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Queen Elizabeth is born in Greenwich Palace
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Elizabeth is imprisoned in The Tower of London and then Woodstock Manor.
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Elizabeth is taken from the Tower to be closely confined at Woodstock Manor, Oxfordshire.
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William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon to John and Mary Arden Shakespeare. The date is unknown, but since it is tradition to get baptized after three days of birth, people say that he was born on April 23, 1564, since he was baptized on April 26, 1564.
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William Shakespeare is baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.
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William Shakespeare marries 26 year-old Anne Hathaway at the age of 18.
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William Shakespeare's first daughter, Susanna, is born six month after his marriage.
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Sometime around the end of January, twins are born and are named after Shakespeare's good friends: Hamnet and Judith.
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London theaters are closed due to an outbreak of bubonic plague that eventually kills about five percent of the city's residents.
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Shakespeare publishes "Venus and Adonis," his first long published poem. It is dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton.
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In the spring of 1594, the London theaters reopen to the public. They accept frequent invitations to perform in the royal court of Queen Elizabeth I.
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Shakespeare publishes "The Rape of Lucrece" Shakespeare purchases shares in the Chamberlain's Men.
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William and Anne bury their only son, Hamnet, who dies at the age of 11 of unknown causes.
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Wealthy thanks to his theater work and shrewd investments, Shakespeare buys New Place, the second-largest house in Stratford.
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Writer Francis Meres publishes a glowing review of Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare has become a noted playwright with at least a dozen plays under his belt.
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The Chamberlain's Men build the Globe, a wooden theater in London. Many of Shakespeare's most famous plays are performed for the first time here.
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Shakespeare's father dies and his friend Earl Southampton is sentenced to death for his role in the Essex rebellion. It is believed that his father's death motivates Shakespeare to write Hamlet around this time. Shakespeare's plays over the next few years have a dark, brooding tone.
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Queen Elizabeth I dies and James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England.
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Suffering from an unknown illness, William Shakespeare dies on his 52nd birthday.