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Apr 23, 1564
William Shakespeare's Birth Date
The baptismal register of the Holy Trinity parish church, in Stratford, Avon in England registers the entry of William Shakespeare on April 23,1564. He was born and raised in a house on Henly Street in Stratford, owned by his father John. The deffinite birth date of William will forever remain a mystery. So it has been settled on this day (St. Georges Day), and soon after William was baptized on the nearest Sunday or Holy Day after his birth. (Mabillard) -
Jan 16, 1568
Eighty ears War Begins
A war that lasted for eighty years broke out when Flemish opponents to the Spanish inquisition were beheaded. 20 leading Flemish opponents inlcuding the Comte d' Egmont and Comte d' Horn were killed. The Flemish and Dutch then began a rebellion against Spanish rule. (Harding) -
Jan 1, 1569
Northern Rebellion
Dukes of Northern England revolted against Elizabeth in order to restore Catholicism to England. The rebels hoped to free Mary, Queen of Scotts from captivity. Elizabeth put down the rebellion, and her troops killed 3,000 of the rebels. (Exact date unknown) (Larr) -
Nov 21, 1576
Treaty of Ghent
In November 1576 Spanish garrisons in the lowlands who had not been paid for a period of time revolted and vented their rage on the native nation. In Antwerp alone they massacred 6,000 men, women and children and burned 800 houses. As a result of the decision, William of Orange persuaded the 17 provinces of the Lowlands to unite under the treaty of Ghent, putting aside their differences to fight the Spanish inquisition and restore their liberties. (Jamison) -
William and Anne's Marrige
On November 27th, 1582 William Shakespeare and Anne Hawthaway got married according to the records of the Episcopal register at Worcester. Anne was twenty-six years old and William was just a younging at eighteen. From the will of her late father it states that Anne Hathaway brought a dowry to the marriage. A dowry was an amount of money, goods, and property that the bride would bring to the marriage. It was also referred to as her marriage portion. (Jamison) -
Willam's Favorite Daughter, Susanna
Susanna (Hall) Shakespeare was the eldest of John and Mary's 3 children. She was born six months after the wedding of her parents. She was christened on May 26, 1583, and twins arrived in January, 1585. Susanna married the famed and prosperous Stratford physician John Hall and had a little girl, Shakespeare's granddaughter. After her fathers death in 1616, William put all vaulables and profits under his daughters name so she could live a nice wealthy life with her and her family. (Mabillard) -
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada consisted of 128 ships carrying 29,522 sailors. The British fleet consisted of 116 large ships and numerous coastal vessels.On the morning of the 21st, elements of the British fleet attacked superior Spanish forces to forestall their landing troops. The British fleet succeeded in sowing confusion amongst the Spanish fleet, causing many a Spanish ship to collide . The fight continued on and off for 5 days and the Spanish Armarda decided to withdraw and go back to Spain. (Lee) -
Lord Chamberlain's Men
The company was originally formed under the patronage of Lord Strange, but when he died in 1594, the players found a patron in Henry Carey, the Lord Chamberlain.The reorganized company performed at the Theatre and the Curtain; in 1599 they moved to the newly built Globe. By 1600 they had emerged as the leading theatrical company in London, and in 1603 became the King's Men under a royal patent from James I. The company continued successfully until the closing of the theatres in 1642. (Kummer) -
First Play: Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet was the first play published by Shakespeares fellow actors who published it years after his death. William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. However, due to William's fellow actors was able to be pulblished and is now one of the most well known plays to this day. It is believed that the play was first performed between 1594 and 1595 and was printed in 1597. (Rowse) -
The Construction of the Original Globe Theature
The original Globe was an Elizabethan theatre which opened in Autumn 1599 in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames, in an area now known as Bankside. It was built in 1599 using timber from an earlier theatre, The Theatre, that had been built by Richard Burbage's father, James Burbage, in Shoreditch in 1576. William Shakespeare invested in the Globe Theatre giving him 12.5% of the stakes and it was in his interest to write as many plays as possible. (Rowse) -
Queen Elizabeth's Death
Queen Elizabeth I died on 24 March 1603 of blood poisoning. She was nearly70 years of age. Arguably the greatest monarch that ever rule England. Under her rule England prospered, became a major power, encouraged the Arts and great literature by William Shakespeare, John Donne, Christopher Marlowe and Sir Edmund Spenser. Great explorers discovered new lands such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Richard Greenville. (Kebb) -
The Gun Powder Plot
There is evidence to suggest that Shakespeare was a “secret” Catholic, so he may have been disappointed that the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 failed. It was a Catholic attempt to derail King James I and Protestant England – and there is evidence that the plot was hatched in Clopton, now a suburb of Stratford-upon-Avon. ( -
Jamestown Established
King James I of England granted the London Company a charter to settle the southern part of English North America. 144 men embarked on three ships to settle on the James River. The settlers endured many trials, but became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Publishment of Shakespeare's Sonnets
Sonnets are fourteen-line lyric poems, traditionally written in iambic pentameter meaning that the lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable. Shakespeare followed the more idiomatic rhyme scheme of sonnets that Sir Philip Sydney used in the first great Elizabethan sonnets cycle, Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines and a couplet. Shakespeare's sonnets are a collection of 154 sonnets and was published on May 20th by Thomas Thorpe. (Rowse) -
Shakespeare Retires from Stratford Upon Avon
In 1610 William Shakespeare appears to have retired to Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare had become rich and famous living in London but had kept business interests in his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon. No particular event seems to have prompted Shakespeare's retirement and return to Stratford, he just wanted to leave the noisy, rowdy city of London for the peaceful countryside and the comfort of his family. (Date Unknown) (Warris) -
William Shakespeare's Death Date
Unfortunatly, William Shakespeare died at the early ago of fifty-two years old. To this day, William's death will still remain a mystery however few people say he beleived to have died due to an outbreak of the Typhus fever, "new fever", that spread around the same time period as Shakespeare's death. His burial was recorded in the register of the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. (Mabillard)
