Washington Irving was born in New York City in 1783, the same year that the treaty ending the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) was signed. His mother named him in honor of the nation’s new hero, General George Washington.
Irving was the youngest of 11 children. Instead of going to college as his older brothers did, he studied law. He also wrote a series of humorous essays for a newspaper owned by his brother Peter. Irving passed the bar examination in 1806, which allowed him to practice law,
