Short answers, pulled from the story.
Hans Christian Andersen was born on the 2nd of April 1805 in Odense, Denmark. He grew up in the cobblestone streets of Odense in a household where his father worked as a cobbler and his mother worked as a washerwoman.
Hans Christian Andersen endured abuse and emotional neglect while attending school in Slagelse and Elsinore. His schoolmaster used physical punishment to improve his character, which left deep psychological scars and fostered a profound sense of isolation.
Hans Christian Andersen published the first installment of his Fairy Tales Told for Children on the 8th of May 1835. This first booklet included The Tinderbox, Little Claus and Big Claus, The Princess and the Pea, and Little Ida's Flowers.
Hans Christian Andersen died on the 4th of August 1875 at Rolighed, a country house near Copenhagen. He passed away at the age of 70 after suffering from injuries sustained in early 1872 and liver cancer.
Hans Christian Andersen's stories have been translated into more than 125 languages. These tales have become embedded in Western collective consciousness and inspired numerous ballets, plays, and films.