Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, short story writer, and critic. He is usually considered as being at the center of American Romanticism. Poe is credited with creating detective fiction as well. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. He was the second child to be born to actor Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and David Poe, Jr. In 1826, Edgar Allan Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia to pursue his dual language goals of classical and modern studies. Under the name Edgar A. Perry, Poe enrolled as a private in the American Army in 1827. After two years of service, he was promoted to the position of Sergeant Major for Artillery. Edgar Allen Poe made an effort to launch a writing career after the passing of his brother. In 1835, Poe wed his cousin Virginia Clemm. Their 11-year marriage-which ended with her death-may have served as an inspiration for some of his writing. Poe was discovered unconscious on October 3, 1849, in Baltimore. He was carried to the Washington Medical College, where he passed away at five in the morning on Sunday, October 7, 1849. Poe's dying words, according to his attending physician, were "Lord help my poor soul."