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Apr 26, 1564
Baptism of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was baptized at the Holy Trinity church on April 26, 1564 (biography). His true birthdate is unknown, but is suspected to be on April 23, 1564. Shakespeare was born to John and Mary Shakespeare in Stratford. -
Feb 6, 1567
Alvaro Mendana de Neyra discovers the Solomon Islands
Alvaro Mendana de Neyra lived from 1541 to 1565 (Grun, 251). Neyra was a spanish explorer who first spotted Santa Isabel on February 6, 1567. He believed he had found a new source of wealth for King Solomon and therefore named the islands after the king. -
1569
Death of thousands in Portugal
Forty thousand inhabitants of Lisbon, Portugal died to due to an outbreak of Carbuncular fever (Grun, 251). A carbuncle is a cluster of painful boils that connect to each other underneath the skin. Carbuncles have many risk factors including poor hygiene which makes people during that time period more susceptible to the fever. -
Dec 27, 1571
The birth of Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was born on December 12, 1571 in Germany (Grun). Kepler grew up to become an astronomer that discovered three major laws of planetary motion. The three laws state that the planets orbit around the sun in an elliptical motion, a line connecting a planet and the sun will be equal areas in time and that the period of a planet squared is equal to the planet's axis cubed. -
1577
Francis Drake embarks on voyage around the World
Francis Drake was the first to circumnavigate the world after Magellan's voyage. He started his voyage in November of 1577 (Grun, 255). His journey lead him from Plymouth around Cape Horn and back to Plymouth in 1020 days or over two years. Drake's purpose was to steal spanish jewels that were being taken from South America. -
William Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582 at the age of eighteen (Shakespeare's, 22). Hathaway was twenty six at the time of the marriage and carrying their first child who would be named Susana. She was born six month after her parents' marriage. -
First English colony founded in North America
England established their first North American colony in Newfoundland in 1583 (Grun). Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth making it Britain's oldest colony. Gilbert's plan for the colony was that it should be used as a pos for fishermen and hunters, but Gilbert and his crew were lost at sea on the voyage home so his plans were never followed through. -
First production of Henry IV
Henry IV was Shakespeare's first play to be produced. Shakespeare wrote the history play from 1590 to 1592 that follows the strained relationship between Henry IV, king of England and his son Prince Harry (Mabillard). -
The burial of Hamnet Shakespeare
Hamnet Shakespeare was William Shakespeare's first son, the fraternal twin to Judith. He died at the age of eleven and was buried at the Holy Trinity church in stratford (Mabillard). His death inspired the making of Hamlet, Shakespeare's most well known play. -
The opening of the Globe theatre
The Globe Theatre was located on the bank of the Thames river during the summer of 1599 (Mabillard). The people in London awaited the opening anxiously after the old theater the Lord Chamberlain's men acted in ended their lease. The first production put on inside the new theater was Julius Caesar by Shakespeare himself. -
Hamlet
Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest and most well known play (Shakespeare, 158). The tragedy revolves around the protagonist, Hamlet feeling the need to avenge his father's murder by his uncle Claudius. The main conflict of the play is Hamlet's internal struggle on whether or not killing his uncle is correct. -
First Production of Richard II
It is believed that Shakespeare wrote another historic play, Richard II in 1595 although it was put to show in 1601 (Mabillard). A portion of the play was dedicated to Richard II. It contains accusations, exile, and King Richard II being a savior to his country by stopping combat before it can start. -
Macbeth, Winter's Tale and Cymbeline
Three of Shakespeare's plays first were performed in 1611 (Mabillard). Macbeth is considered a tragedy that revolves around witches giving Macbeth prophecies that cause him and his wife to murder the king. Winter's Tale, previously thought to be a comedy surrounds a pregnant woman and her husband's belief that she is carrying his best friends child. The tragedy Cymbeline is about the betrayal of the King by his own daughter and her marriage to a man that is unworthy of her. -
Fire at the Globe Theatre
On June 29, 1613, a production of King Henry VIII caused an accidental fire (Mabillard). A cannon used in the play shot sparks to the roof of the theater which caused the roof to be set on fire and eventually burnt down the entire building. Shakespeare was not present at the fire due to his retirement from London to Stratford. -
The trial of Galileo
In 1616, Galileo wrote a letter to the Grand Duchess Christina criticising the people who believed in the geocentric theory. The geocentric theory stated that the Sun and other planets revolved around the Earth which directly conflicted his own view, the heliocentric theory. The Pope called a trial in February of 1616 in order to see why he was going against the views of the church (Galileo's). Galileo was told that he was forbidden to share his view because it went against the church. -
The death of Shakespeare
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, his supposed fifty second birthday after writing thirty seven plays. His exact death date is not known, but he was buried two days after his supposed death on April 25, 1616 at the Holy Trinity church in Stratford (biography). Shakespeare's burial was modest because his works had not become as famous as they are today yet.
