Edgar Allan Poe was an influential and important writer of the 19th century, and was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many short stories, poems, and critical theories, and influenced many people and other writers. He was the first author to try to make a professional living out of writing, and most of his work was inspired by the events happening around him.

Edgar Allan Poe’s mother and father were both professional actors, but before Poe was three years old, they both died. As a young boy, he was raised by John Allan, who was an exporter from Richmond, Virginia, who never legally adopted Poe. John Allan helped Edgar Allan Poe grow up in good surroundings and helped him go to good schools as a child.