History and background of Salvador Dali. Salvador Dalí born in Figueres (formerly Figueras), Spain, on May 11, 1904 in the district of Girona in Catalonia, the son of Salvador Dalí y Cusi, a notary, and Felipa Domènech. Dalí begins his education at a private school run by the Brothers of the Marist Order in Figueres.