Edgar Allan Poe was born.
Edgar Allan Poe . 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 . It was at this time that his publishing career began , albeit humbly , with the anonymous collection of poems Tamerlane and Other Poems ( 1827 ) , credited only to `` a Bostonian '' . Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals , becoming known for his own style of literary criticism . In January 1845 , Poe published his poem `` The Raven '' to instant success .