"Edgar Allan Poe," began historian Kevin J. Hayes, without even pausing to admit that anybody else could be considered for the honor, "is the most influential Virginian of the 19th century. Though born in Boston -- a fact he always regretted -- and living parts of his life in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, Poe identified with Virginia more closely than anywhere else." And such an association is welcomed by citizens of the commonwealth.

Poe was a child in Richmond when his mother died. He grew up here and in England with the family of Richmond merchant John Allan. Poe took the "Allan" family name as his middle name. He had a checkered educational career at the University of Virginia and the United States Military Academy before returning to Richmond to take his first job as magazine editor for the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe resided in Richmond for several years then and later, and returned again near the end of his life to start his own magazine.

"Poe's influence on literary history is profound," Hayes stated. "He emphasized the importance of originality in literature, and, to that end, he devised new ways of writing both poetry and prose."

In 1841 Poe invented the detective story when he published "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." In 1853, with "Hans Pfaal," he invented modern science fiction. "Formerly," Hayes wrote, "tales of travel through time and space had been heavily didactic, utopian stories. Poe wrote to delight, not to instruct."

And all these years later, the entertainment template Poe created still predominates the landscape.

Poe was an astute and influential literary critic and writer of prose and poetry. "The level of craftsmanship and seriousness he brought to the short story," Hayes concluded, "was unprecedented. He influenced major authors around the globe from Auden to Yeats. Poe is not only the most influential Virginian of the 19th century, he is the single most influential figure in the history of American literature."

Historian Bland Whitley nominated Poe for greatest Virginian of the century, calling him "without question the most significant cultural figure Virginia produced during the 19th century."

"His literary criticism," Whitley wrote, "established models for how to read fiction and poetry. His poetry inspired a host of imitators and continues to be read (and not just because English teachers require it). He helped advance the short story as a legitimate form and contributed fine works to the genres of gothic horror and mystery."

Historian Sara Bearss summarized the case succinctly: "This editor, poet, short-story writer, and creator of the detective story was nationally and internationally influential, something that cannot be said for any of the other figures that came to mind." -- B.T.