Edgar Allan Poe died October 7, 1849, but nobody knows for sure what the true cause of his death was. There are many theories of how he died, all with a reasonable amount of convincing evidence.
He also died at a young age, at the age of 40, which crosses out the possibility of death of old age. Many say he died because of alcohol related disorders, and many others say that he died because of heart related sickness. There are also many other possibilities on how he died, some more realistic than others. On October 3, 1849, Dr. Joseph E. Snodgrass received the following note: Baltimore City, Oct. 3, 1849 Dear Sir, There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan's 4th ward polls, who goes under the cognomen of Edgar A. Poe, and who appears in great distress, & he says he is acquainted with you, he is in need of immediate assistance. Yours, in haste, JOS. W. WALKER To Dr. J.E. Snodgrass. This note is one of the first verifiable evidence which gives us any evidence of Poe's whereabouts since he left Richmond, VA on September 27, where he was giving a lecture and visiting some friends. He left Richmond to supposedly go to Philadelphia, but was really in New York. And if that was not enough twist in his story, he was found in an ill-state of mind/distress in Baltimore, MD on October 3rd, nobody truly knowing why he was there in the first place. After some people realized that he was troubled for some reason, he was taken to Washington College Hospital where he died on October 7. His last words were "Lord, help my poor soul." At this time, due to lack of advanced technology, it was said that Poe died of "congestion of the brain." The actual cause of his death, however, is something that experts have argued over for the past 150 years, or so. Rabies, epilepsy, carbon monoxide poisoning are just few of the conditions that have been thought to have led to the tragic death of Edgar Allan Poe. Even though experts have been trying to find out the true cause of his death since the actual time he died, theories that were supported with multiple sources of reliable evidence only started showing up since about the mid-1900's. To the right is a survey that lists some of the most popular theories of how he died, and to find what other people think, vote and it will let you see the results of whether or not you thought what the majority of people who voted thought! |
Edgar Allan Poe's Grave Headstone
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