Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Poe was born in Boston in 1809 to two traveling actors. His father left the family and his mother died when he was two, and he was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia, whose name he later used as his middle name. He lived in England with the Allans for several years as a boy. He attended the University of Virginia but left because of debts, served in the army, and went to the military academy at West Point, from which he was dismissed. He then worked as an editor and critic for magazines in Richmond, Philadelphia and New York, writing poems and short stories, often in poverty. In 1836 he married his young cousin Virginia Clemm, who died of tuberculosis in 1847. His tales, such as The Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-Tale Heart, explored terror and the mind, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue is often called the first modern detective story. The Raven (1845) made him famous. He died in Baltimore in 1849.

Edgar Allan Poe is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Baptized in the Episcopal Church as a child; his adult beliefs are not well documented. Source: Wikipedia