Birth: April 23, 1564, Stratford-on-Avon, England
Death: April 23, 1616, Stratford-on-Avon, England
Early Influences:
- Family lived comfortably until Shakespeare turned 13
- Father was involved in local affairs
- Married at the age of 18 to Anne Hathaway, she was possibly pregnant
Education:
- Attended Stratford-on-Avon's Grammar School
- Father's financial problems when Shakespeare was 13 forced him to leave school
- Never attended college
- Became an actor in London at the age of 22
Major Accomplishments:
- Wrote 36 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 narrative poems
- Romeo and Juliet - 1594-95
- Julius Caesar - 1599
- Hamlet - 1600
- Macbeth - 1605-06
Significance:
- Part owner of the Globe Theater in London
- Most popular writer of his own age
- Many consider him to be the most gifted writer of all time
- Many of his words and phrases have entered the English language
Contemporaries:
- Christopher Marlowe - English Playwright
- Sir Francis Bacon - English Philosopher
- Tycho Brahe - Danish Astronomer
