Short answers, pulled from the story.
Hank Williams, born Hiram Williams on the 17th of September 1923, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician and an early pioneer of country music. He is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. He recorded 55 singles that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western chart, 12 of which reached number one.
Hank Williams died on New Year's Day, the 1st of January 1953, at the age of 29, his heart failing in the back seat of a car near Oak Hill, West Virginia, en route to a concert in Canton, Ohio. The autopsy gave the cause of death as acute right ventricular dilation, with hemorrhages found in the heart and neck.
Hank Williams learned from Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne, a Black street performer in Georgiana, Alabama, who gave him lessons in exchange for money or meals. Payne's basic style was the blues, and he stressed good rhythm and time along with showmanship. Williams later credited him as the source of the only musical training he ever had.
Hank Williams wrote and recorded iconic hits including "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Hey, Good Lookin'", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Cold, Cold Heart", "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", and "Kaw-Liga". His version of "Lovesick Blues" stayed at number one on the Billboard charts for four consecutive months and propelled him to stardom on the Grand Ole Opry.
No, Hank Williams never learned to read music or notate it to any significant degree. He based his compositions on storytelling and personal experience. Despite this, he is regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century.
Hank Williams was dismissed from the Grand Ole Opry on the 11th of August 1952 for habitual drunkenness and missing shows. His alcohol abuse and substance problems, worsened by chronic back pain from spina bifida occulta, strained his relationships during his final years.
Hank Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010 he was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his craftsmanship as a songwriter.