Full Name: Hans Christian Andersen; Profession: Danish author, poet, and writer of literary fairy tales; Nationality: Danish; Born: 2 April 1805; Birthplace: Odense, Funen, Kingdom of Denmark–Norway (now Denmark); Generation: 19th-century Romantic era / Danish Golden Age literary generation of the early to mid‑19th century; Chinese Zodiac: Wood Ox; Zodiac Sign: Aries; Age in 2026: 221 (hypothetical, as he died in 1875); Marital Status: Never married; Children: None known; Description: Hans Christian Andersen was a pioneering 19th‑century Danish author whose more than 150–160 fairy tales, including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Snow Queen,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “The Princess and the Pea,” transformed children’s and world literature through his blend of simple spoken language, imaginative fantasy, and deep psychological and spiritual themes about identity, sacrifice, love, suffering, and transformation, with his stories translated into over a hundred languages, continuously reprinted since the 1830s, and adapted into countless ballets, plays, operas, and animated and live‑action films, leading the Danish state to hail him as a national treasure and making him one of the most widely read and influential storytellers in global literary history; Cause of Death: After a serious fall from his bed in 1872 that left him badly injured, he developed signs of liver cancer and ultimately died on 4 August 1875 in Copenhagen from complications associated with liver cancer and the earlier injury.