William Shakespeare 1564–1616

1564: Born in Stratford upon Avon to John Shakespeare and wife Mary Arden

1569-71: Enters local grammar school

1582: Aged 18, he marries Anne Hathaway, 26

1583: First child, Susanna, born. Twins Judith and Hamnet
born in 1585

1589-90: Writes first play, Henry VI, Part One. Around this
time Shakespeare leaves Stratford to work as playwright and
actor in London

Reconstruction of Globe Theatre opened in London in 1997

1590 1600 1610

1593: Composes first sonnets and other poems while theatres
closed due to plague

1594: Shakespeare’s troupe, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men,
perform frequently for Queen Elizabeth I

1595: Plays include Richard II, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and
Romeo and Juliet

1599: Globe Theatre opens with performance of Henry V

1601: Hamlet written at around this time

1603: Elizabeth dies. Lord Chamberlain’s Men renamed The King’s Men in honour of new king, James I

1604-05: Plays include Othello, King Lear and Macbeth

King Lear, Avignon Theatre Festival, 2007

1611: The Tempest written. Shakespeare returns to Stratford

1613: Globe Theatre burns down, reopens 1614

1616: Shakespeare dies at age 52

Laurence Olivier as Hamlet in 1948 film

1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Source: British Encyclopedia

Pictures: Newscom, Getty Images, National Portrait Gallery