William Shakespeare has no birth records, but there are records that indicate he was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. We believe he was born on April 23, 1564 because of the baptism information.

He was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund. He most likely attended the King's New School, in Stratford.

William Shakespeare's Childhood