Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon in England, on what date is unknown, but sometime in 1564. His baptism was recorded on April 26, 1564. Mary, his mother, had eight children and William was the third. His father, John Shakespeare, was a well off glove maker and trader who owned several houses in Stratford. He later became the town mayor when Shakespeare was young. At age 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, age 26 and the daughter of a Warwickshire farmer, On November 28, 1582. Due to records, Anne gave birth to their oldest child, Susanna, in1583. Two years later, the twins, Hamnet and Judith, were born to the couple.
From 1592 to 1594, most theaters were hut down due to the plague in London. During this period, most dramatists turned to writing poetry instead. From 1594 to the end of his career, Shakespeare belongs to the theatrical company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men and then changed names to King’s Company. He was not only the leader but also a stockholder in the organization. In 1597, he bought one of the most superb houses in Stratford, referred to as New Place. In 1598, Shakespeare bought ten percent of the stock in the Globe Theater. In 1608, he and some other colleagues bought The Blackfriars Theatre, where they held productions in the winter. William’s plays were performed at the courts of Queen Elizabeth and King James I more regularly than any other dramatist of the time was. He also risked losing all royal favor performing “the play of the deposing and killing of King Richard II” at the request of a group of conspirators against Elizabeth. At the time, people did not consider the plays of Shakespeare to be literature, but more like popular entertainment unlike movies today.
Throughout the rest of Shakespeare’s life, he continued purchasing land, homes and businesses. By the end of his life, he had ether written or collaborated with 37 plays. His most productive years were from 1594-1608, when he wrote the greatest tragedies: Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet. After 1608, he went into semi-retirement and only creating five plays before his death on April 23 1616. He was buried before the altar in the Stratford Church, where his body still presently lays today. Anne died on August 6, 1623 and lived to see the monument to her husband erected in the Holy Trinity Church, but he died before the publication of the first Folio of Shakespeare’s plays. Soon after her death, daughter Susanna and husband John, moved into New Place, where they lived until their deaths in 1635 and 1649. their daughter, Elizabeth, died childless, I 1670. Judith, one of the twins, produced three sons but none lived long enough to produce any heirs, and she died in 1662. By 1670, the line of Shakespeare’s descendants had reached the end.