David Poe, Jr. (July 18, 1784 – December 11, 1811 (speculative)) was an American actor and the father of Edgar Allan Poe.
David Poe, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, David Poe, Sr., was known for his patriotic self-sacrifice during the American Revolution. He defied his family's wishes to become a lawyer, instead opting to become an actor. He fell in love with and married Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, whose husband, Charles Hopkins, had died six months before. David Poe, Jr. was considered an inferior actor compared to his wife.[1][2] One critic said of Eliza and David, "the lady was young and pretty, and evinced talent both as a singer and actress; the gentleman was literally nothing." After the birth of their second son Edgar, the Poe family ran low on money, and David Poe, Jr. abandoned his family and disappeared from record. In his absence, Elizabeth gave birth to a third child, a daughter named Rosalie.
According to author Susan Archer Talley Weiss, Poe died on December 11, 1811, only three days after Eliza's death.