Timeline
1805- Andersen is born in Odense, Denmark
1816- Andersen's father dies
1819- Andersen leaves for Copenhagen
1822- Andersen recieves a scholarship for an education thanks to the Collin family
1827- Andersen returns to Copenhagen and publishes his first work “The Dying Child” and Edvard Collin starts to help tutor him
1829- Andersen publishes his first book A Walking Tour from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern Point of Amager and his first play Love at St. Nicholas Tower is performed at the Royal Danish Theatre
1830- Andersen meets, falls in love with, and has his heart broken by Riborg Vigot and calls this his first heartbreak on his way to becoming a great poet
1831- Andersen writes romantic letters to Louise Collin takes his first trip abroad to Germany
1832- Andersen writes his first autobiography The Book of my Life and Edvard and Jette Thyberg become engaged
1833- Andersen travels to Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy
1835- Andersen publishes The Improvisatore (an autobiographical novel) to great success as well as his first booklet of fairy tales Fairy Tales Told for Children (including “The Princess and the Pea”) and a second booklet of fairy tales that December (which included “Thumbelina”)
1836- Andersen publishes O.T.: Life in Denmark (a second autobiographical novel), Edvard marries Jette without telling Andersen where or when the wedding would be, and Andersen begins work on “The Little Mermaid”
1837- Andersen publishes a third booklet of fairy tales (which includes “The Little Mermaid” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes”)
1838-39 - King Fredrick VI of Denmark awards Andersen an annual grant so he can concentrate on writing and Andersen publishes the first booklet in a new collection of Fairy Tales Told for Children which includes “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” with the second booklet being published the next year
1840-42- Andersen travels to Italy, Greece, and Turkey, has more plays staged at the Royal Danish Theatre, publishes the third booklet of Fairy Tales, and publishes a book about his travels titled A Poet’s Bazaar
1844- Andersen publishes New Fairy Tales (including “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Nightingale”) and makes his first trip to Weimar, Germany where he meets Grand Duke Karl Alexander
1845- Andersen publishes a second and third collection of New Fairy Tales (including “The Snow Queen” and “The Red Shoes”) and travels more, meeting people like Victor Hugo and the Brothers Grimm
1847- Andersen publishes a third volume of New Fairy Tales (including “The Shadow”), publishes his second autobiography The True Story of my Life, and met many people on his travels including Charles Dickens
1848- Andersen publishes a fourth volume of New Fairy Tales (which includes “The Little Match Girl”) and is unable to travel to Germany as Denmark goes to war with Germany and Prussia
1851-53- Andersen publishes an account of his travels through Sweden, In Sweden and a collection called Stories including “It’s Perfectly True” in the first collection and “Everything in Its Proper Place” in the second
1855- Andersen publishes The Fairy Tale of my Life, his third autobiography
1857-59- Andersen stays with the Dickens family in England, meets Harald Scharff, publishes the novel To Be or Not to Be, and three volumes of the series New Fairy Tales and Stories (which included “’Something’”, “The Bog King’s Daughter”, and “The Girl Who Stepped on Bread”)
1861-65- Andersen publishes the first three volumes of the second series of New Fairy Tales and Stories (including “The Snowman”, “The Ice Maiden”, and “The Will-o' the Wisps Are in Town”) and publishes a travel book In Spain
1866-70- Andersen publishes the fourth volume of New Fairy Tales and Stories (including “The Snowdrop”) and his last novel Lucky Peter
1872- Andersen publishes two volumes in the third series of New Fairy Tales and Stories (including “Auntie Toothache”) and begins to experience the first symptoms of liver cancer
1875- Andersen passes away on August 4. His funeral is held in Copenhagen and attended by hundreds of admirers, including King Christian IX of Denmark.