The start of World Book Day can be traced back to 1922 when Vicente Clavel, director of Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona conceived it as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes and boost the sale of books. It was first celebrated on October 7th 1926 which was Cervates' birthday. It was then moved to April 23rd, the date of his death. This date was considered more appropriate to celebrate as it is a more pleasant time of year for walking and browsing the books in the open-air. In 1930 King Alfonso XIII approved the change of celebration of the Book Day on April 23, the supposed date of the death of Cervantes.
