William Shakespeare
portrait of William Shakespeare
Date of Birth: 26 April, 1564 (baptised)
Place of Birth: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, West Midlands, England
Date of Death: 23 April, 1616
Place of Death: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Ethnicity: English
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet, and the “Bard of Avon.”
William was the son of Mary (Arden) and John Shakespeare.
William’s paternal grandfather was named Richard Shakespeare. Richard was born in Warwickshire, England.
William’s maternal grandfather was Robert Arden (the son of Thomas Arden). Thomas was the son of Eleanor de Arden.
Sources: Family history of William Shakespeare – http://www.shakespeare-online.com
Genealogies of William Shakespeare (speculative, likely incorrect) – https://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
Speculation about William Shakespeare being of Jewish/Italian Jewish origin – http://forward.com
he was married to Anne Hathaway. Cool
I wonder if he wrote all of the works corrected to him? She a lot of work for a short life…
http://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Shakespeare-Family-Tree-1
Is this “Webb” thing accurate? Were Shakespeare’s parents really first cousins?
It seems so. This information is reported in many websites
I think it’s some kind of wild genealogical speculation. Legitimate sources don’t seem to confirm much of his ancestry beyond what I’ve listed.
http://forward.com/culture/196969/the-secret-jewish-history-of-william-shakespeare/
Also it’s not clear how he reallylooked:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portraits_of_Shakespeare
This page uses the The “Chandos” portrait:
“The “Chandos” portrait is the most famous of the portraits that may depict William Shakespeare (1564–1616). Painted between 1600 and 1610, it may have served as the basis for the engraved portrait of Shakespeare used in the First Folio in 1623. It is named after the Dukes of Chandos, who formerly owned the painting. The portrait was given to the National Portrait Gallery, London on its foundation in 1856, and it is listed as the first work in its collection.
It has not been possible to determine with certainty who painted the portrait, nor whether it really depicts Shakespeare. However, the National Portrait Gallery believes that it probably does depict the writer.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandos_portrait
Since 15 out 37 of his works are set in Italy, there are some speculations about an Italian (possibly Jewish) origin of the Bard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Florio