Irving, Washington (pseudonyms Diedrich Knickerbocker, Geoffrey Crayon, Launcelot Wa)

1783 – He was born on the 3rd day of April this year in New York City.

1815 – He left for Europe.

1819 – He published The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, which includes his best-known stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip van Winkle”.

1828 – He wrote The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus in this year, the Conquest of Granada.

1830 – He traveled on the Western frontier in this year.

1832 – He returned to the United States.

1835 – He recorded his glimpses of western tribes in A Tour on the Prairies

1840 – He returned to Europe as the American ambassador to Spain.

1851 – He wrote an “Author’s Revised Edition” entitled Tales of the Alhambra.

1859 – He died this year in Tarrytown.
 

• "A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles."
• "I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories."
• "Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart."
• "Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way throughout a thousand obstacles."