Shakespeare's will available online.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: Up front: news trends & analysis

In his last will and testament, dated March 25, 1616 (about one month before his death), William Shakespeare bequeathed his "second-best" bed to his wife.

Anyone can now search and download the wills of Shakespeare, poet William Wordsworth, Napoleon Bonaparte, and other famous figures via DocumentsOnline (formerly PRO-Online). At www.documentsonline.pro. gov.uk/wills.asp, individuals can search and download the Prerogative Court of Canterbury's (PCC) entire collection of wills--more than 1 million--from the years 1384 to 1858.

Until 1858, all wills had to be formally approved by the church and other courts. The PCC, the most important of these courts, dealt with the relatively wealthy individuals living mainly in the south of England and most of Wales (what was originally the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury).

DocumentsOnline allows online access to the Public Record Office's...