Manhattan is the historical birthplace of New York City, home to the first settlements in the city.
Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Rufus Wilmot Griswold, John Keese, Nathaniel Parker Willis, and Edgar Allan Poe
 Most of New York City is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island

