Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Poe, both whom were touring actors and both whom died before he was age 3. Poe was then taken into the home of John Allan, a wealthy gentleman of Richmond, Virginia who had persuaded his grandfather to let him adopt him.
Young Poe, after going to school in both England and Virginia, went to the Jefferson University, at Charlottesville, in Virginia where he passed his courses with pristine grades. He later joined and became active member at the Jefferson Literary Society. Though when John Allan failed to give enough money to pay for tuition, Poe found himself deep in dept. Poe was then driven from his home because his "father" did not approve of his debts, so he went to Boston. There he published Tamerlane and Other Poems, a little book of poems, which had mostly been written in his youth.
Edgar Allan Poe Museum (Richmond, Virginia)
Edgar Poe's "Berenice" as it appeared in the South...
English: The cover of the December, 1835 issue of ...Having no money to pay his debts, Poe enlisted in the army and made an appointment to West Point Academy. After being in the army for two years, during which he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant-major, with John Allan's help, secured a discharge from the army. After six months, Poe was then dismissed from West Point for disobedience of orders, but with the help of his fellow cadets, published Poems by Edgar A. Poe Second Edition in 1831, but was actually a third edition following Tamerlane and Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems (1829).
He then got a job as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. He critiqued many an author's work known for his often-cruel honesty and harsh tone. He later married his cousin Virginia who was only 13 years old. She later died at the age...