 On August 22 , 1879 , a female admirer traveled to Longfellow 's house in Cambridge and , unaware to whom she was speaking , asked Longfellow : " Is this the house where Longfellow was born ? " Longfellow told her it was not . The visitor then asked if he had died here . " Not yet " , he replied . In March 1882 , Longfellow went to bed with severe stomach pain . He endured the pain for several days with the help of opium before he died surrounded by family on Friday , March 24 , 1882 . He had been suffering from peritonitis . At the time of his death , his estate was worth an estimated $ 356 @,@ 320 . He is buried with both of his wives at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge , Massachusetts . His last few years were spent translating the poetry of Michelangelo ; though Longfellow never considered it complete enough to be published during his lifetime , a posthumous edition was collected in 1883 . Scholars generally regard the work as autobiographical , reflecting the translator as an aging artist facing his impending death . 
