(1547-1616) Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written.

It is assumed that Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. The exact date of his birth is not known. Nobody knows either where is his body buried. Cervantes worked as a purveyor for the Spanish Armada, and later as a tax collector. In 1597, discrepancies in his accounts landed him in the Crown gaol of Seville.

By 1570, Cervantes enlisted as a soldier in a regiment of the Spanish naval elite corps, Infantería de Marina, and during the Lepanto Battle he was wounded in his left arm and it became unless. After five years spent as a slave in Algiers, he was ransomed by his parents and the Trinitarians and returned to his family in Madrid.