William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor.

They had three children: Susanna, and the twins Hamnet and Judith.

He was born on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Little is known about his life between 1584 and 1592, so these years are defined by scholars as 'lost years'. However we know that maybe he was put on trial because of poaching a local squire's deer and he needed more money.

His father was a successful local businessman and his mother was the daughter of a landowner.

Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.

He is often called England's national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon.

He wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, of which the authorship of some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and they are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. She was eight years older than him.

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.

Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford , where he died three years later and few records of Shakespeare's private life survive.

He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health".