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William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon[1][2][3] and died there on April 23, 1616[4][5][6][7][3][2][8]. He was a citizen of the Kingdom of England and practiced Christianity. His parents were John Shakespeare[9][3] and Mary Shakespeare[9][3], and his siblings included Joan Shakespear, Edmund Shakespeare, Gilbert Shakespeare, Richard Shakespeare, Anne Shakespeare, and Margaret Shakespeare[3]. In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, who remained his spouse until 1616[3], and together they had three children: Susanna Hall, Hamnet Shakespeare, and Judith Quiney[10][3][11][12]. He died of disease (fever)[13] and was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon[9].
He worked as a playwright, poet, stage actor, writer, actor, and dramaturge[3][7][2][6][14][15]. His professional fields encompassed fiction, theatre art, English drama, and drama[16], and he was part of the English Renaissance movement. His genres included William Shakespeare's plays, Shakespearean comedy, Shakespearean tragedy, narrative poetry, and epitaph. He was influenced by Plautus, Plutarch, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, Ovid, and Seneca[17][18][19][20][21][22].
His notable works include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Shakespeare's sonnets[23].
William Shakespeare
Summary
William Shakespeare is a human[1]. His place of birth was Stratford-upon-Avon[2]. He was born on April 1564[3]. He passed away in Stratford-upon-Avon[4]. He died on April 23, 1616[5]. He worked as a playwright[6], poet[7], stage actor[8], writer[9], and actor[10]. He ranks in the top 0.029% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (82,930 views/month, #287 of 1,000,298).[11]
Key Facts
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon[2].
William Shakespeare's place of birth was Stratford-on-Avon[12].
William Shakespeare passed away in Stratford-upon-Avon[4].
William Shakespeare's field of work was fiction[27].
Body
Origins and Family
Recorded place of birth include Stratford-upon-Avon[2], a town[28], in United Kingdom[29], founded in 1196[30] and Stratford-on-Avon[12], a non-metropolitan district[31], in United Kingdom[32], founded in 1974[33]. Recorded date of birth include April 1564[3], April 23, 1564[13], and April 26, 1564[14]. William Shakespeare's father was John Shakespeare[17]. His mother was Mary Shakespeare[18]. Native languages include Early Modern English[24] and British English[25].
Education
William Shakespeare was educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon[34].
Career and Affiliations
Recorded occupations include playwright[6], poet[7], stage actor[8], writer[9], actor[10], and dramaturge[26]. Fields of work include fiction[27]; theatre art[35], a performing arts genre[36]; English theatre[37], a theatre of an area[38], in United Kingdom[39]; drama[40], a literary mode[41]; poetry[42], a literary form[43]; and acting[44], a type of arts[45].
Personal Life
Among William Shakespeare's spouses was Anne Hathaway[19]. Children include Susanna Hall[20], a physician[46], 1583–1649[47], of Kingdom of England[48]; Hamnet Shakespeare[21], a writer[49], 1585–1596[50], of Kingdom of England[51]; and Judith Quiney[22], a writer[52], 1585–1662[53], of England[54]. Religious affiliations include Christianity[55], a major religious group[56], founded in 0033[57]; Catholicism[58], a Christian denominational family[59], founded in 1054[60]; and Anglicanism[61], a Christian denominational family[62].
Death and Burial
Recorded date of death include April 23, 1616[5] and May 3, 1616[15]. William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon[4]. The cause of death was disease[63]. Burial took place at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon[16].
Why It Matters
William Shakespeare ranks in the top 0.029% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (82,930 views/month, #287 of 1,000,298).[11] He has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[64] He is known by 54 alternative names across languages and contexts.[65]
He has been cited as an influence by George R. R. Martin[66], a writer[67], b. 1948[68], of United States[69], awarded the Nebula Award for Best Novelette[70]; Fyodor Dostoyevsky[71], a translator[72], 1821–1881[73], of Russia[74]; Friedrich Nietzsche[75], a philosopher[76], 1844–1900[77], of Kingdom of Prussia[78], specialised in classical philology[79]; Wendell Berry[80], a poet[81], 1934–2026[82], of United States[83], awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship[84], specialised in English-language literature[85]; Alexander Pushkin[86], a poet[87], 1799–1837[88], of Russian Empire[89], specialised in study of history[90]; and Voltaire[91], a philosopher[92], 1694–1778[93], of France[94], awarded the Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order[95], specialised in philosophy[96].
Works attributed to him include Hamlet[97], Romeo and Juliet[98], Macbeth[99], A Midsummer Night's Dream[100], King Lear[101], and Othello[102].
FAQs
Where was William Shakespeare born?
William Shakespeare's place of birth was Stratford-upon-Avon[2].
Where did William Shakespeare die?
William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon[4].
Who were William Shakespeare's parents?
William Shakespeare's father was John Shakespeare[17]. William Shakespeare's mother was Mary Shakespeare[18].
Who was William Shakespeare married to?
William Shakespeare's spouses include Anne Hathaway[19].
What did William Shakespeare do for work?
William Shakespeare worked as playwright[6], poet[7], stage actor[8], writer[9], and actor[10].
Where did William Shakespeare go to school?
William Shakespeare was educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon[34].
Who did William Shakespeare influence?
William Shakespeare has been cited as an influence by George R. R. Martin[66], Fyodor Dostoyevsky[71], Friedrich Nietzsche[75], and Wendell Berry[80].
Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.
APA4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). William Shakespeare. Retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-shakespeare
BibTeX@misc{4ortxyz_william-shakespeare_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William Shakespeare}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-shakespeare}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-07}}
LLM promptAccording to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William Shakespeare — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-shakespeare (retrieved 2026-10-07)
Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.
Nlb authority id (belarus)→NLB-ar2855323, NLB-ar2307418
Sancho el sabio foundation id→25307, 47751, 60962
Claims rich→—
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Nlb authority id (belarus)→NLB-ar2855323, NLB-ar2307418
Sitelink count→336
Wikipedia languages→['ab', 'abstract', 'af', 'als', 'alt', 'am', 'an', 'ang', 'ann', 'anp', 'ar', 'a
Sancho el sabio foundation id→25307, 47751, 60962
+ 1 other property edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
"/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P13804]]: 47751, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/285695781|William. Shakespeare (#285695781)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7873|Sancho el Sa"
"/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P14470]]: Characters/William_Shakespeare, Adding missing [[P:P14470|P14470]] and [[P:P9675|P9675]] qualifier based on [[P:P5247|P5247]]"
Described by source→Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition +15
