In 1849, Edgar Allen Poe, a notorious drunk, tried to dry out for a while. His good intentions lasted just a few hours. Moreover, he fell off the wagon with such a resounding crash that he died just three days later -- in a gutter. His body wasn't claimed for several days.
"This death was a suicide," the French poet Charles Baudelaire declared. "A suicide prepared for a long time."
[At 17, Poe enrolled in the University of Virginia. Within a day of his arrival, he had managed to gamble away his entire term's allowance and soon owed $2,500 in gambling debts. Moreover, Poe managed to stay drunk for the entire semester. Nonetheless, he aced his exams -- and earned the University's highest distinction.]
Sources
Complete Idiot`s Guide to American Literature
