Edgar Allan Poe was the greatest American teller of
mystery and suspense tales in the 19th century. Edgar Poe
was born in Boston, Mass, on Jan. 19, 1809. His parents were
touring actors. Orphaned at age 3, he was taken into the
home of John Allan, a merchant of Richmond, Va. Later Poe
took Allan as his middle name. John Allan became one of the
richest men in Virginia. After a time, however, Allan grew
cold toward him, and Poe realized that his place in the
family was insecure. When he was 17,he entered the
University of Virginia. Allan gave Poe only a small
allowance, and the young man soon began owing money. He
gambled and ran into greater debt. By the end of the year he
owed 2,500 dollars. He was nervous and unstable, and he
began to drink. Allan angrily withdrew Poe from school, and
a few months later Poe left home. Poe went to Boston in
1827. He persuaded a printer to issue some of his early
poems in a small pamphlet. It was called "Tamerlane and
Other Poems." Poe's money was soon gone, and he enlisted in
the Army. In his two years in the Army, he rose to be
regimental sergeant major. But he wanted to become an
officer, thinking that such advancement would restore him to
Allan's favor. After the death of Mrs. Allan in 1829, Poe
and Allan were reunited. With Allan's help Poe was granted
an honorable discharge from the Army. He then sought an
appointment to the United States Military Academy at West
Point, N.Y. Poe waited for more than a year. In the meantime
he lived in Baltimore, Md., with his father's widowed
sister, Maria Clemm, and her young daughter, Virginia. While
there he published another volume of poetry, 'Al Aaraaf,
Tamerlane, and Minor Poems' (1829). On July 1, 1830, he was
sworn in as a West Point cadet. When John Allan married
again, Poe lost all chance of becoming his heir. He
deliberately neglected his classes and duties and was
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