Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer, regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. His novel Don Quixote has been translated into over dialects. Don Quixote, a classic of Western literature, is sometimes considered both the first modern novel and the best work of fiction written. Cervantes' influence on the Spanish language has been so great that the language is called la lengua de Cervantes, he has been dubbed El príncipe de los ingenios. In 1569, in forced exile from Castile, Cervantes moved to Rome, where he worked as chamber assistant of a cardinal, he enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Barbary pirates. After five years of captivity, he was released on payment of a ransom by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order, he returned to his family in Madrid. In 1585, Cervantes published a pastoral novel, he worked as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada and as a tax collector for the government.

In 1597, discrepancies in his accounts for three years previous landed him in the Crown Jail of Seville. In 1605, Cervantes was in Valladolid when the immediate success of the first part of his Don Quixote, published in Madrid, signalled his return to the literary world. In 1607, he settled in Madrid, where he worked until his death. During the last nine years of his life, Cervantes solidified his reputation as a writer, publishing Novelas ejemplares in 1613, Viaje del Parnaso in 1614, Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses and the second part of Don Quixote in 1615, his last work, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, was published posthumously in 1617. Born Miguel de Cervantes—the additional surname of a relative, would be taken later—was a native of Alcalá de Henares, a town in Castile about 35 kilometres north-east from Madrid; the date was 29 September in 1547. as determined from records in the church register, given the tradition of naming a child after the feast day of his birth. He was baptized in Alcalá de Henares on 9 October 1547, at the parish church of Santa María la Mayor.

The register of baptism records contains the following:Domingo, nueve días del mes de otubre año de Señor de mil e quinientos e cuarenta e siete años, fue baptizado Miguel, hijo de Rodrigo de Cervantes e su mujer doña Leonor. Baptizole el reverendo señor bachiller Serrano, cura de nuestra Señora. Testigos: Baltasar Vázquez sacristán e yo que lo baptizé y firmé de mi nombre. / El bachiller Serrano Cervantes' family was in Andalusia. His siblings were Andrés, Luisa, Rodrigo and Juan. Cervantes father, Rodrigo de Cervantes, was a barber-surgeon, so set bones, performed blood-lettings, attended to "lesser medical needs", including—as was common at the time—minor surgery, his paternal grandfather, Juan de Cervantes, was an influential lawyer who held several administrative positions, his uncle was mayor of Cabra for many years. His mother, Leonor de Cortinas, who died on 19 October 1593, was a native of Arganda del Rey. Little is known of Cervantes' early years; the only documentation of his education, identified is evidence that Juan López de Hoyos, head of the "Estudio de la Villa de Madrid" called him his "beloved disciple" in an anthology in which he included Cervantes' first published works.

It has been speculated that he studied at the University of Salamanca, but there is no evidence supporting it. Based on the high praise of the Jesuits in the Dialogue of the Dogs, there has been speculation that Cervantes studied with them, but again there is no evidence, it is clear that Cervantes could not read Latin, an informal requirement to be considered educated in humanities at the time. The reason that Cervantes left Spain is unknown. Possible reasons include that he was a "student" of the same name, a "sword-wielding fugitive from justice", or fleeing from a royal warrant of arrest, for having wounded a certain Antonio de Sigura in a duel. Like many young Spanish men who wanted to further their careers, Cervantes left for Italy. In Rome, he focused his attention on Renaissance art and poetry – knowledge of Italian literature is discernible in his work, he found "a powerful impetus to revive the contemporary world in light of its accomplishments". As Frederick de Armas states, "Cervantes' continuing desire for Italy, as revealed in his works, is in part a desire for a return of the Renaissance."By 1570, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a regiment of the Spanish Navy Marines, Infantería de Marina, stationed in Naples a possession of the

Madrid–Waddington Central School shortened to MWCS, is a public school consisting of both elementary school and high school located in Madrid, New York. It is a small, rural district located in St. Lawrence County on State Highway 345 between the communities of Madrid and Waddington, New York. MWCS has an enrollment of 650 students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Eric Burke is the current Superintendent of Schools; the Board of Education consists of nine members. These members are Andy Bracy, Richard Hobkirk, Brian Hammond, Gerald Molnar, Tina Wilson Bush, Jordan Walker, Matthew O'Bryan, Katie Logan, Charles Grant. MWCS is a PK - twelfth grade school, it is divided into the elementary being split by a fourth lobby in the center of it. The HS lobby is next to the HS cafeteria and the elementary has a huge skylight; the third lobby is next to the auditorium. Pre-K, JK, kindergarten is the pre-school, first-fifth grades are the elementary, sixth- eighth are middle school, ninth-twelfth is high school.

There are several events a year, including numerous assemblies. The district includes Chase Mills, Madrid and parts of Lisbon and Potsdam, a few students coming from as far as Canton, it is a large district in St. Lawrence County

The Ivory Tower is an unfinished novel by Henry James, posthumously published in 1917. The novel is a brooding story of Gilded Age America, it centers on the riches earned by a pair of dying millionaires and ex-partners, Abel Gaw and Frank Betterman, their corrupting effect on the people around them. Graham Fielder returns from Europe to the wealthy resort of Newport, Rhode Island, to see his dying uncle Frank Betterman. Rosanna Gaw, the daughter of Betterman's embittered ex-partner Abel Gaw, is at Newport, she has succeeded in bringing about a partial reconciliation between the two elderly men. Gaw and Betterman both die, Fielder receives a large inheritance from his uncle. Gray is inexperienced at business, so he entrusts the management of the fortune to the unscrupulous Horton Vint. At this point the novel breaks off. From his extensive notes it appears that James intended Vint to betray Fielder's trust much as Kate Croy did with Milly Theale in The Wings of the Dove. Fielder would magnanimously forgive Vint, but it is not certain if he would marry Rosanna, who may be in love with Gray.

James meant this novel as an attack on the gigantic wealth of the Gilded Age plutocrats. He presents Abel Gaw with Gothic intensity as a predatory financier, "with his beak, which had pecked so many hearts out, visibly sharper than ever." James portrays Betterman, as his name suggests, in a more favorable light if only because he has repented somewhat for his past financial sins. The younger people are reprehensible, with the possible exceptions of Rosanna and Gray. "We're all unspeakably corrupt," admits Vint. Vint and his lover Cissy Foy are reminiscent of Amerigo and Charlotte in The Golden Bowl in their love of wealth and pleasure. According to James' notes, Fielder comes to recognize "the black and merciless things that are behind the great possessions" and how those possessions have been "so dishonored and stained and blackened at their roots, that it seems...they carry their curse with them." Which is as definite a statement of the novel's import as can be found. In its fragmentary state The Ivory Tower has received high, sometimes extravagant praise.

Much of the praise, appears politically motivated. Critics happy with James' attack on excessive wealth and laissez-faire capitalism have been willing to overlook the slow pace of the novel and the extreme density of its prose; the negative case quibbles with James' sometimes stilted, unnatural dialogue, his unsubtle harping on Rosanna's overweight physique and tobacco addiction. No definite verdict can be reached on a novel left incomplete. An interesting footnote is the large advance, he was a little suspicious of the money, with good reason. His friend Edith Wharton had secretly provided the cash; the Novels of Henry James by Edward Wagenknecht ISBN 0-8044-2959-6 The Novels of Henry James by Oscar Cargill Text of The Ivory Tower with the author's notes