Hamnet Shakespeare (bef. 1585 - bef. 1596)

Born before 2 Feb 1585 in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England

Ancestors

Died before 11 Aug 1596 at about age 11 in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England

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Biography

Hamnet Shakespeare was born in Warwickshire, England.

Hamnet Shakespeare died young.

Hamnet Shakespeare was the only son of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway.

He and his twin sister Judith were baptised on 2 February 1584/5 at Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Their baptism is entered in the parish register as: "Hamnet & Judeth sonne & daughter to Williã Shakspere."^[1][2][3]

He and Judith were probably named after the Shakespeare family's friends Hamnet and Judith Sadler, Hamnet Sadler was a baker in Stratford and his name is also recorded in local records as Hamlet.^[4]

He died at age 11 and was buried on 11 August 1596 at Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon.^[5][6][3]

Sources

1. ↑ Richard Savage, The registers of Stratford-on-Avon, in the County of Warwick, Baptisms, 1558-1652 , London: privately printed, 1897, page 39. Internet Archive (accessed 28 Mar 2020)
2. ↑ 'Parish register entry recording Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare’s baptisms', 2 Feb 1585, Shakespeare Documented, Folger Shakespeare Library (accessed 8 Apr 2020)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} According to "Shakespeare's 'American Descendants'", Nat'l. Genealogical Society Quarterly, Sep. 1959, Milton Rubincam wrote that Hamnet Shakespeare was twin of Judith and the only son whose name was a variant of "Hamlet". he was baptized 2 Feb 1584/5, and was buried at Trinity Church 11 Aug 1596, aged 11 years.
4. ↑ Peter Holland, ‘Shakespeare, William (1564-1616), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn Jan 2013 (accessed 18 Mar 2020).
5. ↑ Richard Savage, The registers of Stratford-on-Avon, in the County of Warwick, Burials, 1558-1622-3 , London: privately printed, 1905, page 55 Internet Archive (accessed 30 Mar 2020)
6. ↑ 'Parish register entry recording Hamnet Shakespeare’s burial', 11 Aug 1596, Shakespeare Documented, Folger Shakespeare Library (accessed 2 Apr 2020)