The plays of William Shakespeare became a great success and he invested his money in the construction of the Globe Theatre. His most famous plays included Romeo and Juliet, the Tempest, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet.

William Shakespeare Fact Sheet: Who was William Shakespeare? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of William Shakespeare, the Great Bard.

William Shakespeare Fact File: Lifespan: 1564 - 1616 *** Full Name: William Shakespeare *** Occupation: English playwright and poet *** Date of Birth (Birthday): William Shakespeare was baptized on April 23, 1564 *** Place of Birth: William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon *** Family background: His father was John Shakespeare and his mother was Mary Arden. *** Early life and childhood: He grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon *** Education: William Shakespeare received a good but basic education *** William Shakespeare died on April 23 1616 ***

William Shakespeare Fact 1: William Shakespeare, arguably the finest writer to have ever lived, was born on April 1564 in Stratford, a market town in Warwickshire, England.

William Shakespeare Fact 2: William Shakespeare’s father was John Shakespeare, well known as a successful businessman. His main occupation in Stratford was as a glove maker, but he also owned real estate properties and sold timber and barley.

William Shakespeare Fact 3: His parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Aden placed William into the King’s New School, a free school for children which was roughly a quarter-mile from their home.

William Shakespeare Fact 4: William is thought to have had quite a prosperous upbringing, seeing as to how his father held such an estate position in the town as an alderman. It’s also believed that several family members of his were from the Catholic faith.

William Shakespeare Fact 5: His mother Mary Arden  is known to have come from a devout Catholic family, and a statement of faith was found signed by his father in 1757; but these claims lack validity since the document was later lost.

William Shakespeare Fact 6: There is also evidence that William Shakespeare received his additional, formal education at the King Edward Grammar School in Stratford, which is likely where he picked up Latin and studied the Roman dramatists.

William Shakespeare Fact 7: Not only was there unrest in the wider world but in the Penn household as well. William would find himself expelled from school for siding with a member of staff recently fired, his father even evicted him from his home for a short time, until his mother made peace between father and son. But she too would come to see that William’s behaviour was not conducive to a harmonious home and he was shipped off to Paris.

William Shakespeare Fact 8: Just six months after the marriage ceremony, Mary gave birth to a baby girl named Susanna, and then twins by the names of Judith and Hamnet two years later.

William Shakespeare Fact 9: Unfortunately for the couple, their only son Hamnet passed away at the young age of 11 due to unknown causes.

William Shakespeare Fact 10: The life of William Shakespeare was not well documented at this time and this period in his life are referred to as the Lost Years.

William Shakespeare Fact 11: In 1592 William Shakespeare let his home in Stratford upon Avon and moved to London where he began  to work in the emerging theatres.

William Shakespeare Fact 12: William Shakespeare worked for a short time as an actor and then when on to write his famous plays. During his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays that we know of.

William Shakespeare Fact 13: Some of his first documented plays were Richard III and Henry VI. Shortly following, it is also understood that he released other popular plays such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Comedy of Errors, Titus Andronicus

William Shakespeare Fact 14: The popular Taming of the Shrew, a comedy play, still impacts our culture today through its many adaptations in films and musicals..

William Shakespeare Fact 15: In 1598 William Shakespeare and other members of the acting company financed the building of the Globe Theater at Bankside, London. The theatres in London were closed due to the plagues of 1593 and 1594 and during these terrible times Shakespeare left London.

William Shakespeare Fact 16:  As for the poetry of William Shakespeare, there are over 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and many others available for Shakespeare’s fans to read over today. Unlike some of his plays, his poetry was highly respected during his time.

William Shakespeare Fact 17: William Shakespeare published the two long narratives titled The Rape of Lecrece and Venus and Adonis – erotically written poems – and then dedicated them to Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton. Wriothesley is commonly identified as being the ‘Fair Youth’ of the Sonnets.

William Shakespeare Fact 18: William Shakespeare was successful due largely in part to his partnership with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men; a leading play company in London. The company built their own theatre called the Globe in 1599 and were then able to buy-out such locations as the Blackfriars indoor theatre.

William Shakespeare Fact 19: There are early records of properties that he obtained on his own as well as many investments that are proof of the prosperity of his career as a play writer and performer.

William Shakespeare Fact 20: On April 23, 1616 at the age of 52, Shakespeare died of unknown causes, in the same town he was born. According to a diary entry by John Ward, it was written that “Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted.”

William Shakespeare Fact 20: This account by Ward was written nearly 50 years following his death, which leaves historians to question its legitimacy. However, many others point out that during the same year of his death there was a sudden outbreak of typhus, also known as the “new fever,” that likely took his life.

William Shakespeare Fact 20: William Shakespeare died in the same town where he was born, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. He leaves behind a legacy and will be remembered for many years to come for influencing writers and artists all over the world through his literature.