A Shakespeare Timeline: Part 3 (1605-1616)
December 26, 1606
First Recorded Performance of King Lear
Records show that King Lear was performed before James I at Whitehall Palace. Shakespeare's friend and noted fellow actor, Richard Burbage, was the original Lear.
June 5, 1607
Marriage of Shakespeare's Daughter Susanna to Dr. John Hall
Susanna's marriage to the noted physician must have pleased Shakespeare tremendously, for Shakespeare appointed John and Susanna executors of his will. John Hall died in 1635 and Susanna in 1649.
May 20, 1608
Registration of Pericles
The play was entered in the Stationer's Register in 1608, but was not published until 1609, when Henry Gosson printed two Quarto editions. For reasons unknown, Pericles was not included in the First Folio of 1623.
February 21, 1608
The Baptism of Elizabeth Hall
Susanna Hall, Shakespeare's daughter, gave birth to a baby girl eight months after her wedding to Dr. John Hall. Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth, was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.
September 9, 1608
Burial of Mary Shakespeare
Shakespeare buried his mother at Holy Trinity Church, where only months before he had witnessed the baptism of his granddaughter. Mary Shakespeare was sixty-eight at the time of her death.
1608
King's Men buy Blackfriars Theatre
Shakespeare's friend and fellow actor, Richard Burbage, inherited the Blackfriars upon the death of his father, James. Richard Burbage, his brother, Cuthbert, and four of the King's Men, including Shakespeare, became part owners in the theatre. In 1609, the roofed Blackfriars became the winter home of the King's Men.
1609
Publication of Shakespeare's Sonnets
Although the collected sonnets were first published in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe, commonly they are thought to date from 1595 to 1599. In 1598 Francis Meres referred to Shakespeare's 'sugared sonnets' in Palladis Tamia.
1611
First Recorded Performances of The Winter's Tale, Macbeth and Cymbeline
Dr. Simon Forman, an English astrologer and doctor, gives detailed accounts of these early performances in his invaluable diary.
November 1, 1611
First Recorded production of The Tempest
The first known production of The Tempest took place before King James I and his court.
June 29, 1613
Fire at the Globe Theatre
The thatched roof of the Globe caught fire in 1613 owing to the discharge of a cannon during a production of Henry VIII (the first recorded performance of the play). No one was injured, but the theatre burned to the ground. It was rebuilt in 1614 and finally demolished in 1644.
February 10, 1616
Marriage of Shakespeare's daughter Judith to Thomas Quiney
Unlike her sister's marriage to the upstanding Dr. Hall, Judith's marriage to the vintner Quiney caused Shakespeare no end of scandal. Quiney did not receive the special licence necessary for a wedding during lent before his marriage, and thus the couple was excommunicated a month later. Moreover, on March 26, only eleven days after the wedding, Quiney was prosecuted for 'carnal copulation' with a local woman named Margaret Wheeler, who had died that month along with her baby by Quiney. He confessed, and was sentenced to perform public penance. His penalty, however, was commuted to a small fine and private penance.
March 25, 1616
William Shakespeare Signs his Will
Shakespeare's will, the last document he ever produced, was finalized on March 25, 1616, less than one month before the poet's death.
April 23, 1616
William Shakespeare Dies
The cause of Shakespeare's death is a mystery, but tradition tells us that "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted."
April 25, 1616
Burial of William Shakespeare
Shakespeare is buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. On his tomb is the warning:
Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare Timeline Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/timeline.html >.
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