Washington Irving
/ˌwɒʃɪŋtən ˈɜːvɪŋ/
/ˌwɑːʃɪŋtən ˈɜːrvɪŋ/
- (1783-1859) the first US writer to gain an international reputation. He is best known for two short stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, which were published in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent (1820). He also wrote the comic History of New York (1809) under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker. Irving was later the US ambassador to Spain (1842-6).