1809:    Edgar Allen Poe was born

1812:    Edgar Allen Poe's parents died

1835:    Texas secedes Mexico

1836:    Texas wins independence, becomes a republic

1838:    Underground railroad begins

1839:    The Fall of the House of Usher was published

1842:    The Raven was published

1843:    The Pit and the Pendulum was published

1843:    Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol was published

1849:    Edgar Allen Poe died of an overdose of drugs