William Shakespeare - Quick facts

The date of Shakespeare’s birthday is open to much speculation. It's widely accepted that he was baptised on April the 26th, 1564. Using traditional methods, William is assumed to have been born 3 days earlier on April the 23rd, a date now commonly used to celebrate the Bard's birthday and a date which is virtually universally accepted in quizland.

The Bard coined the phrase, "the beast with two backs" meaning intercourse in his play Othello.

Shakespeare and his wife had eight children, including daughter Susanna, twins Hamnet, Judith, and Edmund. Susanna received most of the Bard's fortune when he died in 1616, age 52. Hamnet died at age 11, Judith at 77. Susanna dies in 1649, age 66.

Most academics agree that William wrote his first play, Henry VI, Part One around 1589 to 1590 when he would have been roughly 25 years old.

The Bard is believed to have started writing the first of his 154 sonnets in 1593 at age 29. His first sonnet was Venus and Adonis published in the same year.

Shakespeare was born around 2 months after Michelangelo died in 1564.

Shakespeare is the most widely read author in English speaking countries. His works are second only to the Bible in popularity.

90% of American high school students must read some work by Shakespeare, and all British students in high school must read Shakespeare at some point.

Samuel Johnson a friend and fellow writer once caled Shakespeare 'not of an age but for all time'.

Shakespeare makes only one reference to America in his play 'The Comedy of Errors'.

In 1899, Sir Herbert Beerbohm-Tree produced the first movie based on a Shakespeare play. The play was King John.

William Shakespeare was recently voted Briatain's greatest treasure ahead of such contenders as Buckingham Palace, Fish and Chips, Big Ben and Cups of Tea.

Over lengthy periods of time Shakespeare has been repeatedly voted as the all-time greatest Briton, beating the likes of Charles Darwin, William Caxton, Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill.

In the few signatures that have survived, Shakespeare spelled his name “Willm Shaksp,” “William Shakespe,” “Wm Shakspe,” “William Shakspere,” ”Willm Shakspere,” and “William Shakspeare”--but never “William Shakespeare.

Longest Play - Hamlet (3924 lines)

Shortest Play - Comedy of Errors (1770 lines)

Character With Longest Part - Hamlet (1569 lines)

Richard Burbage and Edward Alleyn were 2 of the most famous contempory actors of the Shakespearean era.