Armand has answers to questions that haven't even come within six inches of my prefrontal cortex! So he asks them for me:
Did Cervantes and Shakespeare really die on the same day?
As my eyes begin to focus on my nearly bridgeless nose, he generously answers:
Well, not quite so. Cervantes (author of Don Quixote) died in Spain. Also on April 23, 1616, Shakespeare died in England. Though they died on the same day, Cervantes actually died ten days before Shakespeare. This is because England was still on the Julian calendar, while Spain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582. England, being staunchly Protestant, refused to go along with the change, and in fact did not change over to the Gregorian calendar until 1752.
I hope I'm relaying it all correctly. As you know, The Mighty Professor has written many books. I'll be sorting through what's available and will post them on the blog this week. I think I'll be referring to a Gregorian calendar.