Edgar Poe, an American writer, was born in 1809.
His parents were actors.
Edgar was a baby when his father left the family.
He was two years old when his mother died.
He was taken into the home of a wealthy business man named John Allen.
He then received his new name, Edgar Allen Poe.
As a young man, Poe attended the University of Virginia.
He was a good student, but he liked to drink alcohol and play card games for money.
As an unskilled game player, he often lost money.
Since he couldn’t pay his gambling losses, he left the university and began working for magazines.
He worked hard, yet he was not well paid, or well-known.