Born Johan Carl Christian Brosbøll on August 7, 1816 in Fredericia. In his childhood, Brosbøll developed an interest in tales of taters and other outcasts. His father was a businessman, and Carl spent much time travelling through Jutland for his father. He was a talented drawer and started studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He eventually abandoned his drawing studies, and finished a university degree in 1844. Brosbøll joined the Danish army for the 1848 First Schleswig War, and was employed at the Royal Danish Library in 1853. Owing to ill health, he gave up his library work in 1885, and went travelling, especially on Corsica. He was married in 1851 to Hansine Erasmine Thorbjørnsen, whom he later divorced to marry Olga Augusta Schultz in 1888.