Profile of the Day: Washington Irving

Remember reading the short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”? On this day in 1859, author Washington Irving died in his home at the age of 76.

Image: Washington Irving / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Irving was the youngest of eleven children born to William Irving, Sr. and Sarah Sanders. He was born just as the American Revolution came to its end and was named after the hero of the revolution, George Washington. At the age of 6, he had the opportunity to attend Washington’s inauguration as the first President of the United States.

Although today Irving is best remembered for his short stories, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the writer was also an essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat. From 1842 to 1846, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain. In the last years of his life, Irving published a five-volume biography on the life of George Washington. Irving died eight months after the publication of the final volume of the biography.

Explore Washington Irving’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the author.

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