William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes both died on April 23, 1616. If that is so, how could it be also true that Cervantes’ funeral and burial were days earlier, even before Shakespeare died?
Is such a little mystery the sort of hook a teacher could use for a lesson plan on the influence of technology on the keeping of time and calendars? More below the fold.
The snippet of knowledge one needs to solve the riddle is that there is a significant, more-than-a-week’s difference between dates in the “old style,” Julian calendar used in the western world prior to the 17th century, and the Gregorian calendar adopted after that — and, England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar for about 170 years after the rest of Europe. Cervantes died in Spain, where the Gregorian calendar had the date as April 23; Shakespeare died ten days later in England, where the Julian calendar held sway, and put the date then as April 23.
High school history books tend to ignore such issues, nor are they part of the core knowledge suggested by Texas standards. Such date differences may not be keys to understanding events of history, but they do indicate the importance of scientific and technological advances even in antiquity. They also indicate why Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone carries two different calendar indications, why George Washington’s family Bible has the “wrong” birthdate, and some of the historical difficulties of international trade caused by something so simple as a calendar.
Had overnight mail delivery existed at the time, someone in England could have sent condolences to Cervantes’ family on April 23, the nominal day of his death, but the overnight delivery wouldn’t have got the letter to Spain until May 3. Similarly, Shakespeare could have been invited to Cervantes’ funeral on April 25 (or so, I’m guessing), but having received the invitation on April 14, a date 9 days prior to Cervantes’ actual death, might have thought the whole thing a late April Fool’s joke.
I wonder whether there are cases of goods being shipped, but not received on expected dates, due to the difference in calendars?
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
You could also solve this riddle if Cervantes was buried alive and then died later from not having enough air.
William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes both died on April 23, 1616. If that is so, how could it be also true that Cervantes’ funeral and burial were days earlier, even before Shakespeare died?
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