home

=Edgar Allen Poe=

=Birth and Childhood=

=
Actress Eliza Poe gave birth to Edgar Allen Poe on Janurary 19, 1809 in Boston. When was Poe was just three years old, both of his parents died. He was put into an orphanage and later adopted by John Allen and his wife. Allen was a wealthy tobacco merchant. Poe's siblings did not go with Poe, but instead got sent elsewhere. *=====

Education and Military Experience
In 1815, Poe went to England with the Allens for about years and while there, he attended school in London and Stoke-Newington. In 1821, Poe went to Richmond and continued schooling there. While there, he seemed to really enjoy Latin, poetry, acting and swimming. In 1826, Poe went on to become a student at Virginia University and he excelled in both ancient and mordern languages. He left the school because his step father refused to pay Poe's gambling debts. Poe had many unpaid gambling debt and authorities were asking for his arrest, so he joined the U.S. Army as "Edgar A Perry". He was at West Point Academy for eight months and expelled in February of 1831.

Adult Life
Poe was secretly engaged to Sarah Elmira Roster in 1825, but never married her. After being expelled from West Point, Poe moved to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter, Virginia. Virginia, at the age of thirteen, married Poe in Richmond on May 16, 1836. Three years later in June of 1839, Poe became the assistant editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and a year later, he had "The Fall of the House of Usher" published. But disputes with the editor of Burton's caused Poe to leave in May. During February of 1841, he became the editor of Grahm's Magazine and later during the year, he had published "Murders in the Rue Morgue", which was the first modern detective story. Over the next few years, Poe published many more stories and poems. But on January 30, 1847, Virginia died of tuberculosis. The death of his wife caused Poe to go into a deep depression and he turned to alcohol again because of it. Most of his works after had been about his wife.

Historical Context
There are many historical events that ccured between 1809 and 1849. These include:
 * 1812 - The War of 1812, which included the British and the US
 * 1814 - The British set the white house on fire
 * 1815 - Napolean was defeated at Waterloo
 * 1820 - The Missouri Compromise balanced the number of free states
 * 1821 - Peru and Mexico gained independance from Spain
 * 1823 - The Monroe doctrine was issued
 * 1824 - John Quincey Adams was elected president
 * 1825 - The Erie Canal was completed
 * 1831 - Nat Turner lead a slave rebellion
 * 1833 - Slavery was abolished by British empire
 * 1836 - Martin Van Buren was president
 * 1837 - Queen Victoria became the queen of Britain
 * 1840 - William Henry Harrison was elected for president
 * 1844 - James Polk became president
 * 1846 - A war with Mexico began
 * 1848 - The war with Mexico ended
 * 1849 - The California Gold Rush began
 * 1849 - Edgar Allen Poe died

Fame and Fortune
People hated Poe, everyone had thought he was a loser. From the time he was born, he was always cast off somewhere else. His mother was one of the only people that loved him, but she died when he was very young. He was sent to live with his grandma, who also loved him, but her husband hated him and was cruel to him. He moved in with his aun and married his thirteen-year-old cousin. That was one of the only times he was truely happy. Though his unhappiness made him quite a popular writer, he only made fourteen dollars off of his writing. After "The Raven" was published, he made a little bit of money, however, all of the town's children would follow him around town and mock him, calling "nevermore!" as he walked down the street. Later, people considered Poe the "Father of Detective Fiction" because he wrote the first detective story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". He created the first recurring detective character, C. August Dupin, who appeared in that story and "The Mystery of Marie Roget", as well as "The Purlioned Letter".

Mysterious Death
There are many theories on how Poe died, but his death is still a mystery. Some people believe he died because of alcohol abuse, but others believe he died from being beaten, from epilepsy, from diabetes, from rabies, from murder, or from carbon monxide poisoning. His last words are believed to be "May God have mercy on my poor soul". Before his death, Poe was engaged to Sarah Elmira (Royster) Shelton. He left Richmond for New York on September 27, 1849 and was found delirious in Baltimore on October 3. He was pronounced dead on October 7.

Alyssa Sheehy English II 03.18.12.