Longfellow is considered the most influential American poet of the 29th century. Schoolchildren know him for Paul Revere's Ride and perhaps for The Wreck of the Hesperus His The Song of Hiawatha demonstrated skill in the use of American subject matter. In 1884, two years after his death, he became the first American to be honored with a bust in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in London. Longfellow was a pioneer in the teaching of modern languages. He helped introduce his countrymen to European literature.