A Shakespeare Chronology
| 1564: | April 26, baptized in Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, England (Scholars assume William was born three days prior on April 23 to John and Mary (née Arden) Shakespeare. |
| 1582: | November 28, married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare was 18, Anne was in her mid 20s. |
| 1583: | May 26, first child Susanna baptized. |
| 1585: | February 2, twins Hamnet and Judith baptized. |
| 1585-1592: | Period known as the lost years. Endless speculation on what Shakespeare might have been doing. |
| 1592: | Shakespeare is mentioned disparagingly as a new London playwright in a pamphlet by Robert Greene. |
| 1592-1612: | An actor in London with the Lord Chamberlain's Men and later the King's Men. |
| 1592-1593: | Publishes Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Author William Shakespeare acknowledged on the title page. The narrative poems are dedicated to the Earl of Southhampton, Henry Wriothesley. |
| 1595-96: | Probable period for the first production of Richard II. First printed quarto edition in 1597. (Shakespeare's name is not on the title page). |
| 1598: | Became part owner of the newly constructed Globe Theatre which opened in 1599. Ticket sales at the theater were the basis for Shakespeare's wealth. |
| 1604-1605: | Probable date for the first production of King Lear. First printed in a quarto edition December-January 1607-08. Wm Shakespeare's name is on the title page. |
| 1611: | Probable date for first production of The Tempest. This play was first printed in Shakespeare's First Folio. |
| 1613: | Globe Theatre burns down during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Shakespeare retires to Stratford at or before this time. |
| 1616: | April 26, Shakespeare is buried in Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon. (Scholars assume he died three days earlier putting his death on April 23.) Cause of death is unknown. |
| 1623: | Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's widow dies. She was 67 years old. |
| 1623: | Publication of Shakespeare's First Folio compiled and edited by two fellow actors: John Heminges and Henry Condell. The book includes 36 plays but none of the poems. |