When Was Shakespeare Born?

Timeline 44 BC (the ''Ides of March'') - Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is assassinated by a group of Roman senators, amongst them Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Caesar's Massilian naval commander, Decimus Brutus. Caesar's famous last quote - coined by William Shakespeare in his play ''Julius Caesar'' - was most likely ''not'' spoken (see: "''Et tu, Brute?''"). 1564 Born 1582 In Stratford-upon-Avon, 18 year-old William Shakespeare and 26 year-old Anne Hathaway pay a 40-pound bond for their marriage license (Shakespeare would later become one of the greatest playwrights in history). 1595 William Shakespeare writes ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. 1595 William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' is probably first performed. 1600 William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is first performed. 1602 William Shakespeare writes ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' 1602 William Shakespeare First performance of ''Twelfth Night'' on Candlemas 1604 At Whitehall Palace ...  more

Posted by t-rell92 on Wednesday April 15, 2009 at 4:15 PM and tagged with biography, birth, birthplace, shakespeare, william shakespeare.  more

Shakespeare was baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 26 April 1564. At that time, the Prayer Book instructed parents not to delay the baptism of their child beyond the Sunday following birth. In 1564, 26 April fell on a Wednesday, making it unlikely that Shakespeare was born before the previous Sunday, 23 April. When he died, on 23 April 1616, Shakespeare was said to have been in his fifty-third year (i.e. he was fifty-two), which would have been impossible if he was born on or after 24 April. Given that three days would be a reasonable interval between birth and baptism, 23 April has therefore come to be celebrated as his birthday.  more

William Shakespeare, surely the world's most performed and admired playwright, was born in April, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, about 100 miles northwest of London. According to the records of Stratford's Holy Trinity Church, he was baptized on April 26. Since it was customary to baptize infants within days of birth, and since Shakespeare died 52 years later on April 23, and--most significantly--since April 23 is St. George's day, the patron saint of England, it has become traditional to assign the birth day of England's most famous poet to April 23. As with most sixteenth century births, the actual day is not recorded. And as with most remarkable men, the power of myth and symmetry has proven irresistible. So April 23 it has become. In other words 23 April 1564.  more

Posted by hastewellmister on Friday February 1, 2008 at 3:27 PM and tagged with as you like it, birthdate, shakespeare.  more