William Shakespeare
Who: Born April 1564, son of glover John Shakespeare, later alderman and bailiff of Stratford, and landowner's daughter Mary Arden. Married Ann Hathaway in November, 1582; the couple had three children. Went to London in late 1580s as a traveling player (actor), later joined the Lord Chamberlain's Company, the capital's leading theater troupe. Name appears on the title pages of poems and plays from 1593's "Venus and Adonis," a narrative poem published by Stratford native Richard Field and dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, to "Pericles" and "Troilus and Cressida," published in 1609. Semi-retired from London life ca. 1610. Died April 23, 1616.
Why: Name is on all the earliest quarto editions; was an actor in the company that performed the plays attributed to William Shakespeare. Authorship remained unchallenged until 1785, when Rev. James Wilmot's study naming Bacon was published.