 Edgar Poe was born in Boston, USA on January 19 1809, the son of travelling stage actors David Poe and Elizabeth Hopkins.
His parents both died under mysterious circumstances within a few days of each other in 1811, and the young Poe was taken into the family of John and Frances Allan of Richmond and christened John Allan Poe.
In 1815 the Allan's moved to England and Edgar went to a public boarding school in London. In 1820 they returned to the USA, and in 1826, Poe entered the University of Virginia in Charlottsville, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson.
Following an argument over gambling debts with his family, Poe decided to join the army. While in the army he began privately publishing booklets of poetry which were well received. After applying to West Point, he got himself court-martialed by refusing to attend classes, and devoted himself to writing after that.
In 1835 he became editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. In 1837 he married and moved to New York and later to Philadelphia, all the while, working as an editor for various magazines and publishing his own works as well.
Poe also met Charles Dickens who toured the USA in 1842. Dickens was greatly impressed that Poe was able to guess the ending of Barnaby Rudge, which was being published in serial form at the time.
In 1843, Poe published the pirate adventure The Gold Bug in a Philadelphia newspaper. The story was so popular that a second printing of the newspaper was required and Poe received national attention for his works.
Poe's wife died from tuberculosis in New York in 1847 and Poe began to drink heavily. He died in Baltimore in 1850. He was inducted into the New York Hall of Fame in 1910. [edit]
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