William was born in Dublin in 1865 in Dublin to an Irish Protestant family. His father was a lawyer (turned artist) and his mother the daughter of a wealthy mill owning family.
Yeats is renowned as one of the finest English language poets and dramatists of the 20th Century. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, shortly after Ireland had been partitioned. This historical background prevaded his work.
1865 - Born, Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland
1876 - Family moved to England to assist father persuing a career as an artist
1880 - Returned to Dulin
1885 - First poems and an essay were published in Dublin Universtiy Review
1887 - Family return to London
1890 - Co-Founded the "Rhymers Club" a group of London based poets
1886 - First solo publication, "Mosada: A Dramatic Poem"
1889 - Published the collection, "The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems"
1895 - Published "Poems"
1897 - Published "The Secret Rose"
1899 - Published "The Wind Among the Reeds"
1899 - Helped establish the Irish Literary Theatre
1904 - Helped open the Abbey Theatre in Dublin
1916 - Married Georgie Hyde-Lees
1922 - Appointed to Irish Senate
1923 - Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
1925 - Again appointed to Irish Senate
1928 - Retired from Senate due to ill health
1939 - Died in France
A big thanks to the Guinness merchandise shop for helping to make this page.