William Shakespeare was the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare. He had seven siblings, but only 5 of them survived to become adults. His father was John Shakespeare, a town official of Stratford and a local businessman who made items like gloves and purses. His mother was Mary Arden, who was the youngest in her family and inherited much of her father’s land and farming estate when he passed.

No one knows when Shakespeare was born. We only know that he was baptized on Wednesday, April 26th, 1564. Because of this, his day of birth is considered to be 23rd, three days earlier. Growing up, Shakespeare attended the King’s New grammar School and most likely did not attend a university. He married Anne Hathaway and had three kids, named Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. Hamnet and Judith were twins. Hamnet was his only son, and he died at age 11. This was around the time that he was writing Romeo and Juliet, his greatest tragedy. His play Hamlet was also likely named after his son. Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are considered to be the greatest plays that he wrote.