Edgar Allen Poe died on this day in 1849. Poe was born 40 years earlier in Boston to two actors who would pass away before he reached three years old. His foster parents in Richmond, Va. gave him a top-tier education, but Poe’s personal life was turbulent and he would have trouble building a steady career in his young adulthood.
He began publishing his writing in 1827, but it took over a decade for his work to find success with the public. His eerie, psychological writing still captivates audiences today. Poe struggled with depression and alcoholism for much of his life, which worsened after his wife’s death. He’d been passing through Baltimore on his way to a new editing job in Philadelphia when he was found semi-conscious on the streets outside of a bar on Oct. 3. He died in a hospital four days later.
You can read more about Poe at the National Park Service.
