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Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was orphaned at the age of three, due to the death of both his mother and his father. Both of his parents were traveling theatrical performers. Poe was taken in by John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant living in Richmond, Virginia. It was there that he was baptized Edgar Allan Poe. At the age of six, Poe was taken to England with his new family and placed in private school, where he studied for five years. Upon returning to the states in 1820, he continued his studies in private schools and then attended the University of Virginia. He was only there for a year before getting into financial trouble by gambling and drinking. John Allan refused to help him pay off his debts, forcing him to take a job as a clerk. Disliking his job and new responsibilities, he quit his job and moved back to Boston. There he wrote his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which was published anonymously in 1827. Soon after the release of this book, Poe enlisted in the army as a means of financial support. Despite his ref