Shakespeare's was a family of eight children.
William Shakespeare's parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Arden raised their children in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
They were a middle class family.
John Shakespeare was very respected and held several important positions in local government.
William, who had four brothers and two sisters, was the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare.
Nobody knows Shakespeare's true birthday, for there is no record of his birth, but the church recorded his baptism, thus his birthday is assumed to be the 23 of April 1564.
Boy's education probably began at age of 5 or 6 at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Strarford, which is still standing today at the same site and was one of the best schools in the country.
William received a free boyhood education because of his father's position.
Young Shakespeare held dreams of going onto a university but all that was denied him, when the fortunes of his father mysteriously failed; therefor, he had to leave his education and had to work for a living. .
In later life Shakespeare was an admirable man of affairs, but as a boy he was frustrated by the routine of business.
By eighteen he was involved in a relationship with Anne Hathaway. .
Anne was 26 years old when William married her.
She was eight years older and three months pregnant with William's child.
William and Anne had 3 children; Susanna born on May 1583 and twins Judith and Hamnet born 1585.
Even though William Shakespeare is recognized as one of literature's greatest playwrights very little is actually known about him personally.
He was most often sketched as a middle-age man, with a receding hairline and a pageboy like haircut.
These portraits present him as a prosperous man who fashionably dressed for his day. .
He was said to be a good-natured man with a quick wit, good manners and a friendly conversationalist.
His first play, Henry IV Part One he wrote around 1589 to 1590 when he was only25 years old.
