[close] Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( September 29, 1547 – April 23, 1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. Cervantes was one of the most important and influential people in literature and the leading figure associated with the cultural flourishing of sixteenth century Spain (the Siglo de Oro). He was also a painter. His novel Don Quixote is considered as a founding classic of Western literature and regularly figures among the best novels ever written; it has been translated into more than sixty-five languages, while editions continue regularly to be printed, and critical discussion of the work has persisted unabated since the 18th century. His work is considered among the most important in all of literature[1]. He has been dubbed el Príncipe de los Ingenios (the Prince of Wits).