Edgar Allan Poe Events

1809 Jan 19 Edgar Allan Poe Is Born
No writer has the ability to evoke a sense of horror and dread more effectively than Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe's parents were actors. Their b...
1811 Edgar Poe's mother dies and he is adopted by John Allan
His father abandoned their family in 1810,[6] and his mother died a year later from consumption. Poe was then taken into the home of John Allan, a successful Scottish merchant in Richmond...
1826 Feb Edgar Allan Poe attends the University of Virginia
Poe attended the University of Virginia (1826-27), but was expelled for not paying his gambling debts. This led to quarrel with Allan, who refused to pay the debts. Allan later disowned h...
1827 May 27 Edgar Allan Poe joins US Army
Unable to support himself, on May 27, 1827, Poe enlisted in the United States Army as a private. Using the name "Edgar A. Perry", he claimed he was 22 years old even though he was 18. He ...
1830 Jul 1 Edgar Allan Poe enrolls at West Point
Frances Allan died on February 28, 1829, and Poe visited the day after her burial. Perhaps softened by his wife's death, John Allan agreed to support Poe's attempt to be discharged in ord...
1831 Feb 8 Edgar Allan Poe dismissed from West Point
Poe traveled to West Point and matriculated as a cadet on July 1, 1830. In October 1830, John Allan married his second wife, Louisa Patterson. The marriage, and bitter quarrels with Poe o...
1833 Oct 19 After winning a contest Edgar Allan Poe's "MS. Found in a Bottle" is published
"MS. Found in a Bottle" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The plot follows an unnamed narrator at sea who finds himself in a series of harrowing circumstances. As he ne...
1835 Sep 22 Edgar Allan Poe marries his cousin, Virginia Clemm
Marriage plans were confirmed and Poe returned to Baltimore to file for a marriage license on September 22, 1835. The couple may have been quietly married as well, though accounts are unc...
1835 Dec Edgar Allan Poe Takes a Job as Editor of the Southern Literary Messenger
December 1835 Southern Literary Messenger Poe takes a job as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger magazine. He publishes critical reviews of other writers' work as well as his own ...
1838 Jul Edgar Allan Poe Publishes First Novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym"
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym who ...
1839 "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque" Edgar Allan Poe's first volume of short stories is published
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is a collection of previously-published short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. It was published by the Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard and released in...
1839 Jul Edgar Allan Poe Becomes Assistant Editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
July 1839 Magazine Editor Poe is hired as an editor at Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, a job he holds until June 1840.
1841 Apr Edgar Allan Poe Becomes the Editor at Graham's Magazine
April 1841 Editing Again 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...
1844 Apr Edgar Allan Poe Moves to New York and Works for the New York Evening Mirror
One evening in January 1842, Virginia showed the first signs of consumption, now known as tuberculosis, while singing and playing the piano. Poe described it as breaking a blood vessel in...
1844 Nov "Thou Art The Man" Is Published
"Thou Art the Man," originally titled "Thou Art the Man!," is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1844. It is an early experiment in detective fiction, like "The Murders ...
1845 Jan 29 Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is published
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphe...
1847 Jan 30 Virginia Clemm Poe Dies
On January 29, 1847, Poe wrote to Marie Louise Shew: "My poor Virginia still lives, although failing fast and now suffering much pain."Virginia died the following day, January 30, after f...
1848 Nov Edgar Allan Poe Proposes to Poet Sarah Whitman but Engagement is Called Off
November 1848 Engagement Poe proposes to a poet named Sarah Helen Whitman, who agrees on the condition that he quit drinking. Poe can't live up to the promise, and Whitman calls off the...
1849 Aug Edgar Allan Poe Becomes Engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster
August 1849 Engaged Again Poe travels to Richmond and convinces his childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster Shelton, to become his fiancée. He joins the Sons of Temperance, an organization...
1849 Oct 7 Edgar Allan Poe dies
On October 3, 1849, Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore delirious, "in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker....