William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born to John and Mary Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1564. His mother was a daughter of a farmer; his father was a glove-maker. Will went to a grammar school and had quite a good education. He loved reading.
At the age of 18, William married Anne Hathaway, a farmer's daughter some years older than himself. He had three children, Susannah, the eldest, and then twins - a son, Hamnet, and another girl Judith. There is no information how William earned his living during these early years, maybe he helped his father in the family business.
William loved to listen to stories of London. Once the Queen's Men came to Stratford in June and William and Toby went to see the play. It was a funny play for Toby but William said it was a stupid play with not a word of poetry in it. Toby suggested Will writing a play himself. So William was reading and writing, but he wasn't happy with his life. He said that Stratford was too small, too slow, too boring for him. He wanted to get away and so he did.
In 1587 Shakespeare went to work in London, leaving Anne and his children at home. In London Shakespeare began to act and to write plays. Soon he became an important member of a well-known acting company. Most of his plays were performed in the new Globe Theatre built on the bank of the River Thames.
In 1613 he stopped writing and went to live in Stratford where he died in 1616. Four hundred years later his plays are still acted - not only in England but in the whole world.