Van Dyke, Henry (1852-1933) American clergyman and writer, born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He studied theology at Princeton and Berlin and was a prominent pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York (1883-99). He was professor of English literature at Princeton (1899-1923) and, under Woodrow Wilson, American minister to the Netherlands (1913-16). He was awarded the Legion of Hounour for his services as naval Chaplin in World War I. His many writings include poems, essays and short stories, mostly on religious themes, such as the Christmas tale The Story of the other Wise Man (1896), The Ruling Passion (1901), The Blue Flower (1902), The Unknown Quantity (1912), and Collected Poems (1911). >>Source: Larousse, Dictionary of Writers, 1994