Who is known as America's first genuine internationally best-selling author?

Washington Irving was born in the 3rd of April, 1783 and became a recognized American author in the early 19th century. His fictional short stories, such as "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), were extremely popular and made Irving America's first genuine internationally best-selling author. Irving was also a talented biographer, historian and essayist. He wrote the biographies of many successful and influential politicians and renowned activists, including George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith, Christopher Columbus, Muhammad and others. Irving advocated for writing as a legitimate profession and called for a stronger policy to protect writers from copyright abuse.