William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He married Anne Hathaway and had three children with her. While the details of Shakespeare's early life and education are unknown, his plays had become popular in London by 1592. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets in his lifetime before dying in 1616 at the age of 52. Shakespeare was able to draw from his knowledge of history and classics in his works during the Elizabethan era in England, a time of Renaissance, social change, and conflict with Spain.

1. The Bard of Avon