Washington Irving

Washington Irving (1783–1859) was the first American writer to win a wide readership in Europe. Born in New York City and named for the general who had just won the war, he trained as a lawyer and in 1809 published A History of New York under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, a word that became the city's nickname. In England he wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1819–1820), which contains "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." He later lived in Spain, wrote a life of Columbus and tales of the Alhambra, served as American minister to Spain, and retired to Sunnyside on the Hudson.