American author, essayist, biographer and historian
1783 CE
to 1859 CE
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) is an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century.
He is best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Muhammad, and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors, and the Alhambra.
Irving also served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846.
He makes his literary debut in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle, written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle.
After moving to England for the family business in 1815, he achieves international fame with the publication of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
in 1819.
He continues to publish regularly—and almost always successfully—throughout his life, and completes a five-volume biography of George Washington just eight months before his death, at age 76, in Tarrytown, New York.
Irving, along with James Fenimore Cooper, is among the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving encourages American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe.
Irving is also admired by some European writers, including Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Thomas Campbell, Francis Jeffrey, and Charles Dickens.
As America's first genuine internationally best-selling author, Irving advocates for writing as a legitimate profession, and argues for stronger laws to protect American writers from copyright infringement.
