Biography

1564 April: William Shakespeare was born. His birth is most often celebrated on the 23rd. He was baptised on the 26th.

1571-1577 (7-13): He attends Stratford Grammar School.

1582 (18) : He marries Anne née Hathaway.

1583 (19): On May 26, his daughter, Susanna, is baptised.

1585 (21): On February 2, the twins, Hamnet and Judith, are baptised.

After 1585: He almost certainly leaves Stratford for London subsequent to a brush with the law (in the form of Sir Thomas Lucy) involving poaching.

1585-1592 (21-28) Little is known of his activities in London during this period. The first written notice of his activity as an author of plays is made by the poet and playwright Robert Greene in 1592.

1593 (29) He is mentioned in the Stationer's List as the author of the long poem Venus and Adonis, which is dedicated to the Earl of Southampton.

1594 (30) He is mentioned again in the Stationer's List as the author of the long poem The Ravishment of Lucrece, which is also dedicated to the Earl of Southampton.