Famous People Who Overcame Dyslexia
Hans Christian Andersen
 Hans
Christian Andersen, (April 2 1805 - August 4 1875) was a Danish
author and poet famous for his fairy tales.
Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on
the April 2 1805. He was the son of a sickly young shoemaker
of twenty-two and his several years older wife. The whole
family lived and slept in one little room.
Hans Christian showed imagination early,
which was fostered by the indulgence of his parents and by
his mother's superstition. In 1816, the shoemaker died and
the child was left entirely to his own devices. Hans Christian
ceased to go to school. He built himself a little toy-theatre
and sat at home making clothes for his puppets, and reading
all the plays that he could borrow; among them were those
of Ludvig Holberg and William Shakespeare. Andersen, throughout
his childhood, had a passionate love for literature. He was
known to memorize entire Shakespeare plays and recite them
using his wooden dolls as the characters.
King Frederick VI was interested in the
strange boy and sent him for some years, free of charge, to
the grammar-school at Slagelse. Before he started for school,
Andersen published his first volume, The Ghost at Palnatoke's
Grave (1822). Andersen, a very backward and unwilling
pupil, actually remained at Slagelse and at another school
in Elsinore until 1827. These years, he says, were the darkest
and bitterest in his life. Collin at length consented to consider
him educated, and Andersen came to Copenhagen.
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 "H. C. Andersen". It is an accepted convention
in Denmark to use only the initials instead of the full name
of some persons, just as strong as the American "middle
initial" tradition.
Additional Links:
Official
web site - Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Bicentenary Festival
Fairy
Tales and Stories - Hans Christian Andersen publications
Danish
Broadcasting Corporation - Founded in 1925 as a public
service organisation
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