Born the son of a shoe-maker two months before the birth of another
famous playwright,
William Shakespeare,
Christopher Marlowe achieved fame as an Elizabethan dramatist as well
as an atheist. He was killed in a tavern brawl by a former friend,
allegedly over a bill. There is now some evidence that suggests his
death was in fact an assassination.
The earliest historical record of Christopher Marlowe is the date of
his baptism, which took place February 26, 1564, in Canterbury.
Although the exact date of his birth is not known, children were
traditionally baptized three days after being born.