls ill with tuberculosis
Dec 8, 1811 – Mother dies of tuberculosis
David, having left the family, also dies of tuberculosis
John and Frances Allan take Edgar in as their own
Jun 22, 1815 – Edgar enrols at a school in England
Jun 27, 1820 – The Allans return to Virginia
Nov 1824 – 15 year old Edgar writes his first poem “Last night, with many cares and toils oppres’d / Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest”
Mar 1827 – Edgar gets into gambling, and soon owes well over $2000 in debt
John Allan refuses to give Edgar money to pay off the debt, so Edgar ditches college and moves to Baltimore, where he moves in with relatives.
May 26, 1827 – Edgar enlists in the U.S. army under the name “Edgar A. Perry”
Poe published his first book, “Tamerlane and Other Poems”, under the alias “A Bostonian”
Feb 28, 1829 – Frances Allan (foster mother) dies
Apr 15, 1829 – Edgar is appointed to the U.S Military Academy at West Point
Published his second book “Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems”
1831 – Poe gets kicked out of the military
He publishes several anonymous short stories and another book of poems
Aug 1, 1831 – Edgar’s older brother dies at age 27
Dec 1835 – Edgar gets a job as an editor of Southern Literary Messenger
May 16, 1836 – 27 year old Poe marries his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm
1837 – Poe moves his new wife and mother-in-law to New York and then to Philadelphia
Jul 1838 – Poe’s first novel “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym” is published
Jul 1839 – Edgar is hired as editor at Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine
June 1840 – Edgar quits his job
1840 – Poe’s story collection “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque” is published in 2 volumes
Apr 1841 – Poe begins a job as an editor at Graham’s Magazine
The magazine runs Poe’s short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”
Jan 1842 – Virginia develops symptoms of untreated tuberculosis
May 1842 – Poe quits his job
Nov 1842 – Poe begins delivering poetry lectures
Apr 1844 – Poe, his wife, and her mother move to New York City
Poe gets a job at the New York Evening Mirror
1845 – Poe publishes his most popular poem and claim to fame, “The Raven”
Poe becomes editor and owner of “Broadway Journal” magazine, which was already in debt
Jan 3, 1846 – The Broadway Journal folds due to serious financial issues
Jan 30, 1847 – Poe’s wife Virginia dies of tuberculosis
Poe descends down the path of alcoholism
Nov 1848 – Poe proposes to poet Sarah Helen Whitman, who agrees on the condition that he quit drinking.
Edgar can’t quit, Whitman calls off the engagement a month later
Aug 1849 – Poe convinces childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster Shelton, to become his fiancée.
Poe joins the Sons of Temperance, an organization that forbids drinking (similar to alcoholics anonymous)
Oct 7, 1849 – Poe was found unconscious in a Baltimore gutter and taken to hospital
Pronounced dead, unknown causes
Buried at Westminer Presbyterian Church in Baltimore
Think you know all about Poe now?
Try your hand at this quiz!