Poe

Edgar Allen Poe was born to travelling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809, the second of three children. His parents died when he reached the age of three and he was adopted by the Allens while his siblings were taken in by other families.
His foster father sent him to the University of Virginia with only a third of the amount of money needed and Poe's debts quickly piled. He resorted to gambling for money and burning furniture to keep warm. He was kicked out of the university and returned to his home.
There he found out that his fiancee had gotten engaged to another man in his absence. He left his home heartbroken and his foster father enrolled him in the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was expelled in eight months. 
He published his first book when he was eighteen and soon after being expelled from West Point published another. His poetry was featured in newspapers and he once spread false rumors about travelling across the ocean in a balloon in order to gain publicity for his work. "The Raven" was (and still is) his most famous work. Most households had a copy of the poem and most of his poems were printed and distributed through newspapers and magazines.
Poe's stories and poems were largely based on his own life experiences. Many people he was close to had died of tuberculosis, including his mother and wife. His writing reflected the stages of his emotions; he also dedicated many of his works to close friends and his family.
His death remains a mystery to the general public and there were only theories of how he died. Not even his family knew where he was when he died. It sparked some controversy and led to the first biography of Poe's life. Rufus Griswold, Poe's literary rival, wrote a memoir about how Poe was a drunk and womanizer that was intended to ruin Poe's reputation. It didn't work, however, and even after his death his works gained even more fame.