The Brothers Grimm Biography

The German brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm spent years collecting and researching folk tales early in the 19th century. They published Children’s and Household Tales in 1812, a collection which became known as “Grimm’s Fairy Tales.” The collection included what are now some of the world’s most famous stories, including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin. Wilhelm married in 1825, but Jacob never wed and for most of his life lived in his brother’s home. The brothers also began a German historical dictionary, the enormous Deutsches Worterbook, which ran to 16 volumes when it was finally completed by others in 1954.