Born on the 19th of January 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, Poe is best known for his poems and short stories. He was born to David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, both actors. He was orphaned before he was three years old, and was taken in by John Allan, a merchant in Richmond, Virginia, and baptized Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe's education consisted of five years (1815-20) of study in England, and another year of study, in 1826, at the University of Virginia. He was a good student, but ran up gambling debts which his adoptive father refused to pay. John Allan prevented his return to the university, and caused the breaking off of his engagement to Sarah Elmira Royster, his Richmond sweetheart. Having no money to support himself, Poe joined the army. By that point, however, had already written and printed his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems. It is important to mention that the publication of this book was done at his own expense.
Edgar Allan Poe and John Allan were temporarily reconciled. During this time John helped arrange the release of Poe from the army and appointment to West Point, but he still refused to provide financial support. After about six months, Poe apparently contrived his own dismissal from West Point. Soon thereafter, in 1831, he published Poems by Edgar A. Poe, the funds for which were contributed by his fellow cadets at West Point.
After leaving the academy Poe stayed with his widowed aunt, Maria Clemm, and her daughter in Baltimore. To support himself he began working on works of fiction. In 1832 the Philadelphia Saturday Courier published five of his stories. In 1835 Poe, his aunt, and Virginia moved to Richmond where he became the editor of the Southern Library Messenger, and married Virginia, a girl not yet fourteen years old.
His work at the Messenger was mainly confined to serious critiques of the works of contemporary authors, but also included some horror tales. His contributions increased the circulation of the magazine, but offended the owner of the magazine, who also did not take kindly to Poe's drinking. This paradoxical pattern of success as an artist but the failure to satisfy employers continued throughout his life.
His wife, Virginia, passed away in January of 1847. This event was a heavy blow, but Poe continued to produce writings, and also lectured. In the summer of 1849 while revisiting Richmond, and lecturing he met the fiancee he had lost in 1826, and their relationship began anew. Edgar Allan Poe died on the 7th of October 1849.