William Shakespeare was born on 26, June 1564. He was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is highly revered as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's best dramatist.

He was a prolific writer during the English Renaissance in the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre. Although his plays are the most famous of his works, he also wrote poems and produced other works. He is usually called ‘England's National Poet' or the ‘Bard of Avon'.

He wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems, and a variety of other poems. His plays are the most performed plays of all time compared to any other playwright's. They have been translated into most of the major languages of the world.

Aged only 18, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was 26. Their marriage was rushed because Anne was pregnant with their first child. They went on to have 2 more children. Their firstborn daughter Susanna was born 6 months after their wedding.

They later had twins Hamnet and Judith. Unfortunately, Hamnet died at 11. William's career started in London. His first works were 2 long poems ‘Venus and Adonis' (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594). He was a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company of actors.

He was the company's dramatist and he produced an average of 2 plays a year for almost 2 decades. It was during this time that he wrote his most famous tragedies like King Lear and Macbeth and great romances like The Winter's Tale and The Tempest.

Shakespeare's legacy is extensive and huge. His plays have countless adaptations across multiple cultures and an enduring presence on stage and in film. Shakespeare was considerably wealthy. He died on 23, April 1616, aged 52. Read this collection of his most noteworthy quotes of all time.