Edgar Allan Poe

Overview:

• Legal Name: Poe, Edgar Allan
• Place of Birth: Boston, MA, USA
• Date of Birth: January 19, 1809
• Date of Death: October 07, 1849

Notes:

Both of Poe's parents were members of the Boston Theatre. His father had served as Deputy Quartermaster General of Baltimore during the Revolution. Edgar Poe's parents separated, and upon the death of his mother Elizabeth in 1811 in Richmond, he was adopted by Mrs. John Allan, and was known as Edgar Allan. He entered the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1826, but was forced to leave due to debt. He moved to Boston, where he published his first collection of poetry Tamerlane and Other Poems. He served in the Army 1827-1829, after which he published his second collection of poetry Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems. He entered West Point in 1830, lasting until 1831, when he published his third collection of poetry Poems. In 1833 Poe won a short-story contest offered by the Baltimore Saturday Visiter with "The Manuscript Found in a Bottle", which led to a short-lived position as editor of the Southern Literary Mesenger in 1835.

Resources:

• Wikipedia article on Edgar Allan Poe