What was unique about Shakespeare's death?

Answer 1

He died on his birthday, which is not all that ironic and also possibly not true (since we do not know the exact date of Shakespeare's birth).
We do not know what day Shakespeare was born on, only that he was baptised on April 26, 1564. But we do know when he died: April 23, 1616. Obviously he died very close to his birthday, and so people have said "Wouldn't it be cool if he died on his birthday? Let's say he was born on the 23rd of April, which is, after all, a possible date."

The irony is that people see "Born April 23, 1564 and died April 23, 1616" and say "Wow! what a weird coincidence! Shakespeare died on his birthday" when the reverse is the case: we think it's his birthday because he died on it.

Answer 2

The legend goes that Shakespeare was out boozing it up with Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton, and as a result of this heavy drinking, caught a fever and died of it. The story comes from a clergyman named Ward, who wrote it in the 1660s, fifty years after the event.

Answer 3

It is significant that he was born, because he otherwise would never have lived, and we would have been deprived of the joy of his plays. In other words, the date of his birth and death are not really significant at all, compared to what happened in between. Had Shakespeare been born or had died a year earlier or later and had still written his plays and poems it would not have made any difference. It is interesting that it would appear that he died on his birthday, April 23, although we cannot be totally sure that he was born on April 23. It is interesting but not significant.

Answer 4

He died on what we believe to be his birthday. That is perhaps not unique (the odds are it must have happened to 1 in every 365 people) but it is a little unusual.

Answer 5

Historians believe that Shakespeare was born and died on April 23 (52 years apart but on the same calendar date)