What is unique about Shakespeare's birth date?

Answer 1

It is often said that William Shakespeare died on his birthday.

This may, or may not be true - he died on 23rd April 1616, but there is no official record of his birth.

There is a record of his baptism, on 26th April 1564, and it was common for a baptism to take place shortly after birth. Whether in his case it was exactly three days later is unknown.

The uniqueness of William Shakespears birth date and date of death are because they are exactly 52 years apart - that is to say that he lived precisely 52 years. His perceived date of birth (and this is only presumed due to the fact that in the 1500s it was normal for a child to be baptised on the next Sunday after its birth and we have the date of Shakespears baptism from church records) is :

April 23rd 1564

And his date of death shown by church records is :

April 23rd 1616

Very odd.

Because Shakespeare is considered special in England - he's our national poet.

The exact date of Shakespeare's birth is not known, although there is a record of his baptism on 26th April 1564.

It was common for a baptism to take place within a few days of baptism and his birthday is celebrated on 23rd April which is also the saint's day of St. George, the patron saint of England.

It's not exactly unique but in fact no-one knows when his birthday was. English church records only recorded christenings, marriages and funerals. Nobody recorded dates of birth or death prior to 1837.