Edgar Allan Poe
American writer Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. He lost both of his parents when he was very young, and afterward he grew up with a foster family. Poe studied briefly at the University of Virginia, but then he quarreled with his foster father and went to Boston in 1827, where he published his first volume of poetry anonymously. In the early 1840s Poe became known for his lyrical, brooding poems and detective stories, such as ‘The Gold Bug’ and ‘Murders at the Rue Morgue.’ In fact, he is recognized as the father of the modern detective story. Poe was unafraid to criticize literary practices of the time, stressing the importance of artistic value more than moral value. After battles with alcoholism and his wife Virginia’s illness and death, Poe became depressed but continued to write. He became engaged again but died soon afterward, in 1849 at the age of 40.

Image: Library of Congress

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