1564	Birth of Christopher Marlowe
26 Apr	William Shakespeare, first of four sons of John and Mary, christened at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford
Summer	Two hundred people killed by the plague in Stratford
1567	John Brayne creates London’s earliest purpose built playhouse at the Red Lion, Whitechapel
1574, 10 May	First known patent to players granted to Leicester’s men with James Burbage among those named as patentees
1576	James Burbage and John Brayne contract ‘ The Theatre’, Shoreditch
1577	The Curtain constructed, not far from the theatre
1582, 27 Nov	Special licence issued for the marriage of William Shakespeare to Ann Whatley of Temple Grafton. Bond issued for Shakespeare’s marriage to Ann Hathaway (already three months pregnant by Shakespeare) of Hewlands Farm, Shottery
1583, 26 May	Christening of Susanna Shakespeare first born daughter of William & Anne
1585, 2 Feb	Christening of Shakespeare twins, Hamnet and Judith. Philip Henslowe buys his first property, possibly a brothel
1587	London Entrepreneur Philip Henslowe builds the Rose the first theatre on Bankside
1588, Sept	The Earl of Leicester dies and his company of actors passes to Ferdinando , Lord Strange
1592	Philip Henslowe commissions changes at the Rose and begins his Diary recording performances of Lord Strange’s Men at the Rose. His entry for 3 March of a play entitled ‘Harey the VJ’ is almost certainly one of the Shakespeare trilogy of that name. Satirist Thomas Nashe praises Shakespeare in print in his Pierce Penilesse
3 Sept	Death of university educated dramatist Robert Greene leaving behind posthumous condemnation of Shakespeare as ‘an upstart crow, his heart wrapped in a player’s hide who fancies himself as creator of blank verse'. This published shortly after as Greene’s Groats-worth of Witte
1593	Performances in London theatres stopped by a particularly bad outbreak of plague
18 Apr	Venus and Adonis entered in the Stationers’ Register
30 May	Death of Christopher Marlowe
1594, 24 Jan	Henslowe’s Diary recorded performance of Titus Andronicus
12 Mar	Pirate edition of Shakespeare play to become known as Henry VI Pt 2 entered in the Stationers’ Register. This and Titus Andronicus will appear with no mention of Shakespeare’s authorship
2 May	Performance of The Taming of the Shrew recorded by Henslowe
9 May	The Rape of Lucrece entered in the Stationers’ Register. This is again dedicated to the Earl Of Southampton
	Reorganisation of Shakespeare’s company as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, under patronage of Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon
Dec	Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain’s men perform before the Queen
28 Dec	The Comedy of Errors performed at Gray’s Inn
1595	Richard II written, performed later that autumn
1596, 11 Aug	Shakespeare’s son Hamnet is buried
Sept	James Burbage buys and converts part of the former Dominican priory of Blackfriars into an indoor theatre
29 Nov	Shakespeare and three others issued with Writ of Attachment to keep the peace. Although conversion of the Blackfriars theatre is complete, residents prevent its use by petitioning the Privy Council
Dec	Henry IV performed at Court for the first time
1597, Jan	Death of James Burbage
4 May	Shakespeare buys New Place, Stratford
28 July	Privy Council orders closure of all London theatres
29 Aug	Richard III entered in the Stationers’ Register
	Ban on theatres lifted
15 Nov	Romeo and Juliet entered in the Stationers’ Register
	Shakespeare reported for non-payment of five shillings tax
1598, 4 Feb	Stratford records show Shakespeare as owner of corn and malt and living at New Place
10 Mar	Love’s Labour’s Lost published, the first of Shakespeare’s plays to carry his name on the title page
22 July	The Merchant of Venice entered in the Stationer’s Register
1 Oct	Shakespeare listed as defaulter for non-payment of taxes in the parish of St Helen’s Church Bishopgate
28 Dec	The fabric of the Shoreditch Theatre dismantled and taken across the Thames to be rebuilt as the Globe
1599, 21 Feb	Shakespeare and others become lessee/shareholders in the Globe. Globe completed some time before May
June	John Weever publishes an Epigramme with the first allusion to Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Sept	Julius Caesar performed at the Globe
28 Sept	Earl of Essex imprisoned, after impetuous return from expedition to Ireland
6 Oct	Shakespeare again recorded as owing taxes at St Helen’s Parish Bishopgate
1600	Philip Henslowe and his son-in-law Edward Alleyn commission the building of the Fortune Theatre to be in competition with the Globe
4 Aug	Henry V, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing entered in the Stationers’ Register
26 Aug	Essex freed
Autumn	Fortune Theatre built
8 Oct	A Midsummer Night’s Dream entered in the Stationers’ Register
1601, 7 Feb	By special request of members of the Earl of Essex’s circle Shakespeare’s Lord Chamberlain’s Men give special performance of Richard II at the Globe
8 Feb	Abortive rebellion by Essex, Southampton and others. Essex and Southampton arrested
19 Feb	Essex and Southampton are tried in Westminster Hall and sentenced to death
24 Feb	Lord Chamberlain’s Men perform before the Queen
25 Feb	Essex beheaded
Mar	Other plotters sentenced and executed
1602, 18 Jan	The Merry Wives of Windsor entered in the Stationer’s Register
2 Feb	Twelfth Night performed at Middle Temple
1 May	Shakespeare pays £320 to the Combe family for land in Old Stratford
26 July	Hamlet entered in the Stationers’ Register
28 Sept	Shakespeare buys land and cottage in Chapel Lane, Stratford
1603, 7 Feb	Troilus and Cressida entered in the Stationers’ Register
19 Mar	Theatres closed pending the imminent death of Elizabeth
24 Mar	At Richmond Palace, death of Elizabeth I. Shakespeare is notably not among those who write obituary tributes to her
10 Apr	Southampton released from Tower on orders of James I
19 May	Lord Chamberlain’s Men become the King’s Men with Shakespeare’s name prominent in the patent
2 Dec	Shakespeare’s company performs before James at Wilton
1604	Measure for Measure written this year. Shakespeare and others issued with red cloth for the formal entry of James I into London. Shakespeare’s company, as the King’s Men, entertain Spanish delegation at Somerset House. As a result of this delegation a peace treaty is signed with Spain
1 Nov	Othello performed at Whitehall
1605, Jan	Othello performed at Whitehall
1605, Jan	Love’s Labour’s Lost performed at Court, also Ben Johnson’s The Masque of Blackness. This latter, with sets by Inigo Jones, opens new era of spectacle in the theatre
5 Nov	The ‘Gunpowder Plot’ (to blow up Parliament along with King James and his family) thwarted
1606	Profanity laws passed
	Macbeth written this year
26 Dec	King Lear performed at Whitehall by King’s Men
1607, 5 June	Marriage of Susanna Shakespeare to Dr John Hall, at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford
1608, 21 Feb	Christening of Elizabeth, daughter of Susanna and John Hall
20 May	Antony and Cleopatra entered in the Stationers’ Register
9 Aug	Blackfriars theatre leased for twenty-one years by Shakespeare and his colleagues
1609, 20 May	Shakespeare’s Sonnets entered in the Stationers’ Register. Pericles (Q1) and (Q2) published
1610, Summer	The King’s Men present The Winter’s Tale at the Globe
1611, 20 Apr	Simon Forman sees Macbeth performed at the Globe
30 Apr	Simon Forman sees Richard II performed at the Globe
15 May	Simon Forman sees the Winter’s Tale performed at the Globe
1 Nov	First known performance of The Tempest at Court
1613, Feb	The King’s Men perform fourteen plays during the celebrations for the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Frederick Elector Palatine
	Susanna Hall accused of adultery by John Lane
10 Mar	Shakespeare buys Gatehouse at Blackfriars in London
31 Mar	Shakespeare and Richard Burbage are each paid forty four shillings for designing and creating an impresa shield for the new Earl of Rutland, for his part in the Accession Day Tilts
29 June	The Globe burnt to the ground, apparently caused by a cannon spark during a performance of All is True (Henry VIII)
15 July	Susanna Hall wins action for defamation of character against John Lane
1614, 30 June	Globe Theatre reported as already back in business
5 Sept	Shakespeare documented as owning 127 acres in Stratford
1615	Shakespeare is named concerning possible land enclosures
1616	Publication in this year of Folio edition of Ben Johnson’s works
10 Feb	Shakespeare’s daughter Judith marries Stratford vintner Thomas Quiney
25 Mar	Shakespeare signs his will
23 Apr	Death of William Shakespeare, according to his monument in Holy Trinity Church
25 Apr	Shakespeare buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford
23 Nov	Christening of Shakespeare Quiney, Shakespeare’s first grandson by his daughter Judith
1617, 8 May	Infant Shakespeare Quiney buried
1619, 13 Mar	Death of Richard Burbage
3 May	The Lord Chamberlain acts to halt the unauthorised publication of Shakespeare’s works in Quarto
1622, 22 Apr	Marriage of Shakespeare’s granddaughter Elizabeth Hall to Thomas Nash
1623, 8 Aug	Burial of Shakespeare’s wife Anne near her husband at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford
8 Nov	Having been compiled by Shakespeare’s fellow actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, the First Folio of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies is entered in the Stationer’s Register