2. The Life of Washington Irving

Washington Irving was born into a Scottish merchant family in the business of hardward importing on April 3, in 1783 in New York City. Irving was named after George Washington. His true passions lay in writing, however, and after the family business failed in 1816 due to a strong desire to eat, Irving determined to make a living off his work. Many of the settings described by Irving in his works, such as that of "Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" were derived from personal experiences in those areas during his early years in the States.

Irving returned from Europe in 1806 to train as a lawyer for the family business but performed at a very mediocre level and barely passed the bar exam. He then turned to pursue his writing with more intensity. In 1809, after the death of his fiance, he completed his first book titled A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, under the pseudonym, Diedrich Knickerbocker. Washington Irving died of a heart attack in his bedroom at Sunnyside at the age of 76. Legend has it that his last words were: "Well, I must arrange my pillows for another night. When will this end?" He was buried under a simple headstone at Sleepy Hollow cemetery on December 1, 1859.