Washington Irving (1783 - 1859)
New York City, New York, United States

"Who ever hears of fat men heading a riot, or herding together in turbulent mobs?-No-no, 'tis your lean, hungry men who are continually worrying society, and setting the whole community by the ears."

Named after George Washington, Irving was born in New York City into an immigrant family. Although he pursued ambitions of architecture, writing, landscape design, traveling, and diplomacy, he is known in the contemporary world as the first American author to make a living off of his written work. He wrote under the penname of Diedrich Knickerbocker, which he derived from New York Knickerbockers (Knicks). Irving was a traveler and spent a portion of his life in Europe, specifically England, France, Spain, and Germany. And many stores sprung up from his adventures abroad such as Voyages of Christopher Columbus. However, his most famous work sets in his hometown of New York. In 1819, he published a sketchbook under the penname of "Geoffrey Crayon Gent," which contained short stories of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Due to his travels abroad and great written work, Irving was recognized worldwide and received many honors such as the role of ambassador of Spain granted to him by President Taylor. He finally retired to his pastoral retreat Sunnyside in the 1840s, where he received frequent visitations from fellow writers and fans. Irving was the first American writer. According to Perkins, et. al. The American Tradition in Literature. 6th Ed. One Volume, he was the first American literary humorist, wrote the first modern short stories, was the first to write history and biography as entertainment, introduced the nonfiction prose as a literary genre, and used gothic looks forward to Poe.

Works
Salmagundi (with William Irving and James Paulding), 1808
Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, 1809
The Sketch Book, 1819-20, containing "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Bracebridge Hall, 1822
Tales of a Traveller, 1824
The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, 1828
The Conquest of Granada (1829)
Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus, 1831
The Alhambra, 1832
The Crayon Miscellany, 1835
Astoria, 1836
The Rocky Mountains, (The Adventures of Captain Bonneville), 1837
Biography of Margaret Miller Davidson, 1841
Goldsmith, Mahomet, Mahomet's Successors, 1850
Wolfert's Roost, 1855
Life of Washington, 1855.

Additional Information
A List of Literary Criticism of Irving's Works: http://www.ipl.org/cgi-bin/ref/litcrit/litcrit.out.pl?au=irv-94

Sources:

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 3: Early Nineteenth Century - Washington Irving." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. WWW URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/irving.html