Biography
Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic.
He is best known for his poetry and short stories, especially dark and macabre tales. He is considered a key figure in American Romanticism and American literature.
Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first practitioners of the short story in the country and is widely regarded as the creator of the detective novel genre and a significant contributor to the emerging science fiction genre. He was the first prominent American writer to make a living solely from his writing, which led to a financially difficult life and career.
Edgar Allan Poe was the second child of actor David Poe Jr. and Eliza Poe and was born in Boston. He was adopted by John Allan and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia after his father abandoned the family in 1810. They never formally adopted him, but he remained with them until he was a child.
He attended the University of Virginia but dropped out after a year due to financial difficulties. He fought with John Allan over his education funds and gambling debts. After enlisting in the United States Army under an assumed name, he published Tamerlane and Other Poems in 1827, credited only to “a Bostonian”. After Allan’s father died, Edgar Allan Poe and John Allan reconciled for a time.
American writer
Edgar Allan Poe |
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 Edgar Allan Poe: History • Biography • Photos |
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| Wiki Events & About Data | |
| Real name: | Edgar Allan Poe |
| Stage name: | Edgar Poe |
| Born: | January 19, 1809 (age 40) |
| Place of birth: | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Deceased: | October 7, 1849, Church & Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height: | 1.73 meters |
| Parents: | Eliza Poe and David Poe Jr. |
| Siblings: | William Henry Leonard Poe, Rosalie Poe |
| Wife • Husband/wife: | Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe (married 1836–1847) |
| Girlfriend • Partner: | Sarah Elmira Royster (former) |
| The children: | Do not have |
| Job: | Writer • Author |
| Net worth: | 1.5 million US dollars |
Early life and education
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, the second child of English actress Eliza Poe and actor David Poe Jr.
He had an older brother named William Henry Leonard Poe and a younger sister named Rosalie Poe. Their grandfather, David Poe Sr., emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, around 1750.
Edgar Allan Poe may have been named after a character in William Shakespeare’s King Lear, which the pair performed in 1809. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died a year later of tuberculosis.
Edgar Allan Poe was then taken to the home of John Allan, a successful merchant in Richmond, Virginia, who traded in a variety of goods, including cloth, wheat, tombstones, tobacco, and slaves.
The Allan family baptized Edgar Allan Poe into the Episcopal Church in 1812. John Allan alternated between indulgence and strict discipline with his adopted son. The family moved to England in 1815, and Edgar Allan Poe briefly attended grammar school in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland (where Allan was born) before rejoining his family in London in 1816.
He attended boarding school in Chelsea until the summer of 1817. He enrolled at the Reverend John Bransby’s Manor House School in Stoke Newington, a suburb four miles (6 km) north of London.
Edgar Allan Poe returned to Richmond with the Allan family in 1820. In 1824, he was Richmond’s honor guard lieutenant during the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to the city. Allan’s uncle and business benefactor William Galt died in March 1825, leaving Allan several acres of real estate.
William Galt was said to be one of the richest men in Richmond. His inheritance was valued at $750,000 (equivalent to $18,000,000 in 2021). In the summer of 1825, Allan celebrated his immense wealth by purchasing Moldavia, a two-story brick house.
Before enrolling at the University of Virginia in February 1826 to study ancient and modern languages, Edgar Allan Poe may have been engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster. The university was still in its early stages, founded on the ideals of its founder, Thomas Jefferson.
The school had strict bans on gambling, horses, guns, tobacco, and alcohol, but most were ignored. Jefferson established a student self-governance system that allowed students to choose courses, arrange housing, and report any misconduct to the faculty.
Career
Edgar Allan Poe was unable to support himself, so he enlisted as a private in the United States Army on May 27, 1827, under the name “Edgar A. Perry.” He claimed to be 22 years old, although he was only 18. He served at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor for the first five dollars a month.
That same year, he published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, a 40-page collection of poems marked “by a Bostonian.” Only 50 copies were printed, and the book received little publicity. On November 8, 1827, Edgar Allan Poe’s regiment was assigned to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina, and sailed on the schooner Waltham.
Edgar Allan Poe was promoted to “craftsman”, an enlisted craftsman who made artillery shells, and his monthly pay doubled. He served for two years and rose to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant (the highest rank a non-commissioned officer could attain); he then attempted to terminate his five-year enlistment early.
Edgar Allan Poe revealed his true identity and circumstances to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Robert L. Howard, who would only release Poe if he reconciled with Allan. Poe wrote a letter to Allan, but Allan was uninterested and ignored Poe’s pleas for months.
Allan may not have even written to Edgar Allan Poe about his foster mother’s illness. Frances Allan died on February 28, 1829, and Poe visited her the next day.
After finding a replacement to complete his military service, Edgar Allan Poe was finally discharged on April 15, 1829. Before entering service at West Point, he returned to Baltimore to visit his widowed aunt Maria Clemm, her daughter Virginia Eliza Clemm (Poe’s cousin), his brother Henry Poe, and his disabled grandmother Elizabeth Cairnes Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe received “the first words of encouragement I ever heard” in a review of his poetry from the influential critic John Neal in September of that year, prompting him to dedicate one of his poems to Neal in his second book, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, published in Baltimore in 1829.
Poe arrived at West Point on July 1, 1830, and enrolled as a cadet. Allan married his second wife, Louisa Patterson, in October 1830. Poe’s adoptive father disowned him after the marriage and argued bitterly with him about Allan’s children from extramarital affairs.
Edgar Allan Poe deliberately decided to leave West Point by being court-martialed. He was tried for neglect of duty and disobedience on February 8, 1831, for refusing to attend drill, classes, or church. He deliberately pleaded not guilty to the charges in order to be dismissed, knowing full well that he would be convicted.
Edgar Allan Poe moved to New York in February 1831 and published Poems, his third collection of poems. The book was funded with the help of West Point cadets, many of whom donated 75 cents to the cause, raising a total of $170.
They might have expected verses like the satirical verses Poe wrote about commanding officers. Elam Bliss of New York printed it, labeled it “Second Edition” and included a page that read, “To the United States Army Cadet Corps, this volume is respectfully dedicated.”
The long poems “Tamerlane” and “Al Aaraaf” were reprinted, as were six previously unpublished poems, including early versions of “To Helen,” “Israfel,” and “The City in the Sea.”
Personal life
According to an online source, Edgar Allan Poe was married to Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe from 1836 to 1847. Edgar Allan Poe had no children.
Net worth
According to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Edgar Allan Poe’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million.
