Washington Irving (1783 – 1859)

Born the same week of the ceasefire that ended the American Revolution, he was named after George Washington.

Irving is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), both of which appear in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad, and George Washington, as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain that deal with subjects such as Alhambra, Christopher Columbus, and the Moors.