William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and his mother Mary Arden in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. There is no record of his birth, but the church recorded his baptism, so his birthday is assumed to be April 23. His father was a prominent and successful alderman of the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, and was later awarded a coat of arms by the College of Heralds. All that is known of Shakespeare's early life is that he probably attended Stratford Grammar School and did not continue his studies at Oxford or Cambridge. The next record is his marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1582. The following year she bore him a daughter, Susanna, followed by twins Judith and Hamnet two years later. Seven years later, Shakespeare was recognized as an actor, poet and playwright. when a rival playwright, Robert Greene, called him an "upstart raven" in "A Groatsworth of Wit." A few years later, he joined one of London's most successful acting troupes: "The Lord Chamberlain's Men". When, in 1599, the troupe lost the lease on the theater where they performed, they were wealthy enough to build their own theater across the River Thames, south of London, which they called 'The Globe'. The new theater opened in July 1599, built with the beams of the "Theater", with the motto "Totus mundus agit histrionem" (A whole world of actors). When James I acceded to the throne (1603), the troop was designated by the new king under the name "King's Men" (or "King's Company"). The company's letters patent specifically charged Shakespeare and eight others "to freely use and exercise the art and faculty of performing comedies, tragedies, histories, interludes, morals, pastorals, plays... as well as for the recreation of our loving subjects as for our comfort and pleasure." Shakespeare entertained king and people for ten more years until June 19, 1613, when a cannon fired from the roof of the theater for a gala performance of Henry VIII set the thatched roof on fire and burned the theater to the ground. The audience initially ignored the smoke from the roof, being too absorbed in the play, until. As the flames reached the walls and the fabric of the curtains, surprisingly there were no casualties, and the following spring the company had the theater "rebuilt in a much fairer manner than before." »..