Edgar Allan Poe.Edgar Allan Poe.

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Poe was born in Boston on January 9th,1809. His father left his family shortly afterwards. When he was just two, his mother died of tuberculosis. Her friends, the Allens, adopted him. He attends prestigious schools, and eventually is shipped off to the University of Virginia. However, he is soon engulfed in gambling debts and John Allan refuses to pay them off, so he drops out and joins the Army in 1827. He returns home in 1829, when Mrs. Allan, who was like a mother to him, dies of tuberculosis. He then applies to West Point with Mr. Allan sponsoring him. In 1834, John Allan dies and leaves Poe nothing in his will.

Two years later, Poe marries his thirteen-year-old cousin, Virginia. They live happily enough, though Poe is barely making a living as a writer. Sadly, his wife died of tuberculosis on January 30th, 1847.

In 1849, Poe goes out of town to visit a friend in Philadelphia. He then goes to Richmond and stays in a tavern. After a few months, when he’s heading back to Philly, he accidentally boards the wrong train and end up in Baltimore.

A few days later, he is found unconscious in the street. He dies in the hospital.

There is much controversy surrounding Poe’s death. Some believe his alcoholism was his downfall, though his drinking was not so bad that it could cause his liver to fail. Some think he simply fell ill.

One common theory is that he was “cooped” by a political gang, seeing as he was found on election night, and near Ryan’s Fourth Ward Polls. These gangs would rough up their victims and force them to drink excessively, and then be made to go from poll to poll, voting over and over. Sometimes they would even make the person change clothes, so that they could vote multiple times at the same poll – which would explain why Poe wasn’t in his own clothing.

Poe had a weak heart, and surely wouldn’t survive such treatment.

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Poe created many great works in his time. Here are a few of them.

Stories.Stories.

~ The Balloon Hoax. (1844)~ The Balloon Hoax. (1844)

~ Hop-Frog. (1845)~ Hop-Frog. (1845)

~ The Imp of the Perverse. (1850)~ The Imp of the Perverse. (1850)

~ Some Words With a Mummy. (1850)~ Some Words With a Mummy. (1850)

~ The Spectacles. (1850)~ The Spectacles. (1850)

~ The Tell-Tale Heart. (1850)~ The Tell-Tale Heart. (1850)

Poems.Poems.~ The Conqueror Worm. (1843)~ The Conqueror Worm. (1843)

~ Eldorado. (1849)~ Eldorado. (1849)

~ For Annie. (1850)~ For Annie. (1850)

~ The Raven. (1845)~ The Raven. (1845)

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Works Works Cited.Cited.“Edgar Allan Poe Timeline.” Poestories.com. <http://poestories.com/timeline.php>

(18th October 2010).

The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. “The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe.” The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. <http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poedeath.htm> (18th October 2010).

“Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe.” Poestories.com. <http://poestories.com/poetry.php> (18th October 2010).

“Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe.” Poestories.com. <http://poestories.com/stories.php> (18th October 2010).

Jillian Snyder.Jillian Snyder.