7/28/1841 Mary Rogers is found dead

July 28, 1841.  On this date the body of Mary Rogers, a clerk in a New York tobacco store, was fished out of the Hudson River.  Many possible explanations of her death were offered but nothing was ever proved.

Only one explanation need concern us because it was offered by Edgar Allan Poe.  He wrote a thinly disguised version called "The Mystery of Marie Roget."  It took place in Paris and starred his amateur sleuth C. Auguste Dupin. 

This was the second of three Dupin stories.  In this trilogy Poe created not just the roman a clef, mystery (that is, one based on actual people and events), but the genius detective, the narrating "Watson," the bumbling cops, the "obvious" clue, the least likely suspect....

6/28/1843 The Gold-Bug is hatched

June 28, 1843.  This date marked the biggest payday of Edgar Allan Poe's career.  He entered his story "The Gold-Bug" in a contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Dollar News. He won, scoring a hundred bucks, and the story was published  on this day.  His tale of secret codes and buried pirate treasure inspired a huge interest in, well, secret codes and buried pirate treasure.  Logically enough.

We get a lot of our stereotypes about pirates from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island,but where did Stevenson get his ideas?  "I broke into the gallery of Mr. Poe," he confessed.  And we're all glad he did.

4/20/1841 The mystery story is born

April 20, 1841.  That was the publication date for the issue of Graham's Magazine which featured "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," in which Edgar Allan Poe invented the detective story.

Oh sure, you can find earlier stories with this or that element, but in one tale Poe included:
* A genius detective
* An admiring assistant (or "Watson") who narrates
* Bungling police officers
* Scientific crime scene investigation
* Least likely suspect

In three more stories (two about Auguste Dupin, the genius detective, plus "Thou Art The Man") he added:
* The obvious clue
* The roman a clef
* The gathering of the suspects

So happy birthday to the mystery field!

4/15/1846 Abraham Lincoln, crime writer

April 15, 1846.  Chances are when you think of Abraham Lincoln you don't immediately think of crime fiction.  But on this date he published a slightly fictionalized version of one of my most interesting cases as an attorney.  It is certainly a bizarre tale.  You can read "The Trailor Murder Mystery," as it is usually called here.

8/8/1843 The Gold Bug hits the boards

August 8, 1843.  On this date the first dramatic presentation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold Bug" was put on stage at the American Theatre in Philadelphia.  It was probably the first theatrical adaption of one of the author's works.  Of course, many more followed.

Poe's tale of code-breaking and treasure-hunting had won a $100 first prize in June and was published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper.  Robert Louis Stevenson acknowledged it inspired Treasure Island, the definitive fictional view of pirates.

1/29/1845 Quoth the Raven

January 29, 1845.  Well, arguably "The Raven" has nothing to do with mystery, but who would deny it a place in our field (or on the bust of Pallas)?  MWA even uses it as the name for awards not directly related to writing.  Edgar Allan Poe's most famous work appeared in the Evening Mirror on this date.  (It also appeared in the February issue of The American Review under a pseudonym, so that might have hit the newsstands first.)  It made him a celebrity immediately.