William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.   Russ McDonald is a professor of English in Goldsmiths College at the University of London. He is the author of The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. He has served as a trustee of the Shakespeare Association of America and was a director of the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library.