William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564. His exact birth date is unknown, but tradition celebrates it on April 23, three days before his recorded baptism. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, and they had three children: Susanna, and the twins Judith and Hamnet.

Shakespeare built his professional life in London, where he worked as an actor, playwright, and business partner in the acting company first known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and later as the King’s Men. His surviving work includes plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear, as well as 154 sonnets and two long narrative poems.

He became a prosperous property owner and returned to Stratford in the later years of his life. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, and was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. His collected plays were published seven years later in the volume now known as the First Folio.