Hans Christian Andersen was born on 2 April 1805 in Odense, Denmark, and was the first Danish author to emerge from the lower classes. He was well-known as a novelist, dramatist, and poet, but his fairy tales are his greatest contribution to world literature. His innovative and influential fairy tales brought him worldwide fame and recognition and have been translated into more than 125 languages. Andersen’s father was a shoemaker, and his mother was a washerwoman. He earned his basic education at a local school, where he had to support himself by working for a weaver first, and later a tailor. At the age of 14, he convinced his mother to let him move to Copenhagen to become an actor. While he was accepted into the royal Danish Theatre, he soon began focusing on writing instead. His brilliant writings brought him eternal fame, his works going on to inspire numerous ballets, plays, animated films and live- action films. He died in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 4 August 1875. One of Copenhagen’s busiest boulevards has been named after this legend. Anderson’s Fairy Tales contain fifteen hand-picked fairy tales that made Hans Christian Andersen a household name.