Today is Shakespeare’s official birthday.  By official, I mean it’s the day the officials decided he was born. While it is a tad bit unfortunate for Shakespeare scholars and fans that his birthday isn’t known for certain, it actually worked out quite well for purposes of symmetry and national significance – April 23 is also St. George’s Day (and what better date of birth for a national hero than the day of the national saint?) as well as the month and day of Shakespeare’s death.  In any case, it is with relative certainty that we can say Shakespeare was born this week.

While I was unable to join the festivities, one of my favourite London landmarks, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, celebrated the date with Elizabethan-era music, dancing, costumed performers and the opening of their summer season.  I myself will be heading down to the Globe next Thursday to review this season’s Romeo and Juliet which, while lacking the unique flavour of improvisational Hamlet at midnight, promises to be absolutely magical.  In a tragic sort of way, of course, but that can’t be helped.  It will also be my third trip to the Globe theatre and I’m glad to be getting a start on the season early – I hope to have plenty of opportunities to go back throughout the summer.

For today, however, I’m wish a very happy (and very, very belated) birthday to Mr. William Shakespeare.  I don’t know where we’d be without you.  In honor of Shakespeare’s birth, here are a list of just a few of the words for which the first recorded use in the English language appeared in his plays. There are over 2000 words with which he is credited with inventing or using first.

• Eyeball
• Puking
• Skim Milk
• Obscene
• Wormhole
• Accessible
• Accommodation
• Bubble
• Colourful
• Critical
• Dewdrop
• Downstairs
• Employer
• Eventful
• Lament
• Love Letter
• Moonbeam
• Ode
• Priceless
• Successful
• Torture
• Weird