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1809-1849
Edgar Allan Poe
Poe's death wrote a mystery of its own and left many speechless just as his stories did. On September 27, Poe left Richmond for New York; then left for Philadelphia to stay with a friend named James P. Moss. On September 30, his intentions were to go back to New York, however he supposedly took the wrong train to Baltimore. From there Poe’s final days became even more obscure. On October 3, he was found at Gunner's Hall, a public house at 44 East Lombard Street, and was immediately taken to a hospital near by. While there he lapsed in and out of consciousness but was never able to discern exactly what had transpired. Finally, Edgar Allan Poe died in the hospital on Sunday, October 7, 1849. As a result of Poe's mysterious and unusual death numerous myths as well as urban legends have arisen. Many suspect alcoholism, foul play, and other various theories. However no one will ever know except for Poe himself, and he decided to leave the ending of his own story the greatest mystery of all.
Edgar Allan Poe was one of the many influential people of his time. Other prominent figures included Abraham Lincoln, the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy the composer, and many other prominent figures who are identified in the attached timeline. During Poe’s lifetime many important events took place. Some of these involved in 1815 when Napoleon was defeated; to the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848. Even though he was alive for a mere forty years he witnessed some of the world's most exquisite and intelligent people but also some of the most famous and infamous events in history.
Commonly known as the "master of horror," he lived a life like no other. Poe was Edgar ALlan Poe was born in Boston Massachusettes on January 19, 1809, as the child of David and Elizabeth Poe. David was American born while his wife Elizabeth moved to the United States from England in 1796; after her first husband died in 1805. David and Elizabeth had three children Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie. In 1811, two years after Edgar's birth while living with his siblings and having his mother as the only parental figure in his life, his mother perished. Unfortunately all of the Poe children were separated from one another. Edgar was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Allan who were a successful family, and so he grew up in excellent surroundings and went to admirable schools. However Henry went to live with his grandparents and Rosalie was adopted by another family. After all of the sorrow Edgar had to experience through losing both of his parents, he once again had to undergo the same pain as a result of being divided from his siblings. Losing his parents and siblings were only the beginning of the many people Edgar would lose that were close to him, and due to the large amounts of loss that he had to endure over the years, it is believed that this was a major contributing factor to his crippling depression. "A Short Story of Edgar Allan Poe." Http://poestories.com/biography.php/. Design215, 2005-2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. .
Though Edgar Allan Poe is known as a famous author of horror stories, he failed to attain the fame and fortune many assume he received. “The Raven" was his most successful publication. As a result he became an entrepreneur in the genres of science fiction, gothic-terror, horror, detective and mystery literature. The majority of Poe’s works were published in either newspapers or magazines, thus he was not able to sell many of his works individually until they became separate volumes. Even though Poe’s writing did not lead to a large sums of money, they inspired literature in many ways and have lead many writers to emulate his style. Due to the effect Poe has left on soceity, we continue to remember the famous writer, and in honor of him. An example of this is a mysterious person identified as the "Poe Toaster," who every year leaves a token of appreciation on Edgar Allan Poe's original grave. Poe's was a writer of masterpieces. Regardless of his failure to reach fame and fortune he will always be remembered and serve as an icon for many writers across the world forever.
His career was one filled with numerous works of horror, personal trials and tribulations, and minor fame. His works of fiction spanned from,” The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) which captured the perfect modern detective story; to his most famous poem "The Raven" (1845), which inspired the name for the Baltimore Ravens Football team. His writings did not stop there. He continued on with many more works; some of these being: "The Tell-Tale Heart," The Cask of Amontillado," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," "Annabel Lee," and "Eldorado." Poe is known as the first well known American to actually make a living off of writing alone. However Poe had a rough road to minor fame and fortune, and it was one that would only get harder as his life continued to hand him alcohol, gambling, and death. He began his career by working with a Philadelphia publication, and at the same time began his only drama, Politian. Then in 1833, Poe was awarded a prize for his short story "MS. Found in a Bottle," by a Baltimore Paper. As a result of this he gained the attention of John P. Kennedy, who helped Poe with promoting his writing and also introduced him to Thomas W. White, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. At the messenger he became assistant editor in 1835 but, within a few weeks was relieved from his position due to being discovered drunk numerous times. Upon returning to Baltimore on September 22, 1835, Poe secretly married Virginia his 13 year old cousin. However Poe on May 16, 1836, would wed Virginia Clemm again but in a public ceremony; once married Poe returned back to Richmond to the Messenger with the promise of proper behavior with his bride and her mother. While there he published many poems, book reviews, critiques, as well as stories. In 1838 Poe started a climb to fame when "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket was widely reviewed. He then became the editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine; where he again published many articles, stories, and reviews. Additionally in 1839, the collection of the Groteque and Arabesque was published in two volumes. From these he made little profit and he received mixed feedback. After about a year at Burton's he left to become an assistant at Graham's Magazine. In June of 1840 Poe addressed in a prospectus that he was intending to create his own journal, which he would name the Stylus. Unfortunately Poe's dreams of a Journal would never be constructed before Poe was deceased. Around 1840, Poe also attempted to secure a job with the Tyler Administration, but failed after many errors on his own behalf. Poe's career was one that remained with a constant flow of new jobs and new publications. He was not able to hold a position for very long and was known to be unreliable in his work ethic. He was additionally was inconsistent in his decisions. However no one could find any fault in his innate ability to write, and with pen and paper anything could happen.
At the age of six, Poe went off to England to acquire an education. While there he learned Latin and French, as well as math and history. Later when returning to America he went on to continue with his studies to eventually attending the University of Virginia in 1826, at 17 years old. Even though Edgar's guardian John Allan had plenty of money, he refused to pay for more than one third of his tuition. However Poe's talents in Latin and French were not what he needed in order to refrain from abusing alcohol, and as a result he rapidly became in debt; this making him quit school less than a year later. After quitting school Edgar had become shunned by John Allan, had no source of income, and absolutely no job skills; which lead him to become a desperate man in many ways. In hopes of a solution to his dilemmas he went to Boston and joined the United States Army in 1827. In the army he was successful and attained the rank of sergeant major. Then in 1892, Edgar applied to West Point and had his application signed by John Allan after Mrs. Allan was deceased. In the period of time waiting to enter West Point he resided with his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, and his brother Henry as well as cousin Virginia. Then in 1830, Edgar entered as a cadet at West Point. There he did not last long for John Allan again refused to offer him any finances, and so it is believed that Edgar deliberately broke rules and disobeyed authority so he would be dismissed.
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