Edgar Allan Poe
Who Was Edgar Allan Poe?
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor in the 19th century best known for his evocative short stories and poems that captured the interest of readers worldwide. His imaginative storytelling and tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the modern detective story. Many of Poe’s works, including “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” became literary classics. Some aspects of Poe’s life, like his literature, are shrouded in mystery, and the lines between fact and fiction have been blurred substantially since his death in at age
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Edgar Allan Poe
BORN: January 19,
DIED: October 7,
BIRTHPLACE: Boston, Massachusetts
SPOUSE: Virginia Clemm Poe ()
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn
Early Life
Edgar Allan Poe was born Edgar Poe on January 19, , in Boston. Edgar never really knew his biological parents: Elizabeth Arnold Poe, a British actor, and David Poe Jr., an actor who was born in Baltimore. His father left the family early in Edgar’s life, and his mother died from tuberculosis when he was only 2.
Separated from his brother, William, and sister, Rosal
Edgar Allan Poe’s Biography
At the age of 17, Edgar traveled to Charlottesville to attend the University of Virginia (UVA). He left behind a fiancé, Elmira Royster, who promised to wait until after graduation to marry. Edgar almost immediately ran into trouble at UVA. Although he was a talented student, he had arrived at college with only $ for tuition. UVA’s tuition was three times that, so he decided to gamble to raise the rest of the funds. Instead, Edgar generated $2, worth of debt. After just a couple months at UVA, he returned to Richmond disappointed and continued to feud with his foster father. To make matters worse, Elmira had become engaged to someone else. While Edgar was off at UVA, Elmira’s father had intercepted Edgar’s letters and steered her in the direction of another man who promised to be a successful businessman and a respectable citizen, something Edgar could not promise.
Poe then moved to Boston. He didn’t stay long, but during that time he published his first book of poetry “Tamerlane and Other Poems” under the pseudonym “A Bostonian.” When Poe was 18 he joined the army under the name “Edgar Perry.” Poe did exceptionally well in the army, rising to the
Edgar Allan Poe Biography
Born: January 19,
Boston, Massachusetts
Died: October 7,
Baltimore, Maryland
American poet and writer
One of America&#x;s major writers, Edgar Allan Poe was far ahead of his time in his vision of a special area of human experience&#x;the &#x;inner world&#x; of dreams and the imagination. He wrote fiction, poetry, and criticism and also worked as a magazine editor.
Orphaned at three
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, , the son of David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Poe, both professional actors. By the time he was three, Edgar, his older brother, and his younger sister were orphans; their father deserted the family, and then their mother died. The children were each sent to different families to live. Edgar went to the Richmond, Virginia, home of John and Frances Allan, whose name Poe was to take later as his own middle name. The Allans were wealthy, and though they never adopted Poe, they treated him like a son, made sure he was educated in private academies, and took him to England for a five-year stay. Mrs. Allan, at least, showed considerable affection toward him.
As Edgar entered his teena
Editions and Collections:
- The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, with A Memoir by Rufus Wilmot Griswold and Notices of his Life and Genius by N. P. Willis and J. R. Lowell, 4 volumes, edited by Griswold (New York: J. S. Redfield, ).
- The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 10 volumes, edited by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry (Chicago: Stone & Kimball, ).
- The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 17 volumes, edited by James A. Harrison (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, ).
- Selections from the Critical Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by F. C. Prescott (New York: Holt, ); republished, with new preface by J. Lasley Dameron and new introduction by Eric W. Carlson (New York: Gordian Press, ).
- Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 3 volumes, edited by Thomas Ollive Mabbott (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ).
- Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Burton R. Pollin, volume 1, The Imaginary Voyages: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, The Unparalleled Adventure of one Hans Pfaall, The Journal of Julius Rodman (Boston: G. K. Hall, ); volume
Biographies you may also like
Edgar allan poe iv biography Edgar Allan Poe Biography. Early Life and Family Background; Education; Career and Literary Contributions; Personal Struggles and Death; Legacy; Edgar Allan Poe’s Most .
Singer jack johnson biography Jack Hody Johnson is an American singer-songwriter, primarily in the soft rock and acoustic pop genres. Johnson has reached number one on the Billboard chart with his albums Sing-A .
Archytas of tarentum biography of donald He was the leader of one of the most powerful Greek city-states in the first half of the fourth century BC. Unfortunately he is similar to most important Greek intellectuals of the fifth and Missing: donald.
Aidan chambers biography of alberta Aidan Chambers (b. ) A constant reader, Aidan Chambers was for eleven years during the s and 60s a teacher of English and drama in secondary schools, seven of them as a Missing: alberta.
Haliru santoro biography of christopher columbus Christopher Columbus, an ambitious mariner of Italian origin, undertook four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean between and , each one etching a significant Missing: haliru santoro.
Olesya sudzilovskaya biography of christopher columbus Christopher Columbus is the famous explorer credited with finding the New World. While some will point to Leif Ericson as the first, his discovery was not made public and, .