Before Shakespeare’s Birth
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1248 | Earliest known English reference to the Shakespeare name, relating to William Sakspear from the nearby village of Clopton |
| 1520s | John Shakespeare born in the village of Snitterfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon |
| c 1555 | Anne Hathaway, William’s future wife, is born |
| c 1557 | John Shakespeare marries Mary Arden, a farmer’s daughter |
| 1558 | John and Mary’s first child Joan is born |
| c 1560 | Joan Shakespeare dies in infancy |
| 1562 | John and Mary’s second child Margaret is born |
| 1563 | Margaret Shakespeare dies in infancy |
Shakespeare’s Early Years
| Date | Event | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 1564 | William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, the third child born to John and Mary, but their only living child following the infant deaths of Joan and Margaret. (Special note: The precise date of William’s birth is unknown, but is commonly believed to be either 21, 22 or 23 April, with the latter date – St George’s Day – being the most popular date to celebrate). | – |
| 26 Apr 1564 | Shakespeare baptised in Holy Trinity Church | – |
| 11 Jul 1564 | Stratford Parish Register records the arrival of the plague in Stratford (“Hic incipit pestis” – Here begins the plague) | 3 mths |
| 1566 | William’s brother Gilbert is born | 2 |
| 1569 | William’s sister Joan is born (it was not uncommon to give later children the same name as a sibling who died in infancy) | 5 |
| 1571 | Shakespeare begins his education at the King’s Free Grammar School (his place was made eligible due to his father’s position as an alderman of Stratford-upon-Avon) | 7 |
| 1571 | William’s sister Anne is born | 7 |
| 1574 | William’s brother Richard is born | 10 |
| c 1575 | John Shakespeare begins to suffer financial and personal hardship, losing or remortgaging property. William’s schooling was very likely curtailed. | 13 |
| 1579 | William’s sister Anne dies, aged just 8 | 15 |
| 1580 | William’s brother Edmund is born | 16 |
Adult Life In Stratford
| Date | Event | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Nov 1582 | Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway (26 years old) at Temple Grafton | 18 |
| 26 May 1583 | William and Anne’s first child Susanna is born (meaning Anne would have been 3-4 months pregnant at the time of her marriage) | 19 |
| 1585 | William’s twins Hamnet and Judith are born (it is likely that the twins were named after Shakespeare’s friends Hamnet and Judith Sadler, who may also have been godparents) | 21 |
| 1590 | Shakespeare’s writing career begins | 26 |
| c 1590-6 | Writes ‘King Richard III’ | 26 |
| 1591-3 | Writes ‘King Henry V’ | 27 |
| 1592 | John Shakespeare is listed as a ‘recusant’, having failed to attend church (out of fear of prosecution for debt) | 28 |
Shakespeare In London
| Date | Event | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 1592 | The earliest known record of Shakespeare’s residency in London; in a critical piece included in a posthumous collection of the writings of Robert Greene, Groat’s-worth of Wit, there is an allusion to Shakespeare’s theatrical and literary career | 28 |
| c 1592-4 | Likely involvement in the authorship of ‘King Edward III’ | 28 |
| 1593 | London’s theatres are closed down for a period of around 2 years, due to plague | 29 |
| 1594 | The Chamberlain’s Men (later the King’s Men) – the first Shakespeare company – is formed to perform at The Theatre in Shoreditch (built 1576) | 30 |
| c 1594 | Writes ‘The Comedy Of Errors’ | 30 |
| c 1594-5 | Writes ‘Love’s Labours Lost’ | 30 |
| 28 Dec 1594 | First recorded performance of ‘The Comedy Of Errors’, at Gray’s Inn Hall | 30 |
| c 1595 | Writes ‘King Richard II’ | 31 |
| 1595 | The Swan Theatre is built in Paris Garden on Bankside | 31 |
| 1596 | Shakespeare is recorded living in Southwark, a disreputable area of brothels, ale houses, bear baiting houses and theatres | 32 |
| 1596 | William’s only son Hamnet dies, aged 11 | 32 |
| 1596 | William succeeds in his request for the creation of a Shakespeare family coat of arms. John Shakespeare is once again listed as being a wealthy landowner. | 32 |
| 1596-7 | Writes ‘King Henry IV, Part I’ | 32 |
| 1597 | The Chamberlain’s Men come to the end of their lease at The Theatre in Shoreditch and begin touring | 33 |
| 1597 | Shakespeare purchases New Place on Church Street in Stratford-upon-Avon | 33 |
| 1597-8 | Writes ‘King Henry IV, Part 2’ | 33 |
| Dec 1597 | First recorded performance of ‘Love’s Labours Lost’, a private performance for Queen Elizabeth | 33 |
| 1598 | Shakespeare’s name begins to appear on the title pages of quartos of his plays | 34 |
| 1599 | Writes ‘King Henry V’ | 35 |
| 1599 | The Globe Theatre is built | 35 |
| 1599 | The Chamberlain’s Men take up residence at the Globe | 35 |
| 1599 | Shakespeare purchases a share in a large London property | 35 |
| 1599 | Likely first performance of ‘King Henry V’, the first play performed at the newly-opened Globe | 35 |
| 1599 | Writes ‘Julius Caesar’ | 35 |
| 21 Sep 1599 | First recorded performance of ‘Julius Caesar’, a private performance recorded by a visitor from Switzerland, Thomas Platter | 35 |
| c 1599-1600 | Writes ‘As You Like It’ | 35 |
| 1600 | First recorded performance of ‘King Henry IV, Part I’; a private performance attended by the Flemish ambassador | 36 |
| c 1600 | Writes ‘Hamlet’ | 36 |
| 07 Feb 1601 | First recorded performance of ‘King Richard II’, a revival performed at the Globe and commissioned by supporters of the Earl Of Essex | 36 |
| 1601 | William’s father John Shakespeare dies | 37 |
| c 1602-5 | Writes ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ | c 38 |
| 19 May 1603 | Following the accession to the throne of James I, the company’s new patron, the Chamberlain’s Men become known as the King’s Men | 39 |
| 02 Dec 1603 | First recorded performance of ‘As You Like It’, by the King’s Men at Wilton House in Wiltshire, to a private audience including James I | 39 |
| c 1604 | Writes ‘Measure For Measure’ | 40 |
| 1604-6 | Writes ‘King Lear’ | 40 |
| 26 Dec 1604 | First recorded performance of ‘Measure For Measure’, at Whitehall | 40 |
| c 1606 | Writes ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ | 42 |
| c 1606 | Writes ‘Macbeth’ | 42 |
| 1606 | The future playwright and poet laureate William Davenant is born, believed by some to be an illegitimate child of Shakespeare himself (whilst traveling between Stratford and Oxford, Shakespeare was known to stay at the Crown Inn, owned by the Davenants) | 42 |
| 26 Dec 1606 | First recorded performance of ‘King Lear’, a private performance for James I at Whitehall | 40 |
| 31 Sep 1607 | First recorded performance of ‘Hamlet’, aboard the East India Company ship Red Dragon, moored off the coast of Sierra Leone | 43 |
| 1607 | William’s brother Edmund dies, aged 27 | 43 |
Back To Stratford
| Date | Event | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 1608 | The year William returned to live in Stratford, according to the 18th century scholar Edmond Malone | 44 |
| 1608 | William’s mother Mary dies | 44 |
| c 1608 | Writes ‘Coriolanus’ | 44 |
| 1608 | The King’s Men take on the Blackfriars theatre, an indoor theatre that played to more affluent audiences | 44 |
| c 1610 | Writes ‘Cymbeline’ | 46 |
| 1610 | Writes ‘The Tempest’, his last sole-authored play | 46 |
| Apr 1611 | First recorded performance of ‘Cymbeline’, at the Globe theatre | 47 |
| 20 Apr 1611 | First recorded performance of ‘Macbeth’, at the Globe theatre | 47 |
| 1612 | William’s brother Gilbert dies aged 46 | 48 |
| 1612 | Writes ‘King Henry VIII’ | 48 |
| 1612 | First recorded performance of ‘King Henry IV, Part 2’; performed in celebration of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to the Elector Palatine | 48 |
| 1613 | William’s brother Richard dies, aged 39 | 49 |
| 1613 | Shakespeare believed to have retired from writing | 49 |
| 29 Jun 1613 | The Globe Theatre on London’s Southbank burns down after a stage cannon is misfired into the theatre’s thatched roof, during a performance of Henry VIII (then titled All Is True, and the earliest recorded performance of the play) | 49 |
| 1613 | The Globe is quickly rebuilt, at a cost of £1,400 | 49 |
| 18 Jan 1616 | Shakespeare draws up the first draft of his will | 52 |
| 25 Mar 1616 | Shakespeare draws up his final will | 52 |
| 23 Apr 1616 | Shakespeare dies at home at New Place, Stratford-upon-Avon (popular belief has it that William died of alcoholism following a session of heavy drinking shared with his old friend Ben Johnson (poet and fellow playwright) and the poet Michael Drayton. Other possible causes include syphilis and typhoid. | 53 |
| Apr 1616 | Shakespeare is buried, his funeral attended by just family and closest friends. Shakespeare was laid to rest beneath the chancel floor and alongside the north wall, as befitted his status as lay rector and receiver of tithes. The inscription on his commemorative stone reads: | |
| “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here. Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.” |
After Shakespeare
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1623 | The First Folio of Shakespeare’s work is published by John Heminges (1566-1630) and Henry Condell (1576-1627), sole surviving members of the original Chamberlain’s Men/King’s Men players |
| 1623 | Anne Hathaway dies, aged c. 68 |
| 1642 | The King’s Men are disbanded following Parliament’s order to close all theatres, enacted on the eve of the English Civil War |
| 1646 | William’s sister Joan dies, aged 77 |
| 1662 | William’s eldest daughter Judith dies, aged 77 |
| 1709 | Nicholas Rowe publishes Works, in which he records a number of stories from Shakespeare’s life, including one regarding William getting caught poaching game from local landowner Sir Thomas Lucy, and needing to leave Stratford to avoid prosecution as a result |
Read more fascinating facts about the life of Shakespeare