International Day of the Book

 

It is widely asserted that William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, two Literature "icons", died on April 23^rd 1616. Nevertheless, it seems that neither of them actually died on that date.

Cervantes died in Spain. At that time, Spain followed the Gregorian calendar, which was a reformed version of Julius Caesar’s calendar. The Julian calendar was slightly too long and it was not until Pope Gregory XIII called it to be corrected that it became in synchrony with the natural seasons. That was when leap years were devised and 10 days were cut to keep the calendar in line with the solar year.

On the other hand, Shakespeare died in England where people still kept the old calendar. This means that the English writer died ten days after Cervantes. April 23^rd in England was equivalent to May 3^rd in Spain.

The UNESCO, inspired by the believed coincidence in death dates, declares April 23^rd to be The International Day of the Book and Copyright.