EDGAR ALLAN POE

POE'S STORY

He was born on January 19th 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. He was one of three children that were later orphaned when their father left them and their mother passed. All three children were split up to live with different families; Poe was sent to live with John and Frances Allan. He lived with them until his young adult life when he went to university. The relationship between them ended when John Allan did not approve of Poe's ambitions.

His educational background included going to the University of Virginia and the Military Academy at West Point. After leaving the military academy, Poe went to live with his aunt and cousin in Baltimore, Maryland. He became more focused on writing and one of his main inspirations was his cousin Virginia, who later he married in 1836. He was working for a magazine and developed a reputation of a "cut-throat critic". The passing of Virginia, due to tuberculosis, ended their eleven year marriage.

After her death, Poe struggled with remaining healthy and he struggled financially. How his last days went are still unknown, but he wound up in Washington College Hospital, and passed on October 7th 1849. His cause of death is still unknown, some think that his alcoholism contributed to it, others think it was possibly rabies or even epilepsy. His last words were "Lord, help my poor soul".