Washington Irving: podcast appearances and interviews

Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author, biographer, historian, and diplomat. He is known for his short stories such as Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which are part of his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Irving's historical writings include biographies of figures like Oliver Goldsmith, Muhammad, and George Washington, as well as histories of 15th-century Spain focusing on subjects such as the Alhambra, Christopher Columbus, and the Moors. He was born and raised in Manhattan to a merchant family and made his literary debut in 1802 with observational letters to the Morning Chronicle written under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle. He moved temporarily to England in 1815 for family business and gained fame with The Sketch Book, which was serialized from 1819 to 1820. Irving continued his literary work throughout his life and completed a five-volume biography of George Washington shortly before his death in Tarrytown, New York. As one of the first American writers to receive acclaim in Europe, he influenced and encouraged other American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe. His works were also appreciated by British writers including Lord Byron and Charles Dickens. Irving advocated for the writing profession and promoted stronger copyright laws to protect American writers from infringement.