Irving, Washington - Sleepy Hollow, NY

Washington Irving

Sleepy Hollow, NY

N 41° 05.507 W 073° 51.686

The grave of American short story writer, essayist, biographer, and magazine editor, Washington Irving, is located in a large family plot in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, NY. His
grave is located in a family plot surrounded by an iron fence. His grave is marked with a 3' high stone with a rounded top that is inscribed:

WASHINGTON IRVING

BORN

APRIL 3, 1783

DIED

NOV. 28, 1859

A plaque just inside the family plot is inscribed:

THE IRVING FAMILY

GRAVEPLOT

WASHINGTON IRVING'S GRAVE

IRVING'S HOME "SUNNYSIDE"

AND

THE OLD DUTCH CHURCH OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

(WHICH IS IMMORTALIZED IN LEGEND)

ARE

NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS

IRVING'S GRAVEPLOT RECEIVES PERPETUAL

CARE FROM LOCAL CITIZENS AND ADMIRERS

OF THE AUTHOR OF

THE "SLEEPY HOLLOW" LEGENDS.

DONOR OF PLAQUE: THE IRVING FAMILY

1972

Washington Irving was the first of the great American authors. He was born in New York City on April 3, 1783. At age 19 he began writing commentaries to the New York Morning Chronicle on the New York City's social and theater scene under the name of Jonathan Oldstyle. In 1807 he and his brother William and James Kirke Paulding created the literary magazine Salmagundi. He lampooned New York culture and politics under various pseudonyms, such as William Wizard and Launcelot Langstaff. His first major work was the satire A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, written under the name Diedrich Knickerbocker in 1809. He then wrote biographies of naval heroes such as James Lawrence and Oliver Perry for Analectic Magazine.

In 1819 Irving wrote the work for which he is most famous The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. It introduced the well known character Rip Van Winkle and was a great success. He continued writing in installments and in 1819–1820 wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Irving became a Minister to Spain in 1852 and spend the remainder of his life writing biographies and travel books. He died in Sunnyside, NY on November 28, 1859 at age 76.

Setting

Chronological works of Washington Irving

Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle
Salmagundi
A History of New York (Satire)
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Bracebridge Hall
Tales of a Traveller
A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada (History)
Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus
Tales of the Alhambra
The Crayon Miscellany
Astoria
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville
The Life of Oliver Goldsmith
Biography and Poetical Remains
of the Late Margaret Miller Davidson
Lives of Mahomet and His Successors
Wolfert's Roost
Diedrich Knickerbocker
The Life of George Washington (5 volumes)