William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He wrote 38 plays and over 150 poems. Some of his most famous plays include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and they had three children together - Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of 52 in Stratford-upon-Avon and was buried there in Holy Trinity Church. He is considered one of the greatest writers in the English language.