Hans Christian Andersen was a prolific Danish author and poet most famous for his fairy tales. Some of his most famous fairy tales include The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor's New Clothes. Andersen struggled as a child but found success as a writer after moving to Copenhagen at age 14. There, he was accepted to the Royal Danish Theatre as a singer but later focused on writing when his voice changed. In 1835, he published the first installments of his famous Fairy Tales collection, which he continued adding to over the years and cemented his legacy as a master storyteller. Andersen never fully recovered from a bad fall in old age and died of liver cancer in 1875.