23rd April is an important date for English people.  Firstly it is St. George’s Day, England’s patron saint who is shared with Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, Malta and Ethiopia.  St. George is believed to have been born in the late 3rd century to noble Christian parents in Turkey. He was a Roman army officer who was martyred for his faith in Palestine.

But, in addition, 23rd April is both the birthday of William Shakespeare, and also the date that he died.  Not many people know that Shakespeare invented many of the words in the English language which are still in use today.  These include: elbow, to kiss, eyeball, lonely, fashionable, and assassination.  So – thank you Will, for not only the plays, the poems, but also the extra vocabulary!