The Little Mermaid is a literary fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, first published in Copenhagen in a small volume of fairy tales for children. It tells of a young sea princess who falls in love with a human prince and gives up her voice in exchange for legs, at a terrible cost. Unlike many later adaptations, Andersen's original ends with sacrifice and a hope of earning an immortal soul rather than a wedding. The story became one of his best-known works, inspired the bronze statue in Copenhagen harbour unveiled in 1913, and was adapted into the popular animated Disney film of 1989.
Before and after
- 1837Louis Agassiz proposes the Ice Age theory
- 29 January 1837Death of Alexander Pushkin
- 4 March 1837Founding of Chicago
- 18 March 1837Birth of Grover Cleveland
- 7 April 1837Publication of The Little Mermaid
- from 6 November 1837 to 10 November 1838Lower Canada Rebellion
- 7 November 1837Earthquake in Valdivia, Chile
- from 13 November 1837 to 9 September 1838First Herat War
- 23 November 1837Birth of Johannes Diderik van der Waals
More in Art, literature & culture
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.