Hans Christian Andersen

1805 – 1875 · died at about 70^[1][2]

Literature

Fun Facts About Hans Christian Andersen

• Hans Christian Andersen turned a planned brief visit to Charles Dickens's home into a five-week stay. After he was told to leave, Dickens gradually stopped answering his letters.^[1][3][4]
• At 14, Andersen moved to Copenhagen to become an actor. His good soprano voice got him into the Royal Danish Theatre, but then his voice changed.^[1]
• Andersen wrote "The Nightingale" out of passion for singer Jenny Lind, giving her the nickname "Swedish Nightingale." She turned down his proposal, seeing him as a brother.^[1]
• When Andersen died, a pouch holding a long letter from Riborg Voigt, the unrequited love of his youth, was found on his chest decades after he fell for her.^[1]
• A lost early Andersen fairy tale, "The Tallow Candle," about a candle that does not feel appreciated, was discovered in a Danish archive in 2012.^[1]
• Andersen's birthday, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.^[1]
• Hans Christian Andersen was alive at the same time as Joseph Haydn — their lives overlapped for 4 years (1805–1809).^[1][2][5][6]
• Hans Christian Andersen shares a birthday with Charlemagne: both were born on April 2.^[1][2][7][8]

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.^[1]

Contemporaries

Victor Hugo

70 yr overlap

Ralph Waldo Emerson

70 yr overlap

George Sand

70 yr overlap

Charles Babbage

66 yr overlap

Charles Darwin

66 yr overlap

Alexandre Dumas

65 yr overlap

Franz Liszt

64 yr overlap

Michael Faraday

62 yr overlap

Giuseppe Verdi

62 yr overlap

Richard Wagner

62 yr overlap

Otto von Bismarck

60 yr overlap

Jacob Grimm

58 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Hans Christian Andersen

When was Hans Christian Andersen born?

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805, and died on August 4, 1875.

How old was Hans Christian Andersen at death?

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805, and died on August 4, 1875, at age 70.

What was Hans Christian Andersen known for?

Hans Christian Andersen was known for: The Little Mermaid, fairy tales. Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.

Who was alive at the same time as Hans Christian Andersen?

Hans Christian Andersen's closest contemporary was Victor Hugo. Their lives overlapped for 70 years.