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Apr 23, 1564
The birth of William Shakespeare
register of the Holy Trinity parish church, in Stratford, shows the following entry for April 26, 1564: Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakespeare. The actual date of Shakespeare's birth is not known, but, traditionally, April 23, St George's Day, has been Shakespeare's accepted birthday, and a house on Henley Street in Stratford, owned by William's father, John, is accepted as Shakespeare's birth place. (www.shakespeare-online.com) -
Period: Apr 23, 1564 to
The Life of William Shakespeare
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Dec 10, 1564
The pencil was invented
It was not until the 16th century that early pencils were produced. A large deposit of graphite was discovered near Grey Knotts in England during the first half of the 1500’s. Local residents cut the graphite into sticks and used them to mark their sheep. The graphite was misidentified as lead, a word that has been connected with pencils ever since, even though modern ones don’t contain any lead. (www.rocketcityspacepioneers.com) -
Jan 1, 1568
The Eighty years war
Eighty Years’ War, (1568–1648), the war of Netherlands independence from Spain, which led to the separation of the northern and southern Netherlands and to the formation of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (the Dutch Republic). (www.britannica.com) -
Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway
There are few documents recording the life and biography of Anne Hathaway. Her actual date of birth is unknown but reference to her monument gives her first name as Anne, and her age as sixty-seven in 1623. We are therefore able to deduce her year of birth as 1556. As William Shakespeare was born in 1564 this gave an age gap between them of eight years. This page is dedicated to piecing together the biography of Anne Hathaway, the wife of the great Bard.(www.william-shakespeare.com) -
Shakespeare has twins
William Shakespeare had three children. Susanna was born in May 1583, six months after the wedding of her parents Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare. The baptism of Susanna Shakespeare took place in Stratford Parish Church on May 26th 1583. Two years later in 1585 Anne and William's twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare, were born. The baptism of Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare took place in Stratford Parish Church on February 2nd 1585. (www.william-shakespeare.info) -
The Livonian war
The Great Livonian War (1558-1582) was a decisive event in the history of Lithuania. It began at a moment when the western powers (the German states in Livonia, the Polish-Lithuanian Union) seemed in decline: the religious schisms and the obstinance of the legislative bodies hampered the rulers in giving effective leadership against the growing power of Moscow. (www.lituanus.org) -
The Thermometer was invented
Galileo Galilei is often claimed to be the inventor of the thermometer. However the instrument he invented could not strictly be called a thermometer: to be a thermometer an instrument must measure temperature differences; Galileo's instrument did not do this, but merely indicated temperature differences. His instrument should rightly be called a thermoscope. (www.brannan.co.uk) -
He became an actor
Acting Troupes: From 1594 on, the plays of William Shakespeare were performed exclusively by the acting company known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men (1594-1603) and the King's Men. (www.globe-theatre.org.uk) -
The first Compound microscope is invented
The Dutch lens maker, Zacharias Janssen in 1595 invented the first compound microscope. His microscope had lens at each end that consisted of two tubes that slid within one another. By sliding the tubes one can focus on the microscope. (www.whenwasitinvented.org) -
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's tragic drama of the "star-crossed" young lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet is best remembered for the famous balcony scene. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are teenagers who fall deeply in love but their families are bitter enemies. They seize the moment and marry in secret, they make every effort to conceal their actions but these end in tragedy when Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio and Paris all die. (www.william-shakespeare.info) -
Shakespeare at the top of a list of actors
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. (www.poemhunter.com) -
The construction of The Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was constructed in 1599, out of timber taken from the Theatre. It stood next to the Rose, on the south side of the Thames, and was the most elaborate and attractive theatre yet built. The Globe was designed and constructed for the Chamberlain's Men by Cuthbert Burbage, son of the Theatre's creator, James Burbage. (www.shakespeare-online.com) -
Hamlet
The first edition of Hamlet was published in 1603, from a previous sketch composed several years earlier, the second one following in 1604, under the title of "The Tragical Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke. By William Shakespeare. Newly imprinted and enlarged to almost as much againe as it was, according to the true and perfect coppie." In comparing the two editions we find a remarkable improvement in the command of language, with greater philosophic depth. (www.theatrehistory.com) -
King Lear
King Lear was first published in 1608, in quarto form. Two quartos appeared in that year, differing in punctuation, spelling, pagination, and text so much as to make the fact evident that one quarto was not merely a corrected copy of the other. (www.shakespeare-online.com) -
The invention of the refracting telescope
The first refracting telescope was invented by Hans Lippershey in 1608. Lippershey (1570?-1619) was a German-born Dutch lens maker who demonstrated the first refracting telescope in 1608, made from two lenses; he applied for a patent for this optical refracting telescope (using 2 lenses) in 1608, intending it for use as a military device. (www.enchantedlearning.com) -
The death of William Shakespeare
The cause of Shakespeare's death is unknown - he died April 23rd 1616 at the age of 52. (www.literarygenius.info)
