6 Myths About William Shakespeare That You Wrongly Believe

5. His Birthday

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When is Shakespeare€™'s birthday? 23rd April, 1564 of course! OK, maybe it€™'s not that obvious, but the truth is his actual birthday is unknown. What we do know from records is that he was baptised on 26th April, and custom of the time dictates that 23rd April - three days before - is a reasonable estimate for his birth.

There is an argument that since his birth date is only an approximation, history could have allowed the date to be adjusted so that England€™'s greatest playwright just happened to be born on 23rd April:€“ St.George€™s Day. Still, things get more complicated. In 1582 the Julian calendar was replaced with the Gregorian (Western) calendar. By adjusting the date, Shakespeare€™'s baptism would move from April to 3rd May, putting his birthday somewhere close to 1st May by modern calendars.

Perhaps all those Midsummer Night's Dream allusions to May Day are not so coincidental?

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Contributor

I have one golden rule: There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. Any song or film that makes you feel good doesn't need justifying.