Shakespeare's exact date of birth is unknown, but government records indicate that he was baptized on April 26th, 1564, and as babies at the time were baptized no more than a few days after their birth, this is the closest known date to a birthday for the Bard in existence, and is celebrated as such around the world to this day. It is believed he was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England in the house pictured at right, which has been restored more or less continuously since his death.
While very little is known about his boyhood, government records also indicate that he married Anne Hathaway, a woman 8 years his senior, at the age of 18 in 1582. They would remain together until his death and produce three children, Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet, together. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11, a traumatic incident that reportedly haunted Shakespeare for the rest of his life and, according to some scholars, inspired some of the morose elements of his later plays. Some scholars believe that the marriage between Shakespeare and Hathaway was a hurried and resentful one, carried out only because she became pregnant. To some, this would explain why Shakespeare left Hathaway only his "second-best bed" in his will.
It is unknown how Shakespeare began writing for the theater, but it is safe to say that his early plays were being performed in London by 1592 based on reviews of his work in popular publications of the time. During his tenure in London, Shakespeare penned and staged 37 plays, mostly at the Globe Theatre, which, by the time of his death, he was wealthy enough to be a co-owner of. His theater career also afforded him the money to buy one of the nicest houses in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in addition to the residence he kept in London for work. He died suddenly in 1616 of unknown causes, the most popular theory being that he contracted a fever after a long night of drinking with some of his fellow playwrights.
For more information on the life of William Shakespeare, please visit the following links: