Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston to touring actors, but his father abandoned the family and his mother died of illness when he was just two years old. After her death, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia, although he was never formally adopted, which later contributed to ongoing tension with his foster father.

Poe struggled financially from a young age. At 17 he briefly attended the University of Virginia, but accumulated heavy gambling debts and left school. He published his first book of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems, in Boston before joining the U.S. Army under an assumed name. Later he attended West Point but was dismissed for neglecting his duties.

Living in Baltimore with relatives, Poe shifted his focus to short stories and became associated with Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. He married his cousin Virginia Clemm, who provided a stabilizing influence. Poe wrote some of his most famous works during this period and afterward, including early horror tales and innovative detective fiction such as The Murders in the Rue Morgue. He also achieved widespread fame with the poem “The Raven”, which made him a household name despite the modest earnings from its publication.

Although Poe was the first American writer to try to support himself entirely through his writing, he struggled with money, personal loss, and his wife’s long illness; Virginia died of tuberculosis in 1847, deeply affecting him. Poe died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore under mysterious circumstances after being found in a delirious state days earlier. The exact cause of his death remains unknown.

This is an abridged version of the bio found on the Poe Museum website.