Correos Espana 400th Birth Anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes

CORREOS ESPANA on 9 October 1947 issued three First Day Cover stamps commemorating the 400th birth anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes. The stamps featured Don Quixote de La Mancha, the novel for which Cervantes is most famous for writing. The postmark cancellation originated from Madrid, Spain.

Miguel de Cervantes was born in 1547 as the son of a poor doctor in Alcala de Hanares, east of Madrid. In 1571, he joined Spain's marine fleet of Lepanto, but was wounded in a sea battle near the Greek coast. Four years later, he and his brother were kidnapped and imprisoned in North Africa for five years.

After he returned to Spain, he married Catalina de Salazar and worked as a tax collector and supplier for the army. Financial irregularities however meant that the author had to spend some time in jail.

The first part of Cervantes' Don Quixote was released in 1605 and was an immediate success. The second half of the book was published ten years later. Despite his epic productions, Cervantes financial woes never came to an end. He died a poor man on 22 April 1616.