Historical TimelineOf Shakespeare’s Time

1492: Columbus sails the

ocean blue

1509 to 1547 Henry VIII Rules England

1558: Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England

1564

William

Shakespeare is

born in Stratford

upon Avon,

England

Galileo is born in Pisa, Italy. Christopher Marlowe is born in Canterbury, England.

Michaelangelo dies at the age of 88.

Psst . . . Here’s some examples of

Michaelangelo’s work

1575: Young William enters the King’s New

School, a grammar school

1582: Shakespeare marries Anne

Hathaway. He’s 18 and

she’s 26.

1583: the Shakespeares’

first child, Susanna is born

1588: Shakespeare begins to establish himself as an actor and

playwright. He joins the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting

troupe.

1585:Twins Hamnet and Judith are born, named for neighbors

in Stratford

1588:Sir Francis Drake defeats the Spanish Armada

1592: Shakespeare’s first play Henry VI, Part I debuts

at the Rose Theatre

1593:The Black Death, the bubonic

plague, sets in again, causing all

theatres to be closed

1594: The Nine Years’ War breaks out in

Ireland

1594: Romeo

and Juliet is performed for

the first time

1595: Sir Walter Raleigh sets sail for South

America in search of

gold

1596: Hamnet dies at age 11

1599:The Globe is built across

the Thames

River using wood

from The Theatre

1600: Hamlet debuts at the Globe

1603: Elizabeth I

dies, ending her 45 year reign, and

James I ascends the

throne

1606: Macbeth is performed at the Globe

1607: Jamestown Colony is founded in what is now

Virginia

1613: The

Globe burns down

during a performa

nce of Henry

VIII

1616: Shakespeare

dies at 52 years old on the same day he was born

– April 23

1620: Pilgrims set sail in the Mayflower and land in Plymouth, Massachusetts