He came to the United States in 1940 after fleeing the Nazi invasion of Denmark, and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force before the end of World War II.
[1][2] In 1963, he published his first book for children and young adults, Hakon of Rogen's Saga.
His literary awards include recognition for his 1978 translation of The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories of Hans Christian Andersen.
[3][4] Work papers of Erik Christian Haugaard are maintained in the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The collection consists of material received from Erik Haugaard and Houghton Mifflin between 1967 and 1984.