William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. The son of a glove maker, Shakespeare was most probably educated at Stratford’s grammar school. Shakespeare was married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer.
Shakespeare’s acting career was spent with the Lord Chamberlain’s Company and the King’s Company. His poetry was published before his plays, with records of Shakespeare’s plays only appearing in 1594. Following this, he produced approximately two plays each year until 1611. His famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s including ‘Hamlet’, ‘Othello’, ‘King Lear’ and ‘Macbeth’.
Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford as a wealthy man. He died in 1616 and was buried in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published posthumously in 1623 and is known as ‘the First Folio’.
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