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1564:  William Shakespeare born in Stratford-upon-Avon

1582:  Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway

1583:  Shakespeare’s first child, Susanna, is born

1585:  Shakespeare’s twins, Judith and Hamnet, are born

1592:  Shakespeare is first alluded to as a playwright, in Greene’s Groates-worth of Wit

1593:  Shakespeare’s first printed poem, Venus and Adonis, appears

1594:  Shakespeare’s first printed play, Titus Andronicus, appears

1596:  Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare, is granted a coat of arms; Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, dies

1597:  Shakespeare purchases New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon

1598:  Shakespeare is first mentioned as a sonneteer and author of 12 plays in Palladis Tamia

1599:  Shakespeare’s father is granted a confirmation of arms; Shakespeare’s acting company takes down its old theater and uses the timber to build the Globe

1600:  Extracts from Shakespeare’s plays and poetry appear in Bel-vedere, the first printed literary commonplace book to include plays

1601:  Shakespeare’s father, John Shakespeare, dies

1602:  The heralds dispute the legitimacy of a group of coat of arms, including Shakespeare’s; Shakespeare ratifies his purchase of New Place

1603:  Shakespeare’s acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, becomes the King’s Men at the accession of James I; Hamlet appears in print

1607:  Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna marries John Hall

1608:  Shakespeare’s mother, Mary (Arden) Shakespeare, dies; his granddaughter Elizabeth is born

1609:  Shakespeare’s Sonnets appears in print

1613:  Shakespeare purchases the Blackfriars gatehouse in London; the Globe burns down during a performance of Henry VIII and is rebuilt within a year

1616:  Shakespeare writes his will; his daughter Judith marries Thomas Quiney; Shakespeare dies

1623:  The First Folio is published; Shakespeare’s widow Anne dies