Washington Irving Dies

Washington Irving, often described as the first internationally celebrated American author, died in 1859 at his home, Sunnyside, near Tarrytown, New York. A writer, essayist, and diplomat, he helped establish the short story as an American literary form and won admiration on both sides of the Atlantic.

He is best remembered for tales drawn from his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, including Rip Van Winkle, about a man who sleeps for twenty years, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with its famous Headless Horseman. These stories rooted American folklore in the landscape of the Hudson Valley.

Irving also wrote histories and biographies, among them a popular life of Christopher Columbus and a five-volume biography of George Washington completed near the end of his career. His blend of humor, imagination, and graceful style gave early American literature a respected place in the wider English-speaking world.