Edgar Allan Poe Birthday (Date, Age, How Old)

Background

Poe’s chilling and enigmatic stories continue to haunt us, and we eagerly explore his artistic genius through his poetry. Born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, he had two siblings: an older brother and a younger sister. Their parents were David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth ‘Eliza’ Arnold Poe. After a series of tragic events—David abandoning the family in 1810 and Eliza passing away the next year—the children were left orphaned at a tender age and had to be placed in separate homes. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan from Richmond, later adopting Frances’ surname ‘Poe’ as his middle name.

While Allan displayed affection towards Poe, he never fully adopted him, and as Poe matured, he grew disheartened by Allan’s disapproval of his literary aspirations. Poe had initially received his education at private academies but faced estrangement when Allan disinherited him, thinking him ungrateful. This pushed Poe to take his leave with his meager savings and enroll at the University of Virginia in 1826. However, his gambling habits led to a loss of $2,000, impacting his relationship with John Allan for several years. In 1827, after enlisting in the U.S. Army, Poe published “Tamerlane and Other Poems,” but he struggled as an officer cadet and ultimately decided to pursue his dreams of becoming a writer and poet. This marked the beginning of his estrangement from John Allan, though they reconciled somewhat in 1829 after John’s death.

Later, Poe relocated to Baltimore to live with his aunt, Maria Clemm, who had a young daughter, Virginia. They married in 1836 and later, all of them settled in Richmond. Poe continued to dedicate himself to writing various forms of literature, including poems and essays, which led to an editorial position at “Graham’s Magazine” in 1841. Unfortunately, Poe’s lifestyle choices were detrimental to his well-being, and he struggled with personal issues.

Virginia’s illness had a significant impact on Poe, who began to show signs of consumption and ultimately passed away in 1847. Although Poe intended to marry Mrs. Shelton, an unfortunate event occurred while he was en route to bring his aunt from New York City to Richmond for their wedding. On October 3, 1849, Poe was discovered unconscious in Baltimore, Maryland, where he had planned to make a brief stop. He was taken to a hospital and died four days later.