Hans Christian Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales.

Hans Christian Andersen was a friend of Bettina von Arnim, the Countess of Blessington, Catharine Crowe, Charles Dickens, and Jenny Lind. Three of his fairy tales were inspired by Lind: The Ugly Duckling, The Angel, and The Nightingale, the latter making her known as “The Swedish Nightingale.”

Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on Tuesday, 2 April, 1805. Most English (as well as German and French) sources use the name “Hans Christian Andersen”, but in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia he is usually referred to as merely “H. C. Andersen”.

In August, 1847, Andersen was a dinner guest of renowned surgeon James Young Simpson and was present at one of Simpson’s demonstrations of the use of ether after dinner at his home at 52 Queen Street, Edinburgh. Another guest in attendance was the noted author Catharine Crowe.