Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is one of most known Author’s of America. He was a poet, writer, critic, and editor that Many of his short stories and poems haunted the minds of the readers. He’s even credited with giving birth to the detective story. He’s even inspired many like Alfred Hitchcock.His poems and stories have even been adapted into film and T.V. Poe even wrote a poem that the Baltimore Ravens were named after.
Born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, but was raised in Richmond Virginia. It’s not surprising that Poe’s young life was not shy from death at an early age.Before he was 3 years old both of his parents had died, his first love died when he was 15 and his foster mother when he was 20.
Poe did not know his parents and was separated from his brothers and sisters after their mother had died. He was sent to live with John and Frances Valentine Allan who were tobacco merchants. They never officially adopted Poe.He had went to good school and grew up in a good environment. But John and Poe did not get along, but Frances and him did. John did not like the fact that Poe wasn’t following in the family business and wanted to do literature.
When Poe was 6 he was sent for schooling in England. He returned to America when he was 11.
By the time Poe was 13 he was considered a prolific poet. Both his foster father and head master tried to discourage him. Neither could as he focused on his poetry. It was rumored that Poe even wrote poetry on the back of his foster father's paperwork.
By the time he was an adult Poe did not mend his relationship with his father. Poe had gotten into the University of Virginia in 1826. Poe was a great student who excelled in his classes, but did not get enough money from Allan to pay for everything. In order to help Poe turned to gambling, but it backfired causing him to go into debt. This was also the time that Poe started to drink excessively.
When he returned home he found that his fiance Sarah Elmira Royster was engaged to someone else. This made Poe decide to move to Boston and join the military. In 1827 Poe published his first poem book called Tamerlane and Other Poems. In 1829 he published his second collection of poems called Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems.
In 1829 Poe was honorably discharged from the military. He had acquired the label regimental sergeant major. Poe’s father refused to give him the money to stay a cadet, and when Poe began to ignore his duties and violating regulations the military discharged him. Some think that he did it to spite his father.
He then went to New York City where he published his third poem book Poems in 1831. Poe then moved to Baltimore to live with his Aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia. Poe was not rich and could not sustain himself on his own. Even after his father’s death in 1834 he wasn’t left with anything extravagant. In 1835 though Poe found a job at the Southern Literary Messenger as an editor in Richmond, Virginia. Poe brought with him his Aunt and his 12 year old cousin. While being an editor he published many of his own poems and stories.
In 1836 when he was 26 he married his 13 year old cousin Virginia. The two were first cousins when Poe started to live with His Aunt Maria Clemm and Virginia he began doting on her. She eventually became inspiration and a love interest. It was not uncommon at the time for first cousins to marry.
In the late 1830’s and 1840’s Poe’s works began to get more attention, but he didn’t make much profit from his works. He started editing for Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and Graham’s Magazine in Philadelphia and the Broadway Journal in New York City.
Sadly on January 30, 1847 Virginia died from a 5 year long battle with tuberculosis. She was 24 years old. This affected Poe deeply. He was reported to not want to see his wife’s face dead and would had wanted to remember seeing her as alive. Not having a picture of her he hired a painter to paint her.
On October 3, 1849 Poe was found wandering the streets of Baltimore delirious. He was brought to Washington Medical Hospital. It was found out that he was not wearing his own clothes. It was said that Poe was never coherent enough to say what had happened to him.
On October 7, 1849 at the age 40 years old Poe met with death and like many of his poems and stories it’s a mystery. At the time Newspapers claimed that it was congestion of the brain from his alcoholism. In reality no one is sure how he had died. There are many theories on what had happened.
Some think it might have been caused from a beating, or epilepsy, or even Alcohol poisoning and many more theories. Even one theory is that he was a victim of electoral fraud which citizens force people to vote repeatedly for a candidate. They make the person change their clothes and force them to vote for a certain candidate which would had accounted for him not wearing his own clothes.It can sometimes lead to violence and sometimes death.
And the man who wrote about mysteries death involved a large mystery.
SOURCES:
https://www.biography.com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160
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