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In
the following chronology, a few items have been included even though
they occurred after Poe's death.
- 1806 (March 14) - Traveling stage actors David Poe,
Jr. and Elizabeth
Arnold Hopkins marry. (A. H. Quinn gives the date as
"between
March 14 and April 9, 1806, and probably between April 5th and April
9th,
in Richmond, " Quinn, p. 24.)
- 1807 (Jan. 30) - William Henry Leonard Poe (usually
called
Henry)
is
born
to David and Elizabeth Poe in Boston.
- 1809 (Jan. 19) - Edgar Poe is born in Boston. (On the
back
of a
miniature
portrait of herself, Elizabeth Poe wrote: "For my little son Edgar, who
should ever love Boston, the place of his birth, and where his mother
found
her best, and most sympathetic friends." A. H. Quinn discusses the
location
of Poe's birth on pp. 727-729.)
- 1810 (Dec. 20) - Rosalie
Poe
(often called Rosie or Rose) is born in Norfolk, Virginia. (In a letter
from John Allan to Henry Poe, November 1, 1824, Allan makes the odd
statement
about Rosalie that, "At least She is half your Sister & God forbid
my dear Henry that We should visit upon the living the Errors &
frailties
of the dead," The Poe Log, p. 62. There is, however, no real
reason
to presume that Rosalie was illegitimate. See also Mabbott, Poems,
1969, pp. 520-521.)
- 1811 (Dec. 8) - Elizabeth Arnold Poe, Edgar's mother,
dies
in
Richmond,
Virginia. Her remains are buried at Old St. John's Church in old
Richmond.
(The exact cause of her death is unknown other than some illness,
perhaps
pneumonia. Suggestions that she died from tuberculosis are unfounded.
The
location of her death is discussed in some detail by A. H. Quinn, pp.
732-741.)
David Poe, Edgar's father, apparently dies within a few days of his
wife.
(According to W. F. Gill, this would be Dec. 10.) (The circumstances
surrounding
David Poe's death, and the reason why he was not with his family at the
time, are shrouded in mystery. Around 1890, Mrs. Byrd, the daughter of
the Mackenzies, who took in Poe's sister Rosalie, stated, "It is
certain
that Mr. [David] Poe died in Norfolk; where the company with which they
were playing . . . were compelled to leave him on account of illness,
while
they went on to Richmond. On hearing of his death, one of them returned
to Norfolk and brought the whole family to Richmond, intending to take
them to their friends in Baltimore, but Mrs. Poe being taken with
pneumonia,
died . . . " Weiss, "Reminiscences of Edgar Allan Poe," The
Independent,
August 25, 1904, p. 447. Disagreeing somewhat with Mrs. Byrd is a
November
2, 1811 letter from Samuel Mordecia to his sister Rachel: "A singular
fashion
prevails here this season -- it is -- charity -- Mrs. Poe, who you know
is a very handsome woman, happens to be very sick, and (having
quarreled
and parted with her husband) is destitute" The Poe Log, p. 13.
Unfortunately,
appeals for money for Mrs. Poe in Richmond newspapers of the time make
no mention of David Poe. A notice of a benefit for Mrs. Poe from July
26,
1811 in the Norfolk Herald, however clearly suggests that David
Poe was already not with the family: "Left alone, the only support of
herself
and several small children. . . . Shame on the world that can turn its
back on the same person in distress, that it was wont to cherish in
prosperity," The
Poe Log, p. 11. In all of these cases, David Poe's absence by death
or desertion should have elicited much additional sympathy. David Poe
was
last known to have appeared on stage on October 18, 1809, The Poe
Log,
p. 8. Mary Phillips confidently quotes from an unidentified newspaper
clipping
that David Poe died, "at Norfolk, Va., Oct. 19, 1810, " Phillips, Poe
the Man, p. 77. A. H. Quinn discusses this clipping on p. 44, n.
85.
Quinn also notes that David Poe "apparently did not die in New York,"
Quinn,
p. 40. The legend that either or both of Poe's parents died in the
Richmond
Theater fire of December 26, 1811 is romantic fiction.)
- 1811 (Dec. 26) - The orphaned Edgar is taken into the
home
of John
and Frances Allan of
Richmond. His sister, Rosalie, is taken in by Mr. and Mrs. William
Mackenzie,
also of Richmond. His brother, Henry, remains in Baltimore with his
grandparents.
Allan never legally adopts Poe, although Poe calls John Allan "Pa" and
Frances Allan "Ma." John and Frances never have children of their own.
John Allan has at least one illegitimate child (Edwin Collier). (After
Frances's death, John remarried in 1830 and had children through the
second
Mrs. Allan.)
- 1812 (Jan. 7) - Poe is baptized by the Reverend John
Buchanan and
christened
as "Edgar Allan Poe," with the Allans presumably as godparents. Poe's
sister
Rosalie is baptized on September 3, 1812 as "Rosalie Mackenzie Poe."
- 1814 - Five year old Edgar begins his formal
education. His
teacher is
either Clotilda or Elizabeth Fisher (Mabbott, Poem, p. 533).
- 1815 - Poe briefly moves on to the school of Mr.
William
Ewing.
- 1815 (June 22) - John and Frances Allan, with Edgar
and
Frances's
younger
sister, Ann Moore Valentine (called Nancy), leave for England aboard
the Lothair.
- 1816 - Poe goes to the boarding school of the Misses
Dubourg (146
Sloan
Street, Chelsea, London, The Poe Log, p. 29). Here, Edgar is
known
as "Master Allan" (Quinn, p. 69). Among the subjects taught are
geography,
spelling and the Catechism of the Church of England.
- 1818 - Poe attends the Manor House School run by the
Reverend
John
Bransby
(Stoke Newington, London). (The description of the school in Poe's
"William
Wilson" is based, lightly, on his experiences here. Dr. Bransby is
mentioned
there by name.) Here, Poe is called Edgar Allan (Quinn, p. 71). Among
his
subjects is dancing. (As Bransby had a reputation as a classical
scholar,
there is little doubt that classes also taught at least some Latin and
perhaps even Greek.)
- 1820 (July 22) - Edgar and his family return to
America
from
England
aboard
the Martha. Stopping briefly in New York, they continue on to
Richmond,
Virginia, arriving there on July 27.
- 1821 - Poe attends the school of Joseph H. Clarke.
- 1823 (April?) - Poe attends the school of William
Burke.
- 1824 (June or July) - Poe swims six or seven miles up
the
James
River,
against a heavy tide. His schoolmaster follows in a boat in case he
needs
help.
- 1824 (October 26-28) - During his tour of American,
General
Lafayette
visits
Richmond, Virginia. The Richmond Junior Volunteers partake in the
ceremonies
welcoming him. Poe is a lieutenant of the Volunteers.
- 1824 (November ?) - Poe writes a two-line poem:
"-- Poetry - Edgar A. Poe -- Last night, with many cares & toils
oppres'd,
Weary, I laid me on a couch to rest --." (This is Poe's earliest
surviving
poem. It was never published during his lifetime, nor used as part of a
longer poem.)
- 1825 (March) - Poe leaves Burke's school and attends
the
school
of Dr.
and Mrs. Ray Thomas.
- 1825 (March 26) - John Allan's uncle William Galt
dies in
Richmond.
John
Allan is named in Galt's will and inherits a comfortable fortune.
- 1825 (June 28) - John Allan purchases an enormous
brick
mansion
called
"Moldavia" for $14,950 and moves his family there. (Moldavia stood on
the
southeast corner of Fifth and Main Streets in Richmond until it was
torn
down sometime around 1890.)
- 1826 (Feb. 14) - Edgar Allan Poe enters the
University of
Virginia, in
Charlottesville. (The school, founded by Thomas Jefferson, first opened
its doors on March 7, 1825.)
- 1826 (Dec.) - Poe returns to Richmond and finds that
his
childhood
sweetheart, Elmira
Royster, is engaged to Alexander B. Shelton. Elmira's
parents
did not approve of a marriage with Edgar, finding the wealthy business
man Shelton more to their liking.
- 1827 (March) - Poe feuds with John Allan over
gambling
debts of
$2,000
Poe incurred at the University of Virginia. Although possibly cheated,
Poe's sense of honor insists that the debts must be paid, but Allan
refuses
to help him. Poe leaves and heads to his family in Baltimore.
- 1827 (May 26) - Poe enlists in the United States Army
under
the
name
Edgar
A. Perry.
- 1827 - Poe's first book, Tamerlane
and Other Poems is published in Boston by Calvin F. S.
Thomas.
The author is noted only as "A Bostonian." The thin pamphlet sells
perhaps
50 copies, many likely distributed free for reviews. (After Poe's
death,
the existence of this little book, then lost in obscurity, was offered
by Griswold as an example of Poe's lying nature. This position was
accepted
until 1880, when John Ingram found a copy in the library of the British
Museum. Today, only twelve copies are known to exist. As much as
$172,000
has been paid at auction. Most copies are imperfect.)
- 1827 (Nov.) - Poe's battery arrives at Fort Moultrie,
Sullivan's
Island,
Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1828 (Dec. 15) - Poe's battery arrives at Fort
Monroe, Old
Point
Comfort,
Virginia.
- 1829 (Jan. 1) - Poe is promoted to Sergeant-Major of
the
Regiment
of
Artillery.
- 1829 (Feb. 28) - Francis Keeling Allan, Poe's doting
foster
mother,
dies
in Richmond. She is buried in the Shockoe Hill Cemetery on March 2. Poe
obtains leave from the army and arrives in Richmond on the evening of
the
day following her burial.
- 1829 (April 15) - Poe is released from the Army and
applies
for
an
appointment
to West Point. (To obtain his release, it was necessary for Poe to
provide
a substitute at no expense to the government.)
- 1830 (Oct. 5) - John Allan marries Louisa Patterson.
(By
John
Allan's
death
in 1834, they will have three sons.)
- 1830 (June) - Poe enters West Point.
- 1831 (Jan. 27) - Poe, wishing to get out of West
Point,
refuses
to
attend
classes or church. He is court-martialed on February 8 and dismissed as
of March 6.
- 1831 - Poe's Poems
is published in New York by Elam Bliss.
- 1831 (July) - Poe submits several stories to a
contest
sponsored
by the
Philadelphia Saturday Courier. He does not win first prize.
Five
of his stories are published, although without his name.
- 1831 (Aug. 1) - William Henry Leonard Poe, Edgar's
older
brother,
dies
in Baltimore, probably of tuberculosis or cholera. (Discounting the
possiblity
of cholera, it has been noted that the disease did not arrive in the
United
States until 1832.)
- 1833 (Oct.) - Poe receives his $50 prize for "MS.
Found in
a
Bottle"
from
the Baltimore Saturday Visiter.
- 1834 (March 27) - John Allan, Poe's foster father,
dies in
Richmond,
Virginia.
He is buried next to his first wife, Frances, in the Shockoe Hill
Cemetery.
Edgar's name is omitted from Allan's will and Poe inherits nothing from
the large estate.
- 1835 (Sept) - Leaving his home in Baltimore, Poe
moves to
Richmond and
becomes editor of Thomas W. White's Southern
Literary Messenger. (White was reluctant to grant Poe
the
title, although quite willing to let him do the work.) Poe writes a
great
many critical reviews and receives both praise and scorn for these
frank
commentaries. He prints a number of his own poems and stories,
including
reprints of several earlier pieces.
- 1836 (May 16) - Edgar (aged 27) and Virginia (aged
13)
marry in
Richmond,
Virginia. The ceremony is officiated by the Reverend Amasa Convers, a
Presbyterian
minister who was also editor of the Southern Religious Telegraph.
- 1837 (Jan.) - The Southern Literary Messenger
announces
that
Poe
has left the position of editor.
- 1837 (Feb.) - Poe and his family move to New York.
- 1838 - Poe and his family move to Philadelphia.
- 1839 - The
Conchologist's
First Book is published in Philadelphia by Haswell,
Barrington
and Haswell. Professor Thomas Wyatt secured Poe's assistance in the
book's
production. Poe writes the "Preface" and "Introduction," and perhaps
provides
some translation from Cuvier. The book runs for three editions by 1845,
becoming Poe's only commercial success in book form. (Poe's association
with this book has brought charges of plagiarism from the conchology
textbook
by Captain Thomas Brown, published in Glasgow in 1833.)
- 1839 (May) - Poe becomes an editor for wealthy
comedian
William
Evans
Burton's
two-year old Gentleman's
Magazine. (The title page for volume V, beginning with
the
issue for July of 1839, prominently shows the names of the editors as
"William
E. Burton and Edgar A. Poe.")
- 1840 (Feb. 10) - Poe's "Journal
of Julius Rodman" (Burton's Gentleman's Magazine,
Jan.
1840, first of four installments) is mistaken as an actual account of
an
expedition and is noted in a document submitted to the U. S. Senate.
- 1840 (June 6) - Poe's prospectus
for a new magazine appears in the Saturday Evening Post:
"Prospectus
of the Penn Magazine, a monthly literary journal, to be edited and
published
in the city of Philadelphia, by Edgar A. Poe -- Since resigning the
conduct
of The Southern Literary Messenger, at the commencement of its third
year,
I have constantly held in view the establishment of a Magazine which
should
retain some of the chief features of that journal, abandoning the rest.
. . . It shall be the first and chief purpose of the Magazine now
proposed,
to become known as one where may be found, at all times, and upon all
subjects,
an honest and fearless opinion. This is a purpose of which no man need
be ashamed. . . .To the mechanical execution of the work the greatest
attention
will be given which such a matter can require. . . The price will be $5
per annum, payable in advance, or upon receipt of the first number,
which
will be issued on the first of January, 1841" (The Poe Log, pp.
300-301). (Poe was unable to raise the necessary support and the first
issue of the Penn never appeared. By 1841, he was forced to put
his plans on hold. The final prospectus for the Penn was printed on
January
1, 1841, of which Poe sent a copy to J. E. Snodgrass on January 17,
1841.)
- 1841 (February 20) - The Saturday Evening Post
(Philadelphia)
announces
that Poe has become an editor for Graham's
Magazine, beginning with the April issue. (Both the Post
and Graham's were owned by George Rex Graham.Volume I of Graham's
Magazine appeared as volume XVIII because, in creating his new
magazine,
Graham merged Burton's Gentleman's Magazine with the Casket.
The latter, which Graham had purchased in May of 1839, had already
issued
seventeen volumes by the end of 1840. The last issue of both the Gentleman's
Magazine and the Casket are virtually identical, each
bearing
the inscription of Graham's Magazine on their title pages,
noted
"as a specimen of the new volume." Poe's engagement with Graham as an
editor
may have been discussed as early as December of 1840. This possibility
is suggested by the fact that both of these final issues contain Poe's
story "The Man of the Crowd." Burton had stopped printing Poe's
material
as of the August issue of the same year. Poe, however, was still hoping
to make real his plans for the Penn Magazine, plans he did not
abandon
for several months.)
- 1841 (April) - Graham's Magazine features
Poe's "Murders
in the Rue Morgue," the first modern detective story. During
Poe's tenure, the circulation of Graham's Magazine increases
from
about 5,000 to nearly 37,000 subscribers, making it far and away the
most
popular periodical of its day. (An abridged translation of "Murders in
the Rue Morgue" appeared on October 12, 1846 in Le Commerce, a
Parisan
newspaper. There, the title was given as "L'Orange-Otang" but Poe 's
name
is not mentioned.)
- 1842 (March 6) - During Dickens' tour of America, Poe
and
Charles
Dickens
arrange to meet while he is in Philadelphia. (Dickens had been greatly
impressed by Poe's ability to guess the ending of his Barnaby Rudge.
In the Saturday Evening Post for May for 1841, Poe had reviewed
the work, which was being published serially in a magazine a chapter at
a time.) Dickens agrees to consider writing for Graham's and to
try to find an English publisher for Poe's Tales of the Grotesque
and
Arabesque, although nothing of substance will ever come of either
promise.
- 1842 (May) - Poe leaves the editorship of Graham's
Magazine.
He
is replaced by Rufus W. Griswold. In a letter to his friend F. W.
Thomas,
Poe notes, "The report of my having parted with Graham, is correct;
although,
in the forthcoming June number, there is no announcement to that
effect;
nor had the papers any authority for the statement made. My duties
ceased
with the May number. I shall continue to contribute occasionally. . . .
My reason for resigning was disgust with the namby-pamby character of
the
Magazine -- a character which it was impossible to eradicate -- I
allude
to the contemptible pictures, fashion plates, music and love tales. The
salary, moreover, did not pay me for the labor which I was forced to
bestow.
With Graham, who is really a very gentlemanly, although exceedingly
weak
man, I had no misunderstanding" (Ostrom, Letters, p. 198).
(Although
Poe complained about his pay, he would never again attain such a
relatively
secure financial position.)
- 1843 (January 31) - Poe and Thomas Cottrell Clarke
sign an
agreement to
proceed with Poe's plans for a magazine. The original name, The Penn,
was deemed too regional sounding and the new magazine is called The
Stylus, which is, of course, a pen. (Again, Poe found it impossible
to raise sufficient interest and capital. Although he revisited the
effort
from time to time until his death, The Stylus never appeared.)
- 1843 (February 25) - A biographical notice of Poe, by
Henry
Beck
Hirst,
is printed in the Philadelphia Saturday Museum. Full of
erroneous
information, presumably provided by Poe, this biography begins to
establish
Poe's public image. (The article is reprinted in the March 4 issue.)
- 1843 (March) - Through contacts of his friend F. W.
Thomas,
Poe
hopes
to
gain a government job as a clerk, which will still leave him with time
to write. Although one of his supporters is Robert Tyler, the son of
President
John Tyler, Poe fails to obtain a position.
- 1843 (June) - Poe's tale of pirate treasure, "The
Gold-Bug," wins the $100 prize from the Dollar Newspaper
(Philadelphia). So successful is the tale that a second printing of the
newspaper is required. In additon to the prize, Poe receives
substantial
national attention. A theatrical production based on Poe's story,
dramatized
by Silas S. Steele, is performed on August 8, 1843 at the American
Theatre
in Philadelphia (Mabbott, Tales and Sketches, p. 805). (In
November
of 1845, a French translation, "Le Scarabee d'or" was printed in the Revue
britannique and again in installments in La Democratie pacifique
in May of 1848 and in La Journal du Loiret in June of 1848. A
pirated
English edition appeared in London around 1846.)
- 1843 (July) - Poe's Prose
Romances is published in Philadelphia by William H.
Graham.
- 1843 (July 19) - Poe registers to study law in the
office
of
Henry Beck
Hirst, a long-time friend (Mabbott, Poems, p. 553. The Poe
Log
disputes this claim, p. 427.)
- 1843 (November 21) - Poe delivers the first of his
lectures
on
American
Poetry, beginning in Philadelphia. The large audience overflows the
hall
and reviews are generally favorable, inspiring Poe to proceed with
other
performances of the lecture. (Among Poe's later lectures are "The Poets
and Poetry of America," "The Poetic Principle" and "The Universe." The
last of these became the basis for his 1848 book Eureka.)
- 1844 (April 7) - Poe and his family move to New York,
where
Poe
may
have
joined the Sunday Times as a subeditor.
- 1844 (October 7) - Poe is engaged by George Pope
Morris and
Nathaniel
Parker
Willis as part of the staff of the Evening
Mirror (New York). (In 1849, N. P. Willis recalled, "Mr.
Poe was employed by us, for several months, as critic and subeditor.
This
was our first personal acquaintance with him. He resided with his wife
and mother at Fordham, a few miles out of town, but was at his desk in
the office, from nine in the morning till the evening paper went to
press.
. . . he was invariably punctual and industrious." See N. P. Willis,
"Death
of Edgar Allan Poe" from the Home Journal, October 20, 1849,
reprinted
in Carlson, Recognition of Poe, pp. 36-41.)
- 1845 (Jan. 29) - Poe's most famous poem, "The
Raven" is published in the New York Evening Mirror,
where
it becomes a sensational hit. It is widely reprinted and brings Poe
considerable
praise and fame, although financially he receives only about $15 for
the
initial printing. (Many stories have been told of the writing of "The
Raven."
Indeed, the list of people who claimed to be present at its infancy
seemed
to grow with each reminiscence published after Poe's death. Poe's
explanation
of the poem's creation, "The
Philosophy of Composition," is largely fictional, by Poe's
own
admission. The most probable account is that Poe wrote the poem in late
1844, while staying at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Henry Brennan
in
New York.)
- 1845 (Feb. 22) - Poe becomes an editor of The
Broadway Journal. By July 12, he is the sole editor and
by October 24, the sole owner as well. Poe finally has full control of
a magazine, but one already laboring perilously under serious debts.
- 1846 (Jan. 3) - Buried under with financial problems,
The
Broadway
Journal
ceases publication.
- 1846 (April) - Godey's
Lady's Book publishes the first installment of Poe's
"The
Literati of New York City: Some Honest Opinions at Random Respecting
Their
Authorial Merits, with Occasional Words of Personality." Copies of Godey's
sell unusually well, requiring an additional printing. Poe publishes
five
additional installments before ending the series with the October issue.
- 1846 (about May) - Poe moves his family to a cottage
in
Fordham,
New
York.
(This quaint little house, now cared for by the Bronx Historical
Society,
is open to the public.)
- 1847 (Jan. 30) - Virginia Poe dies of tuberculosis in
Fordham,
New
York.
She is entombed on February 2 in the Valentine family vault in the
Dutch
Reformed Church at Fordham. (The bed in which she died may still be
seen
in this house. The tops of the posts at the foot of the bed are cut off
so that it will fit under the sloping roof.)
- 1848 (about July 15) - Poe's prose poem Eureka
is published by George Putnam. Criticism is mixed, some lauding it as
containing
brilliant insights and some denouncing it as pantheisic. Poe denies
charges
of pantheism. The publishers do not hold Poe's enthusiam for the work
and
print only 500 copies, of which an unknown number were actually sold.
There
is insufficient interest to justify Poe's much-hoped-for second edition.
- 1848 (November) - Poe begins to court New England
widow and
poetess
Sarah
Helen Whitman. After considerable effort, he manages to secure a
promise
of marriage. Mrs. Whitman is concerned about his reputation for
drinking.
Poe pledges to be temperate.
- 1848 (December 23) - Poe fails to meet the condition
of
total
abstinence
from drinking and Mrs. Whitman calls off the engagement.
- 1849 (June 29) - Poe begins a southern lecture tour
to
raise
money and
support for his proposed magazine, The Stylus. He arrives in
Richmond
on July 14.
- 1849 (July?) - Poe meets with the now widowed Elmira
Royster
Shelton.
Rekindling
the youthful romance, Poe asks her to marry him. Mrs. Shelton is
initially
hesitant, but by August 25 has apparently accepted Poe's proposal. (By
remarrying, Mrs. Shelton would have had to give up a large portion of
the
inheritance left by her husband, as stipulated in his will.)
- 1849 (August 27) - Poe joins the Sons of Temperance,
Shockoe Hill
Division,
No. 54. (This society required that its members abstain completely from
the drinking of any alcoholic beverages.)
- 1849 (Sept. 27) - Poe leaves Richmond, perhaps aboard
the
steamship Pocahontas.
He arrives in Baltimore on September 28.
- 1849 (Oct. 7) - Edgar Allan Poe dies
in
Baltimore
in the Washington College Hospital (later Church Home and Hospital).
- 1849 (Oct. 8 or 9) - Edgar Allan Poe is buried
in his grandfather's lot in the Westminster Burying Ground. The
ceremony
is officiated by the Reverend William T. D. Clemm.
- 1849 (Oct. 9) - Rufus Wilmot Griswold's
slanderous
obituary
of Poe, the so-called "Ludwig" article, is published in the
New
York Tribune. It is widely copied.
- 1850 (January 10) - The first two volumes of
Griswold's
collected Works
of the Late Edgar Allan Poe are published. Volume I
contains
a preface "To the Reader" by Maria
Clemm, Poe's mother-in-law, announcing that Poe himself had
selected Griswold as his literary executor and describing the edition
as
having been put together for her benefit. (There is no other
substantiation
for the idea that Poe selected Griswold and it may or may not be true.
Despite the claim that the books were "for my benefit," Maria Clemm saw
none of the profits gathered by Griswold and the publishers. Instead,
she
was given copies of the set to sell on her own. After her death in
1871,
there is a gap of four years in publication of the set, resuming in
1876,
without Maria Clemm's preface.)
- 1850 (September 21) - The third volumes of Griswold's
collected Works
of the Late Edgar Allan Poe is published. This volume
contains
Griswold's infamous "Memoir of the Author." In 1856, the fourth and
final
volume of Griswold's edition of Poe's works is published. (Beginning in
1853, Griswold's "Memoir" shifted to volume I.)
- 1856 (about February 13) - The fourth and final
volume of
Griswold's
collected Works
of the Late Edgar Allan Poe is published, containing "The
Narrative
of Arthur Gordon Pym" and other miscellaneous items.
- 1857 (Aug. 27) - Poe's literary nemesis, Rufus Wilmot
Griswold,
dies.
His
slanderous biographical memoir of Poe continues to accompany the
standard
edition of Poe's works until 1875, selling as many as several thousand
copies a year.
- 1860 - Sarah Helen
Whitman,
Poe's former fiancee, publishes a defense of Poe in a book called Edgar
Poe and His Critics.
- 1871 (Feb. 16) - Maria Clemm dies in Baltimore in the
Church Home
and
Hospital
(the same hospital in which Edgar Allan Poe died 22 years earlier.)
- 1874 (June 14) - Rosalie Poe, Edgar's younger sister,
dies
at the
Epiphany
Church Home in Washington, D.C. Found in her hands is an envelope
containing
a check for $50, sent by a philanthropist hoping to ease her financial
plight. She is buried with the nuns in a section of Rock Creek
Cemetery.
(Her tombstone erroneously reads 1812-1874. Rosalie was born in 1811.)
- 1874 - A new edition of Poe's collected works appears
with
a
favorable
memoir by John Henry Ingram.
- 1875 (Nov. 17) - Poe's Memorial Grave
is dedicated in Baltimore with elaborate ceremonies.
- 1880 - John Henry Ingram publishes his full-length
biography of
Poe: Edgar
Allan Poe: His Life, Letters and Opinions (London, 2 vols).
- 1885 (May 4) - The Actors' Monument, a sculpture by
Richard
Henry
Park,
is unveiled in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The ceremonies
include
a presentation by Edwin Booth, the most respected actor of his day. (In
1994, this statue was moved to the Poe Museum in Richmond, Viriginia.)
- 1910 - Poe is inducted into the Hall of Fame
in New York.
(See also Poe in Baltimore) |
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