On October 3rd, 1849 Joseph W. Walker was walking the streets of Baltimore when he came across a body in the street. The man still alive but muttering incoherently, was covered in filth and his clothes were much to large, leaving the man to believe they did not belong to him. He was rushed to Washington College Hospital were he remained until October 7th, when he succumbed to his ailments and passed away.
The man was Edgar Allan Poe, and some 100 years later. His death is as much of a mystery as the work for which the writer is so widely known.
According to several people, the last time anyone saw him (before being discovered in the street) he had been seen walking the streets uttering the name "Reynolds", over and over again. Then he simply vanishes. No one knows where or what happened to the poet, and there are several theories. None of which can be proven.
Was he murdered? Did he commit suicide? Did he drink himself to death?
No one knows, and sadly. No one will probably ever know.
Side Notes:
Rufus Wilmot Griswold was left in charge of Poe's estate after his death, and even wrote his obituary. But Griswold and Poe were bitter rivals and a biography penned by Griswold described Poe as a very hard drinker, a drug addict, and a madman. An image which stuck and most historians since have attributed to his life. But there are conflicting statements by most of Poe's colleagues and friends that say Poe wasn't like that at all.
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