William Shakespeare
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Milestones
23 April 1564
WS
, poet and playwright, was born in Henley Street, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, supposedly on this date, the feast of St George.
The date is virtually a guess. The child was baptised on 26 April; he eventually died on 23 April, which as the feast of St George, patron saint of England, is in this context a highly symbolic date. For all these reasons the attraction of 23 April as Shakespeare's Birthday has proved irresistible to tradition.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Literature. Clarendon Press.
475
23 April 1616
WS
, poet and playwright, died on St George's day at New Place in Stratford, the fine modern house he had bought with his theatrical earnings in 1597.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Literature. Clarendon Press.
475
Rogers, Pat, editor. An Outline of English Literature. Oxford University Press.
127
Biography
Birth and Background
23 April 1564
WS
, poet and playwright, was born in Henley Street, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, supposedly on this date, the feast of St George.
The date is virtually a guess. The child was baptised on 26 April; he eventually died on 23 April, which as the feast of St George, patron saint of England, is in this context a highly symbolic date. For all these reasons the attraction of 23 April as Shakespeare's Birthday has proved irresistible to tradition.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Literature. Clarendon Press.
475