William Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and was baptised on 26 April 1564. Sometime between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and part-owner of a playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men.
He wrote most of his known works between 1589 and 1613: some 39 plays, 154 sonnets and three long narrative poems. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. Around 1613 he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died on 23 April 1616.