Hans Christian Andersen Born April 2nd

Hans Christian Andersen was born as an only child on April 2nd 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His father was a poor shoemaker and his mother a laundry woman. Andersen was forced to support himself starting at age 14 so he moved to Copenhagen and found employment at the Royal Danish Theater thanks to his soprano talent. A fortuitous encounter with Jonas Collin led to Andersen attending grammar school with expenses paid. The first of his Fairy Tales was printed in 1835.

Read more about Andersen here, here, and find writings here.