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Hans Christian Andersen

You probably already know who Hans Christian Andersen was: a Danish writer, famous for his fairytales. He gets the credit for the origin of children’s literature, not to mention several Disney movies from our childhood.

Here are a couple of details you might not have known, the rest of the Hans Christian Andersen story:

• It is rumored that Andersen suffered from dyslexia, making his successes just that much more impressive.
• Andersen spent a summer vacationing with Charles Dickens, whom he felt was the greatest writer of their time. (Jealous!) Following the vacation, popular opinion is that Dickens wrote and modeled the character Uriah Heep of David Copperfield after Andersen.
• Ultimately, Andersen died from a bump on the head. That may sound like something from a fairytale, but it is true. He fell out of bed, and later died from complications.
• Andersen was born in Odense, and died just miles away in Copenhagen. Today, a statue of The Little Mermaid stands in a Copenhagen harbor to honor Andersen and his work.
• Initially, Andersen tried and failed at becoming a stage actor. Considering the success of his many written works, it seems safe to say that sometimes, those that cannot do, write. :)