Facts schmacts. You can prove anything with facts!
Homer Simpson

Ron:

So much of the arguments made against Shakespeare in this thread and other venues are in favor of some nobleman, based on class and education. I find these arguments inherently suspicious, that a commoner just doesn't have the background, breeding, or education for great works. In this thread I have brought forth a couple of commoners, Samuel Johnson and Abraham Lincoln, people who outstripped the nobs of their day in literary and intellectual merit by their powers and application, breeding notwithstanding.

I once met an English gentleman who had a great deal of contempt for a gentleman's education. As far as a nobleman's education, I'm under the impression it was very optional.

As far as the rest of the 'theory' goes, it is over-reaching to draw conclusions from apparent gaps in years, lack of information, and coincidences in histories. People have been predicting the end of the world by just such information gleaned from Scripture. It is an even more profitable industry than writing books about who wrote Shakesepeare's material.