Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, poet and playwright. He wrote a number of classic fairy tales during his life, including The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Little Match Girl.

Hans Christian Andersen developed a love of literature at a young age. He read the works of Ludvig Holberg and William Shakespeare by age nine. He was admitted to the Royal Danish Theatre at 14 years old, but was let go as he went through puberty and his voice changed. Anderson published his first book, The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave, in 1822. Jonas Collin, a member of the theater company and a Danish official, took note of his work and paid for his studies in full, although he was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia and encouraged not to write. His first major success was came in 1835 with the novel The Improvisatore.

• 1835: The Princess and the Pea
• 1835: Thumbelina
• 1835: The Tinder Box
• 1836: The Little Mermaid
• 1837: The Emperor's New Clothes
• 1838: The Steadfast Tin Soldier
• 1838: The Wild Swans
• 1841: The Swineherd
• 1843: The Angel
• 1844: The Snow Queen
• 1844: The Nightingale
• 1844: The Fir Tree
• 1844: The Ugly Duckling
• 1845: The Red Shoes
• 1845: The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep
• 1845: The Bell
• 1847: The Story of a Mother
• 1847: Little Tuck
• 1847: The Happy Family
• 1847: The Old House
• 1847: The Shadow
• 1848: The Little Match Girl
• 1852: It's Quite True!

• April 2, 1805: Born, Odense, Denmark

• 1816: Death of father

• 1819: Travels to Copenhagen to try acting in theatre

• 1837: Travels to Sweden

• 1857: Travels to England | Stays with Charles Dickens

• August 4, 1875: Dies

• 1826: "The Dying Child"

• 1829: Fodreise

• 1831: Shadow Pictures

• 1832: The Book of My Life

• 1835: First Installment of Fairy Tales | Improvisatoren

• 1837: The Little Mermaid' | The Emperor's New Clothes

• 1843: The Ugly Duckling | The Top and the Ball | The Nightingale

• 1844: The Snow Queen | The Fir Tree

• 1845: The Little Match Girl

• 1868: The Dryad

• Note: The majority of films in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups

• IMDb: Complete Hans Christian Andersen Filmography

• 1903: The Little Match Seller

• 1917: The Seven Swans

• 1931: The Ugly Duckling

• 1948: The Red Shoes

• 1953: The Emperor's New Clothes

• 1966: The Daydreamer

• 1966-67: "Jackanory"

• 1979: The Fir Tree

• 1986: The Tin Soldier

• 1989: Disney's The Little Mermaid

• 1994: Thumbelina

• 2002: Snow Queen

• 2007: The Story of a Mother