William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby

William Stanley KG
Earl of Derby
William Stanley, the 6th Earl of Derby
Known for	Travels, Shakespeare authorship candidate
Born	1561
Died	29 September 1642 (aged 80–81) Chester, Kingdom of England
Nationality	English
Locality	Lancashire, Cheshire
Noble family	Stanley
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth de Vere ​ ​ (m. 1595; died 1627)​
Issue More...	James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby Robert Stanley Anne Stanley, Countess of Ancram
Father	Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
Mother	Lady Margaret Clifford

William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, KG (1561 – 29 September 1642) was an English nobleman and politician. Stanley inherited a prominent social position that was both dangerous and unstable, as his mother was heir to Queen Elizabeth I under the Third Succession Act, a position inherited in 1596 by his deceased brother's oldest daughter, Anne, two years after William had inherited the Earldom from his brother. After a period of European travel in his youth, a long legal battle eventually consolidated his social position. Nevertheless, he was careful to remain circumspect in national politics, devoting himself to administration and cultural projects, including playwriting.

His own literary works are lost or unidentified, but in the 1890s he was put forward as one of the contenders to be the true author of the works of William Shakespeare, according to some proponents of the Shakespeare authorship question.