William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 (and he was buried April 26 1616).  He lived fifty-two years.  Not a long life by our standards, but a satisfactory length of time by Elizabethan standards.

His father was John Shakespeare, a prosperous tanner and glover who lived in Stratford-upon-Avon where William was born.  His mother was Mary Arden, daughter of a fairly wealthy gentleman.

Little is known but much is imagined of Shakespeare's early life.  He probably attended grammar school in Stratford, and if you visit Stratford you can see the school he probably attended. 

On November 28, 1582 William married Anne Hathaway.  He was eighteen at the time, but Anne was in her mid-twenties.  The couple had three children:  Susanna was baptized on May 6, 1583. Twins, Hamnet and Judith were baptized February 2, 1585.

As you can see from this Susanna was a "child of love" that is she was conceived before her parents were married.

We know the above dates because they were recorded in village records which still exist today.  I personally think that is remarkable.  I have trouble keeping track of my own birth certificate, my originally issued Social Security Card, and my wife and I have long since lost our marriage license.  That Shakespeare's records have survived nearly four hundred years says something about the British record keeping system...