Many historians and famous authors, such as Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud, have difficulty believing that William Shakespeare actually wrote the works published under his name. As TIME writer Jumanna Farousky wrote, “Doubters began to question the writer's true identity in the late 19th century. Since then, alternative author theory has flirted with the mainstream as some scholars and researchers have attempted to convince the broader academic community to treat the issue as a legitimate debate.” (Farousky, 1) Although there are many candidates in the conflict1 surrounding the true identity of the author of Shakespeare's works, it is clear that Sir Francis Bacon was the true creator. Where Shakespeare never went to college or traveled outside the London area, Bacon traveled extensively and attended College before moving on to write his own books and become a philosopher. Sir Francis Bacon also grew up in politics and was in parliament3, while Shakespeare was the son of a glover and became an actor. Furthermore, the two authors share many similarities in their writing style. Although there are other candidates in the debate, Sir Francis Bacon is the most likely based on the series of strange or nonsensical things that connect them. From the similarities in writing style and the fact that Shakespeare never traveled outside of London while Bacon traveled and had family who traveled to some of the locations in the plays, to the information used in the plays, information that Shakespeare would not have had access to but Sir Francis Bacon would have done it. There are more reasons why Bacon might be the real Shakespeare than most. These are just a few of the many strange coincidences6, circumstances7 and similarities surrounding Sir Francis... middle of paper...4) These facts lead to the question of why someone who was supposed to be so eloquent as to be able to write plays so extraordinary he would need someone else to write them for him, and why did he seem unable to settle on just one spelling of his name? Often, in Shakespeare's works, the author had to have knowledge of both Hebrew and Italian. These facts, combined with Shakespeare's lack of higher education or travel experience, make Shakespeare an unlikely candidate for authorship. Works Cited Robertson, John G. "The Shakespeare-Bacon Theory." Encyclopedia Britannica. 11th ed. 1911. TheatreHistory.com. TheatreHistory.com, 2002. Web. April-May 2014. Farouky, Jumana. "The Mystery of Shakespeare's Identity". Time. Time Inc., September 13, 2007. Web. May 19, 2014. Lander, Jesse M. “Shakespeare, William.” Student of the world book. Book of the World, 2014. Web. 26 May 2014.