Meet the American who conjured up 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow': Washington Irving, first US celebrity author
foxnews.comThe headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow haunts the American imagination each autumn. New York City native Washington Irving breathed life into the galloping ghost in 1819, when he penned "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," one of his tales of life among Dutch settlers along the Hudson River.
It stands 203 years later as one of the most famous ghost stories in world history — remade in many versions and retold in scores of languages.
Irving rode the spooky steed himself into global fame and a legacy as the first international celebrity born in the new nation. "He had talent, movie-star good looks and a charm that endeared him to his audience," writes author Brian Jay Jones in his 2008 biography, "Washington Irving: An American Original." "He danced and drank with the glitterati." Irving’s impact on American culture is felt today in surprising ways — far beyond his haunting tale of headless Hessian on horseback.
He gifted New York City with its "Gotham" moniker early in his career and was the first American to make his living purely by his pen.
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