On January 19, 1809, poet, author and literary critic Edgar
Allan Poe was  born in Boston, Massachusetts.

By the time he was three years old, both of Poe’s parents had
died, leaving him in the care of his godfather, John Allan, a
wealthy tobacco merchant. After attending school in England,
Poe entered the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1826. After
fighting with Allan over his heavy gambling debts, he was
forced to leave UVA after only eight months. Poe then served
two years in the U.S. Army and won an appointment to West
Point. After another falling-out, Allan cut him off completely
and he got himself dismissed from the academy for rules
infractions.

Poe had published three works of poetry by that time, none
of which had received much attention.

ROSS SIMPSON

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

On January 19, 1809, poet, author and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe
is born in Boston, Massachusetts. He is best known for his poetry
and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre
widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the U.S. and
of American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country’s
earliest practitioners of the short story. He is generally considered
the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited
with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was
the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing
alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

MIKE GRACIA