Edward was born Edward Anthony Masen on June 20, 1901, son of Edward and Elizabeth Masen Senior. He and his parents contracted the Spanish influenza during an epidemic that devastated Chicago, Illinois in 1918. Orphaned and nearly dead from the disease, Edward was turned into a vampire by the doctors who cared for him, Carlisle Cullen, who acted following the request of the mother of Edward. From that day onward, Carlisle raised Edward as his son, teaching him to a morality different from other vampires of Meyer's fictional universe. Their way of life is centered in refusing to consider humans as food and feed only the blood of animals. There was a period in which Edward gave up this lifestyle, going to use his ability to read minds to feed on those he considered worthy of death. However, some years later he repented and returned to live with Carlisle. In the books, Edward and his family, which includes Carlisle and Esme, his father figures, and their adopted siblings Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett get into conflict with other vampires, by their morality, by refusing to drink human blood. A particular source of conflict is Edward's love affair with the human Isabella Swan, more commonly known as Bella. Edward feels responsible for protecting Bella and therefore try to control the most of their willingness to bite her.
