Life of Edgar Allan Poe

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S on January 19, 1809. His father abandoned their family and his mother died of tuberculosis before his third birthday. He was separated from his siblings and was taken in by John and Frances Allan, but between he and John there was a huge tension and a lot of arguments. He went to the University of Virginia, but he quickly dropped it out. Then he went to the United States Military academy but he was expelled. His first published book was Tamerlane and Other Poems, in 1827. At the age of 25 he married Virginia Clemm, his little cousin (she was 13 years old) but a few years later she died of tuberculosis, and he alternated brilliant works with bad life. He knew a lot of vocabulary and several languages, and his works have to be read with a lot of attention. He was found delirious and almost died on the streets of Baltimore, and although he was taken to the Washington College Hospital he died on October 7, 1849, at the age of 40. His death’s reason is not clear, but there are many theories that it could be for alcohol, brain congestion, brain tumour, diabetes, apoplexy, hypoglycaemia, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide (related to depression), murder, lead or mercury poisoning, tuberculosis, epilepsy, syphilis, influenza, meningeal inflammation and more agents, but all medical documents and records (including the certificated of the Poe’s death) have been lost. He has a portrait which was made by William Abbot Pratt, only a month before his death. It is said that his final words were: “Lord, help my poor soul”. His funeral was very simple and he was buried at the back of Westminster Hall and Burying Ground without a headstone, but later he was moved to be reburied on November 17, 1875 to a new grave with a monument.