A UK man named William Shakespeare—the first man in the country and one of the first in the world to receive an approved COVID-19 vaccine this past December—has passed away from an unrelated illness. He was 81, New York Post reported.

He died at the same hospital in Coventry where he received the vaccine, according to BirminghamLive. The nature of his illness was not immediately clear.

Upon his death, tributes poured in for Shakespeare, who was remembered fondly as a “much-loved figure” in the Coventry Labour Party.

The modern-day Shakespeare made headlines back on Dec. 8 when he received the jab at University Hospital Coventry, a mere 20 miles from the famous playwright’s birthplace of Stratford-Upon-Avon.

“I need to say, the staff at this hospital are wonderful,” Shakespeare said after he received the Pfizer shot.

The Warwickshire native was an inpatient at the hospital’s frailty ward at the time he received his vaccine dose, per the BBC.

His vaccination made worldwide headlines.

Shakespeare leaves behind his wife, Joy, and two sons, Julian and William. He was also a grandfather.