This Shakespeare timeline covers all the significant events that shaped Shakespeare’s biography. Born in 1564, Shakespeare lived through the massive cultural and socio-political shifts of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. Before his death in 1616, he managed to produce 37 plays and 154 sonnets, considered to be the most important and enduring ever written. This Shakespeare timeline brings together all of these significant events in one place.
Shakespeare Timeline
- 1564
Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptized at Holy Trinity Church. - 1571-1578
Shakespeare attended King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford-upon-Avon between the age of 7 and 14. - 1582
Married Anne Hathaway from nearby Shottery in November 1582, possibly in a Catholic ceremony. - 1583
His daughter Susanna was born in May – she was conceived out of wedlock. - 1585
Shakespeare’s twins, Judith and Hamnet born in February 1585. - 1585-1592
During the Shakespeare lost years, Shakespeare disappears from the history books for several years. - 1592
By this time, Shakespeare had moved to London and established himself as a popular dramatist. We don’t know when Shakespeare moved to London, but it is widely accepted that it happened in the late 1580s. - 1594
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, his classic tragedy about star-crossed lovers. - 1596
Hamnet died at the age of 11. Shakespeare was devastated by the death of his only son, and it is argued that the character of Hamlet Prince of Denmark, written four years later, is evidence of this. - 1598
Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing, one of his best-loved comedies. - 1600
Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, possibly in response to the death of his son. - 1605
Macbeth first performed at the Globe Theater. - 1610-1611
Shakespeare retires from London and moves back to his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon. He spent the rest of life living in New Place, one of the town’s largest houses. - 1616
Shakespeare's death occurred on April 23, 1616. He was buried two days later in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. You can still view his grave and read the epitaph engraved into the stone.
