We don’t know the exact date of William Shakespeare’s birth, but we do know he was baptised in Stratford-upon-Avon, about 150 km from London, England, on April 26, 1565. His mother, Mary Arden, came from a well-off farming family. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glovemaker who was elected Mayor of Stratford when William was three years old. There were five other children in the family.
From boy to man
William was sent to the town grammar school, where he was taught reading, writing, Latin, Greek and history. After school, he played in the fields and fished and swam in the River Avon.
Shakespeare left school when he was 16, and just two years later he married Anne Hathaway. By the time he was 21, he had a daughter, Susanna,…
