What are facts that no one knew about Edgar Allan Poe?

Answer 1

Poe's military records from West Point give his height as 5 foot, 8 inches. Poe himself repeated this height in a letter to Joseph M. Field, June 15, 1846, "I am 33 years of age - height 5 ft. 8" Dr. John J. Moran's description inexplicably added 2 inches to this height, making Poe 5 foot, 10 inches. Moran gave Poe's weight as 140 pounds.

Considering the amount of attention evidently attracted by Poe's eyes, descriptions are surprisingly varied. The color is given as grey, hazel, violet and even blue. Mabbott states that the color of Poe's eyes was hazel, with no explanation as to the source. The records at West Point record his eyes as grey.

It has commonly been stated that Poe's hair was black, often with the poetical note that it was "black as a raven's wing." Several locks of his hair survive, however, and all attest clearly that his hair was dark brown. The error is undoubtedly attributable to the frailty of human memory and the fact that all photographs of the time were black and white, which accentuated the natural darkness of his hair. Poe first grew his now-famous mustache in about 1845. Prior to that time he seems to have preferred long sideburns.

The oil painting by Samuel Stillman Osgood, made about 1845, shows Poe wearing a chestnut-colored frockcoat.

Answer 2

1. Poe was known for his macabre and dark fiction, but he also wrote comedic works, such as satire and humor pieces.
2. Poe once proposed to his childhood friend, Sarah Elmira Royster, who later married someone else while he was studying at the University of Virginia.
3. Poe enlisted in the US Army under the name Edgar A. Perry, claiming he was 22 years old, despite being only 18 at the time.