Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) was an American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. "A History of New York" is a chronicle of New York`s fifty years under Dutch rule in the 1600s that plays fast and loose with the facts, to uproarious effect. It was published by Washington Irving under the pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker.