Calderon de la Barca, Pedro

1600 - Born in Madrid, Spain, on the 17th of January.

Educated at the Jesuit College in Madrid, the Colegio Imperial.

1620-1622 - Calderón competed with success in a series of poetry competitions held in honour of St Isidore at Madrid.

1623 - His debut as a playwright was with Amor, honor y poder, performed on the 29th of June.

       - Followed by two other plays, La selva confusa and Los Macabeos.

1640 - On 28th of May, he joined a company of mounted cuirassiers.

1642 - Because of his health problem, he retired from the army in November.

1645 - He was awarded a special military pension in recognition of his services in the field.

Wrote plays "Life is a Dream" (also "La Vida es Sueno").

1681 - Pedro Calderón de la Barca died on 25th of May.

• "What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story, And the greatest good is little enough: for all life is a dream, and dreams themselves are only dreams."