Rip Van Winkle

The hero of Washington Irving's famous 18th century short story met a stranger in the woods and drank some of his moonshine. He then fell into a drunken stupor and awoke to find that 20 years had passed while he slept. Besides experiencing the world's worst hangover, Rip Van Winkle also has the distinction of being the "person" who put the idea of time travel into the minds of the public.