Hans Christian Andersen was born in 1805 in a small Danish town called Odense. His family didn't have much money. As a child he loved making up stories, singing, and putting on tiny shows with paper puppets. He left home at 14 to try to become an actor in Copenhagen.
Acting didn't quite work out, but writing did. He started making up his own fairy tales - sometimes based on stories his grandmother had told him, sometimes completely new. He wrote 156 fairy tales in total. They have been translated into more than 125 languages, more than almost any other book except the Bible.
Many of his tales have a quiet, gentle message. The Ugly Duckling - about a duckling everyone laughs at, who turns out to be a beautiful swan - is really about not giving up when people are mean. The Princess and the Pea - about a princess who can feel a tiny pea through 20 mattresses - is really a joke about being a bit too fussy.
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen has been sitting by the harbour since 1913. She is only 1.25 metres tall - smaller than most children expect - and looks out across the water. Millions of visitors come to see her every year. She is one of the most photographed statues in the world.