Edgar Allan Poe (1809 –1849) was an American poet, short-story writer, editor and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. In January 1845, Poe published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents. Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

_________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1764:

English radical and politician John Wilkes was expelled from the British Parliament and declared an outlaw for seditious libel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes)

1817:

An army of over 5,400 soldiers led by General José de San Martín crossed the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru from Spanish rule. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_San_Mart%C3%ADnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_San_Mart%C3%ADn )

1839:

The Royal Marines landed at Aden to occupy the territory and stop attacks by pirates against the British East India Company's shipping to India. The city in present-day Yemen remained under British control until 1967. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden)

1935:

In Chicago, Coopers Inc. sold the world's first briefs, a new style of men's undergarment. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undergarment)

1977:

Iva Toguri, allegedly a Tokyo Rose, a generic name given by Allied forces during World War II to approximately twenty English-speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda, was granted a full pardon by U.S. President Gerald Ford. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iva_Toguri_D%27Aquinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iva_Toguri_D%27Aquino )

_______________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

belittle (v) To knowingly say that something is smaller or less important than it actually is. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/belittle)

______________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

From childhood's hour I have not been

As others were — I have not seen As others saw — I could not bring My passions from a common spring —

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow — I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone — And all I lov'd — I lov'd alone. --Edgar Allan Poe (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe)