Miguel de Cervantes' baptism took place on October 9, 1547, in Alcala de Henares, Spain, suggesting he was born around the same time. The city has long claimed him as its native son.
Cervantes was the son of Rodrigo de Cervantes, an itinerant and unsuccessful surgeon. He was educated by monks as his family wandered from city to city. In 1570, he became a secretary to Cardinal Aquaviva in Rome.
Cervantes joined the military in 1571 and fought in the Battle of Lepanto, where he was wounded and left disabled for life. He was captured by the Barbary pirates and sold into slavery with his brother Rodrigo. Despite three unsuccessful escape attempts, Cervantes consistently took the blame to protect his fellow captives, earning the respect of their Turkish captor.
Cervantes remained in captivity until 1580, when he was ransomed by two Trinitarian friars. He then began a writing career, which initially failed due to his attempts to imitate popular styles. He fathered a daughter out of wedlock and entered an unhappy marriage in 1584.
Cervantes faced financial difficulties, resulting in multiple prison terms and excommunication by the Spanish Inquisition. In 1605, he published the first part of "Don Quixote de La Mancha", a novel that would bring him immortality.
"Don Quixote" was a satirical masterpiece, unlike anything written before. The novel's surface appears comic, but Cervantes created complex characters, including Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, with depth and nuance. The novel's success was immense, but it did not make Cervantes wealthy.
Cervantes also wrote "Exemplary Stories" and "Eight Interludes", both highly regarded works. He died of dropsy on April 23, 1616, and his gravesite remains lost. Coincidentally, William Shakespeare died ten days later.
To the end of his life, Cervantes valued his poetic work more highly than his prose and never considered "Don Quixote" his masterpiece. He died without knowing that it would be regarded as the world's greatest novel by many critics.
