who wrote the night before xmas

In 1823, an anonymous author known only as "T.N. Claus" wrote the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which later became known as "The Night Before Christmas." It was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on December 23rd, 1823, and then again in the New York Sun on December 26th, 1823. The poem became widely known and popularized the image of Santa Claus as a jolly old man in a red suit who travels the world delivering gifts on Christmas Eve.