William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor, born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is celebrated on 23 April, which is also believed to be the date he died in 1616. 

Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre. Shakespeare's career jump-started in London, but when did he go there? We know Shakespeare's twins were baptised in 1585, and that by 1592 his reputation was established in London, but the intervening years are considered a mystery.

Shakespeare's legacy is as rich and diverse as his work; his plays have spawned countless adaptations across multiple genres and cultures. His plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film. William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most important literary figures of the English language.

Altogether, Shakespeare's work includes 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems. No original manuscripts of Shakespeare's plays are known to exist today. It is actually thanks to a group of actors from Shakespeare's company that we have about half of the plays at all. They collected them for publication after Shakespeare died, preserving the plays.