Washington Irving

1
Washington Irving

• 1783-1859
• Americas First Professional Writer

2
Early Years

• Born in New York
• Named after George Washington
• Irving's fiancée died at the age of seventeen in
  1809. He wrote in a private letter to a friend
  "For years I could not talk on the subject of
  this hopeless regret I could not even mention
  her name but her image was continually before
  me, and I dreamt of her incessantly."

3
As a Writer

• Used several pseudonyms
• Geoffery Crayon
• Jonathan Oldstyle
• Diedrich Knickerbocker
• Soon the word Knickerbocker' was used to
  describe the early American writers, and
  eventually the word was used to mean a person
  from New York. This is where the New York
  basketball team got its name, The New York
  Knickerbockers (Knicks).

4
Firsts

• First Short Story
• Rip Van Winkle
• First American writer Respected Abroad
• First Professional American Writer

5
Favorite Themes

• Battle of the Sexes
• Legends History