George Gascoigne, the son of a landowner and farmer, was born in Cardington, Bedfordshire, England. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, and replaced his father as an almoner at Elizabeth I’s coronation. However, as a farmer George Gascoigne was unsuccessful: he was imprisoned for debt and yet served in Parliament for two years, beginning in 1557. Gascoigne wrote poetry, plays, and prose. His first play, Supposes, may have been used by Shakespeare as a source for part of The Taming of the Shrew. Gascoigne died of an illness near Stamford.