Edgar Allan Poe died in October.
Edgar Allan Poe ( [ poʊ ] born Edgar Poe ; January 19 , 1809 -- October 7 , 1849 ) was an American writer , editor , and literary critic . Poe died in Baltimore on October 7 , 1849 , at age 40 ; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol , brain congestion , cholera , drugs , heart disease , rabies , suicide , tuberculosis , and other agents .