Poe, Edgar Allan
Born: January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts
Died: October 7, 1849, in Baltimore, Maryland
Vocations: Novelist, Critic, Short Story Writer, Poet
Geographic Connection to Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
Keywords: Philadelphia; Southern Literary Messenger; United States Military Academy; University of Virginia
Abstract: One of the first American literary figures to gain lasting acclaim in the wider world, Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809. Plagued with the personal iniquities of alcoholism and gambling, Poe seldom settled anywhere for any great length of time. One of his longer stops was six years that he spent in Philadelphia, creating some of his greatest short stories, including ’The Masque of the Red Death.’ He died in a semi-conscious state in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1849.
Biography:
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. His parents were lawyer-turned-actor David Poe, and English actress Elizabeth Poe. Poe was unofficially adopted by John Allen, a tobacco merchant, and Francis Allen in 1811 when both his parents died. Poe married one of his cousins, Virginia Clemm, on May 16, 1836.
Poe attended the Manor House School in Stoke Newington, England, from 1815 to 1820. He then attended the University of Virginia for one year in 1826, but a large gambling debt prevented Poe from returning to the university. During this time, John Allen intervened in and broke off Poe’s engagement to Sarah Elmira Royster; soon after, Poe enlisted into the army. Poe published his first work, Tamerlane and Other Poems, with his own money in 1827. Allen arranged Poe’s release from the army and had him appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he studied from 1830 to 1831. Poe was dismissed from West Point for disobeying orders, but with funding from fellow cadets he was able to make his second publication, Poems by Edgar A. Poe, Second Edition, in 1831. After moving in with Maria and Virginia Clemm, his aunt and cousin in Baltimore, Poe began publishing to support himself. He moved to Richmond, Virginia, and in 1836, he married Virginia Clemm when she was almost fourteen years old. From 1835 to 1836 he then undertook his first editing position on the staff of the Southern Literary Messenger, where he also published many criticisms and reviews. After withdrawing from this position because of friction with his employer, Poe desired fame as a journalist. He moved to New York City in 1837, to Philadelphia in 1838, and back to New York City in 1844, during which time he worked as an editor for various respected magazines, including Burton’s Gentlemen’s Magazine and Graham’s, while he published his own works.
During his lifetime, Poe did not receive much in the way of critical acclaim; however, he is often now considered the architect of the modern short story, creator of the modern detective story, and father of the horror genre. He is widely known for the brilliance of his poetry, prose, and critical theories. Poe is famous for his ability to explore the heart of darkness, yet represent the magic of love. Irish author and friend of Poe, Mayne Reid, felt that Poe’s six-year stay in Philadelphia was his most creative and prolific time. Here he published great works such as “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.”
In September 1849, Poe arrived in Baltimore in a semi-conscious state. He never regained consciousness and died four days later, unable to explain what had happened to him in the last days of his life.
Works:
Poetry
Short Stories
Sources:
This biography was prepared by Aaron Bennett.