While not much is known about the childhood of Kean, his birth would eventually lead to a revolutionary type of Shakesperian performance. Kean not only changed the way that actors were perceived, he forever revitalized the way that Shakespeare was performed on stage. Most likely born out of wedlock, which would have been considered disgraceful then, Kean had a poor childhood and had to work hard to eventually become an actor. 

William Cubitt, the inventor of the treadmill, hails from Norwich.