Q 01/05

In which city was Edgar Allan Poe born in 1809?

A) Baltimore

B) Richmond

C) Boston

D) Philadelphia

Answer · why

C) Boston

Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809; his mother Eliza left him a watercolour of Boston Harbor inscribed to her little son Edgar, who should eve...

Q 02/05

What was the profession of both of Poe's parents?

A) Actors

B) Printers

C) Schoolteachers

D) Merchants

Answer · why

A) Actors

Both parents were actors: David Poe Jr. and Eliza Arnold Hopkins Poe performed with touring stage companies; David abandoned the family in 1810 and El...

Q 03/05

Which Richmond merchant took in the orphaned Poe and gave him his middle name?

A) John Allan

B) James Allan

C) Thomas Allan

D) William Allan

Answer · why

A) John Allan

John Allan, a Scottish-born Richmond tobacco merchant, took Edgar in after his mother's death in 1811; the Allans gave him their surname but never for...

Q 04/05

Poe left the University of Virginia after one year, chiefly because of what?

A) A duel

B) Gambling debts

C) Expulsion for drinking

D) A secret marriage

Answer · why

B) Gambling debts

Poe ran up gambling debts at cards while trying to cover expenses his foster father underfunded; when the debts went unpaid he left Charlottesville at...

Q 05/05

Under what assumed name did Poe enlist in the US Army in 1827?

A) Henri Le Rennet

B) Arthur Gordon Pym

C) Quarles

D) Edgar A. Perry

Answer · why

D) Edgar A. Perry

Poe enlisted as Edgar A. Perry on May 26, 1827, claiming to be 22 when he was 18; he was posted first to Fort Independence on Castle Island at five do...