Portal:Literature/Biography archive/2007, Week 14

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. 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.), he was also a prolific writer of essays, biographies, and other forms as well. He and James Fenimore Cooper were the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving is said to have mentored authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe.