William the Conqueror was born c. 1028 in Malaise, France and he died on September 9, 1087 in Rouen, France. William the Conqueror was the first Norman (from France) king of England and ruled over the land for two decades. His ruling over England changed the nation’s course of history entirely. He essentially involved England in the greater European stream of life, he connected the small, somewhat isolated island, to the larger European continent.