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Edgar Allan Poe
The father of the modern detective story
Basic Information #1 Poe was born in Boston January 19, 1809, but lived in Virginia for most of his life. He had one younger sister, Rosalie, and an older brother, William. His parents, David and Elizabeth Allan, were both actors, but the mom died of tuberculosis and his dad mysteriously disappeared when he was just 3 years old. After these horrible series of events he was separated from his siblings and was taken in by his godfather, John Allan, but was never legally adopted. #2 Once Edgar was taken in by his caretaker they made a business trip to England and he was given traditional education at boarding schools. Once they had moved to Richmond, Virginia Poe attended the University of Virginia (founded by Thomas Jefferson) from 1825 to 1826...until he had to drop out due to lack of money. It seems that Poe had a gambling problem, and his foster father got tired of bailing him out. Soon after Edgar became a cadet at West Point Academy, a military school He remained at west point for only one year, 1830 to 1831. After his education at West Point he moved to Baltimore. #3 Poe married his thirteen year old cousin Virginia Clemm. Edgar Allan Poe wrote the poem Annabel Lee in 1849 about her after she died. He soon got engaged with Sarah Helen Whitmen (Another poet) but that didn't last long for Poe died just a few days after the engagement. #4 Broke, Poe lied bout his age and name (He was known as Edgar A. Perry) to join the army to fight in the War of Independence. Poe remained at Fort Independence for about five months before his team was reassigned to Fort Moultrie on October 31, 1827. Poe and members of his unit left on November 8, 1827 aboard the brig Waltham and went to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island in Charleston harbor. He remained here for one year. Once again he was reassigned and sailed for Fort Monroe. He served two years(1827-29, Sgt. Major)...and then got himself dismissed by court martial. #5 Before Edgar Allan Poe became a famous author he worked as an editor for many magazines in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore but was barely able to supported himself. Career and Important Works He published his first volume of poetry called, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Two years later, he wrote the second volume, Al Aaraaf. In 1830. His third volume of poems called "Poems" and wrote his first and last novel he "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym". Then in 1845 he wrote the famous Poem "Raven" This got him a little recognition but he still was in financial poverty. Edgar Allan Poe also wrote the first modern detective story "The Gold Bug". Some other famous poems he wrote were "The Cast of Amontillado", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Masque of the red death", "The murders in the Rue Morgue", "Annebel Lee", and "Eldorado". Events During Poe's Lifetime Many events occurred during Poe's lifetime... -Leipzig (1813) and Waterloo (1815) are two battles that happened during this period of time. -Maine became a state in 1820. -Jefferson and Adams die within hours of each other on independence day of 1826. -1826 Andrew Jackson is elected president. -In 1830 the decline of slavery begin; the slave population was almost halved. Death Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore, Maryland October 9, 1848. He died in a mysterious way. No one knows if he died of an illness or if he was murdered. Some say he died from drinking. This great man is remembered today as the inventor of the detective story and is known around the world for his great poems. He is known as a sad, mad, and mysterious man. But he is also known as the greatest poet to ever live. Every year on his birthday many people celebrate. Every year one man, The Poe Toaster, goes to his grave and leaves a bottle of cognac and three rose.s No one knew who this man was until the Edgar Allan Poe society camped out one night. But to this day only they know.
Sources "Edgar Allan Poe." NNDB.com. 2009. Web. 21 Oct 2009. . "Edgar Allan Poe." Poets.org. 2009. Web. 21 Oct 2009. ." Edgar Allan Poe." Read Print. Web. 21 Oct 2009. . Allan, Poe. Tales of Suspense. New York: The Readers Digest Association, Inc., 1986. Print. Binns, Tristan. Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Scholatic Inc., Print. Grimly, Gris. Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Madness. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004. Print.
Here's a nice video about Edgar Alla Poe.
Here's Vincenet Price composing one of Poes most famous pieces "The Telle Tale Heart"
