Today in History: Edgar Allan Poe was born
After attending school in England, Poe entered the University of Virginia in 1826.
On this day in 1809, poet, author and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
By the time he was three years old, both of Poe’s parents had died, leaving him in the care of his godfather, John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant. After fighting with Allan over his heavy gambling debts, he was forced to leave the University of Virginia after only eight months.
Poe then served two years in the US Army and won an appointment to West Point Academy. After another falling-out, Allan cut him off completely. Poe was then dismissed from the Academy for rules infractions. Dark, handsome and brooding, Poe had published three works of poetry by that time, none of which had received much attention.
In 1836, while working as an editor at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, Virginia, Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. He also completed his first full-length work of fiction, Arthur Gordon Pym, published in 1838.
Poe lost his job at the Messenger due to his heavy drinking, and the couple moved to Philadelphia, where Poe worked as an editor at Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and Graham’s Magazine. He became known for his direct and incisive criticism, as well as for dark horror stories like The Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-Tale Heart.
Also around this time, Poe began writing mystery stories, including The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Purloined Letter – works that would earn him a reputation as the father of the modern detective story. In 1844, the Poe couple moved to New York City. He scored a spectacular success the following year with his poem The Raven.
While Poe was working to launch The Broadway Journal – which soon failed – his wife Virginia fell ill and died of tuberculosis in early 1847. His wife’s death drove Poe even deeper into alcoholism and drug abuse. After becoming involved with several women, Poe returned to Richmond in 1849 and got engaged to an old flame.
Before the wedding, however, Poe died suddenly. Though circumstances are somewhat unclear, it appeared he began drinking at a party in Baltimore and disappeared, only to be found incoherent in a gutter three days later. Taken to the hospital, he died on 7 October 1849, at age 40.
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