Washington Irving, one of the first Americans to achieve international recognition as an author, was born in New York City in 1783. His A History of New York, published in 1809 under the name of Diedrich Knickerbocker, was a satirical history of New York that spanned the years from 1609 to 1664. Under another pseudonym, Geoffrey Crayon, he wrote The Sketch-book, which included essays about English folk customs, essays about the American Indian, and the two American stories for which he is most renowned--"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle." Irving served as a member of the U.S. legation in Spain from 1826 to 1829 and as minister to Spain from 1842 to 1846. Following his return to the U.S. in 1846, he began work on a five-volume biography of Washington that was published from 1855-1859. Washington Irving died in 1859 in New York.
It started when an 8-year old kid did Muppet impressions at a talent show. He killed it. BJ later became a scenic artist and sculptor in the TV and film industry, where for 20 years, he listened to audiobooks every day.In 2007, when his Classic Tales Podcast hit the scene, BJ Harrison wowed audiences with his voicing skills. Now, over 475 audiobooks later, he continues to impress critics and listeners alike. From eldritch witches to young ingénues, from marble-mouthed gangsters to Shakespearean Danes, BJ has an astounding array of character voices, dialects, and accents at his fingertips.He still does a mean Swedish Chef, but nowadays it only comes out when he's building sets for the latest local high school musical with his family.