Diedrich Knickerbocker is an American literary character who originated from

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's first novel, '' A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker'' (1809). He is a Dutch-American historian who is dressed in a specific type of baggy-kneed trousers referred to as '' knickerbockers'', later shortened to ''knickers''. The word ''knickerbocker'' is also used to refer to people who live in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and was adopted in a shortened form as the

Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

by the city's NBA professional basketball team.

History

In 1809

wrote his first novel, ''A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker''. It was a satire of the politics of the day and history books. To promote the book he started a hoax by contacting various newspapers in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

that "well-known Dutch historian Diedrich Knickerbocker had disappeared from his hotel". Irving informed people that if Mr. Knickerbocker remained absent he would publish a manuscript that the man had left behind. Many people at the time believed the story and when Irving finally revealed it was all made up he gained enough local fame to help his book become an instant success, practically launching his literary career. One of Irving's friends was actually named Knickerbocker:

Herman Knickerbocker Herman Knickerbocker (also ''Harman'', ''Harmen''; also ''Knikkerbakker, Knickerbacker'' ) (July 27, 1779 – January 30, 1855) was a United States representative from New York. Early life Herman Knickerbocker was born in Albany on July 27, 177 ...

(1779–1855). Herman Knickerbocker, in turn, was of the upstate Knickerbocker clan, which descended from a single immigrant ancestor, Harmen Jansen van Wijhe Knickerbocker. Jansen van Wijhe invented the name upon arriving in New Amsterdam and signed a document with a variant of it in 1682.

In popular culture

In the 19th century a literary group was named after the character: Knickerbocker Group, who also had their own magazine, '' The Knickerbocker'' (1833–1865).Callow, James T. ''Kindred Spirits: Knickerbocker Writers and American Artists, 1807–1855''. Chapel Hill:

The University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the Southern United States. It is a member of the Ass ...

, 1967: 104. In the first and second issue Knickerbocker gave a supposed interview. The name "knickerbocker" has become a popular nickname for people who reside in

. It also inspired the name of a type of baggy-kneed trousers for boys: knickerbockers. The New York basketball team

New York Knickerbockers The New York Knickerbockers were one of the first organized baseball teams which played under a set of rules similar to the game today. Founded as the "Knickerbocker Base Ball Club" by Alexander Cartwright in 1845, the team remained active unti ...

(more commonly known as the ''Knicks'') also derived their name from this character. It also inspired a beer brand by

Jacob Ruppert Jacob Ruppert Jr. (August 5, 1867 – January 13, 1939) was an American brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and politician who served for four terms representing New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1899 to 1907. H ...

, the first sponsors of the TV show '' Tonight!''.

Igor Cassini Count Igor Cassini Loiewski (September 15, 1915 – January 5, 2002) was a Russian-American syndicated gossip columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain. He was the second journalist to write the '' Cholly Knickerbocker'' column. Career He was b ...

, a gossip columnist, used the name " Cholly Knickerbocker" as his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

. "Father Knickerbocker" served the role of civic personification of New York City in the illustrated ''Daily Graphic'' newspaper, '' Puck'' magazine, and elsewhere. In May 1949, city official James J. O’Brien toured the globe dressed as Father Knickerbocker on behalf of the New York World Trade Week Committee.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knickerbocker, Diedrich Literary characters introduced in 1809 Hoaxes in the United States 1809 novels Fictional historians Fictional characters from New York City Male characters in literature Washington Irving Journalistic hoaxes Knickerbocker Group Civic personifications Symbols of New York City