Edgar Allan Poe was 40 years old when he died on October 7, 1849. He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, so his death came several months after his fortieth birthday.
Poe’s short life was remarkably productive. He worked as a poet, short-story writer, editor, and literary critic, and helped establish detective fiction through stories featuring C. Auguste Dupin. His best-known works include “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
His final illness remains mysterious. Poe was found semiconscious in Baltimore on October 3, 1849, wearing clothes that were reportedly not his own. He died four days later at Washington Medical College. The original medical records and death certificate have been lost, so the exact cause of death remains uncertain.
A common mistake is to remember Poe as having died in his thirties or early forties without checking the dates. The calendar makes the answer definite: January 19, 1809, to October 7, 1849, equals 40 years of age.