Shakespeare

Early life William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. [7] He was born in Stratford-uponAvon and baptised there on 26... More

Early life William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. [7] He was born in Stratford-uponAvon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual birthdate remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April, St George s Day. [8] This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholar s mistake, has proved appealing to biographers, since Shakespeare died 23 April 1616. [9] He was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. [10] Although no attendance records for the period survive, most biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King s New School in Stratford,[11] a free school chartered in 1553,[12] about a quarter-mile from his home. Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but the curriculum was dictated by law throughout England,[13] and the school would have provided an intensive ed Less