Washington Irving

Novelist

Birthday April 3, 1783

Birth Sign Aries

Birthplace New York City, NY

DEATH DATE Nov 28, 1859 (76)

#59,018 Most Popular

About

American author of the classic romantic short stories The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. His other works include biographies of such historical figures as George Washington, Muhammad, and Oliver Goldsmith.

Before Fame

He was named after president George Washington, and he once met his namesake while the president was visiting New York City. Washington Irving began writing at a young age, and he published several letters in the Morning Chronicle when he was just nineteen years old (using the pseudonym of Jonathan Oldstyle).

Trivia

He served as the United States Ambassador to Spain during the early-to-mid 1840s.

Family Life

He was born in New York to Sarah Sanders and William Irving, Sr. He spent his last years in Tarrytown, New York.

Associated With

He is one of the first American authors to be well received by Europeans, and he inspired other American writers, such as Edgar Allan Poe.