Edward Coote Pinkney (October 1, 1802 – April 11, 1828) was an American poet, lawyer, sailor, professor, and editor. Born in London in 1802 when his father was serving as ambassador to the Court of St. James, Pinkney returned with his family to the United States when he was eight. They returned to Maryland, where he was privately schooled. After attending college (academy level), he joined the United States Navy at age 13, and traveled throughout the Mediterranean and elsewhere. He later attempted a law career but was unsuccessful at building the business. He tried to join the Mexican army, but they did not accept him. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 25 in 1828. Pinkney published several lyric poems inspired primarily by the work of British poets. American critic and poet Edgar Allan Poe supported Pinkney's work after his death, and other critics also praised him. Although Pinkney is sometimes called the first poet of the South, Poe suggested that Pinkney would have been more successful if he had been a New England writer. Biography Pinkney was born the seventh of ten children on October 1, 1802, in London, where his father William Pinkney was U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James. His mother, Anne Rodgers Pinkney, was the sister of Commodore John Rodgers. Pinkney lived with his family in London until he was eight; after they returned to the United States, he attended St. Mary's College of Maryland. Just after his thirteenth birthday in 1815, Pinkney joined the United States Navy as a midshipman. He served until 1824, during which time he traveled to Italy, North Africa, the West Indies, and both coasts of South America. His defiance of what he called 'arbitrary authority' occasionally got him into trouble. In 1824, two years after the death of his father, he left the Navy, married, read the law and was admitted to the bar in Maryland. Though he was well respected in his abilities as a lawyer, he had few clients and his practice failed. His wife, Georgiana McCausland, became a supportive and inspirational figure to him. In 1823, Pinkney challenged fellow Baltimore lawyer and poet, John Neal to a duel in response to Neal's criticism of Pinkney's father in his 1823 novel, Randolph. Neal had written the novel just before the death of Pinkney's father, but it was released just after. The public battle between