The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare | Shakespeare, William
Shakespeare, William(1564–1616), actor, playwright, poet, theatre administrator, and landowner; baptized, probably by John Bretchgirdle, in Holy Trinity church, Stratford-upon-Avon, on Wednesday, 26 April 1564, the third child and first son of John Shakespeare and his wife Mary (Arden). His date of birth, traditionally celebrated on 23 April—St George's Day—is not known, but no more than a few days are likely to have elapsed between birth and baptism. The statement on his monument that he was 53 when he died on 23 April 1616 can only be understood to mean that he had started his 53rd year, i.e. had been born on or before 23 April 1564. De Quincey suggested that his granddaughter Elizabeth Hall chose to be married on 22 April 1626 because this was his birthday, but this may reflect an anachronistic enthusiasm for anniversaries.
Shakespeare probably grew up in the Henley Street house known as the Birthplace, with his younger...
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