Birth of the Detective Story

According to The Writer’s Almanac, the first detective story met the world on April 20, 1841, with the publication of a tale by the esteemed Mr. Poe:

In 1841, on this day, the first detective story was published. In his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” published in Graham’s Magazine, Edgar Allan Poe created mystery’s first fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin. The story introduced many of the elements of mysteries that are still popular today: the genius detective, the not-so-smart sidekick, the plodding policeman and the use of the red herring to lead readers off the track.

The rest, as they say, is history. The Almanac entry in question is here. Text and audio versions of Poe’s story are available here.