Shakespeare's life

Information about William Shakespeare's life derives from public instead of private documents: vital records, real estate and tax records, lawsuits, records of payments, and references to Shakespeare and his works in printed and hand-written texts. The historical record documents that Shakespeare was baptised on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England, in the Holy Trinity Church; at age 18 married Anne Hathaway with whom he had three children; and was an actor, playwright, poet, and theatre entrepreneur in London. Though more is known about Shakespeare's life than those of most other Elizabethan and Jacobean writers, few personal biographical facts survive about him, which is unsurprising in the light of his social status as a commoner, the low esteem in which his profession was held, and the general lack of interest of the time in the personal lives of writers. Nevertheless, hundreds of biographies have been written and more continue to be, most of which rely on inferences and the historical context of the 70 or so hard facts recorded about Shakespeare the man, a technique that sometimes leads to embellishment or unwarranted interpretation of the documented record.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a market town then of around 2000 residents about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of London. The town was a centre for the marketing, distribution, and slaughter of sheep, as well as for hide tanning and wool trading. The exact date of birth is not known but has been traditionally taken to be April 23, 1564, which is also the Feast Day of Saint George, the patron saint of England. The date may have become popular among biographers because Shakespeare died on April 23. Shakespeare's baptismal record was dated 26 April 1564. He was the first son and the first surviving child in the family; two earlier children, Joan and Margaret, had died early.

He was the son of John Shakespeare, a successful glover originally from Snitterfield in Warwickshire, and of Mary Arden, the youngest daughter of John's father's landlord. The Ardens were members of the local gentry. The couple married around 1557 and lived on Henley Street when Shakespeare was purportedly born in a house now known as Shakespeare's Birthplace. They had eight children: Joan (baptised 15 September 1558, died in infancy), Margaret (bap. 2 December 1562 – buried 30 April 1563), William, Gilbert (bap. 13 October 1566 – bur. 2 February 1612), Joan (bap. 15 April 1569 – bur. 4 November 1646), Anne (bap. 28 September 1571 – bur. 4 April 1579), Richard (bap. 11 March 1574 – bur. 4 February 1613) and Edmund (bap. 3 May 1580 – bur. London, 31 December 1607).

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