The German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were librarians, linguists, literary critics and story collectors. While studying law at the University of Marburg, they discovered a passion for folk tales and the German language.
Throughout his life, Jacob studied word declensions, word formation, sounds and Germanic mythology. Wilhelm, for his part, publishes works on the runic alphabet and German heroic songs. In addition, they are working on a historical dictionary of the German language. However, as the task was colossal, they published only a few volumes before their deaths. The 32nd and final volume of the dictionary was completed in 1961, 123 years later. It is currently available online.
The Grimm brothers also rewrote tales by Charles Perrault. Although the stories are very similar to the original version, the Grimm's tales are distinguished by their writing, which is sometimes tinged with realism, fantasy and romanticism, combining humor and cruelty. They are responsible for over 200 tales and legends, including Snow White, Cinderella*, Sleeping Beauty*, Little Red Riding Hood*, Hansel and Gretel, The Valiant Little Tailor, Tom Thumb, Rapunzel and many more.
*These works are rewrites of the versions written by Charles Perrault.
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1785: Birth of Jacob Grimm on January 4, in Hanau.
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1786: Wilhelm Grimm is born on February 24, in Hanau.
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1812: Together, they publish the first volume of Grimms' Fairy Tales, including the stories of Snow White and Hansel and Gretel.
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1813 to 1816: Devoting themselves to early German literature, the two brothers write articles for the magazine Altdeutsche Wälder.
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1815: The second volume of Grimms' Fairy Tales is published. It is republished in 1819 in an expanded version.
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1819: The University of Marburg awards them an honorary doctorate for their numerous publications.
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1859: Wilhelm dies on December 16, in Berlin.
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1863: Jacob dies on September 20, in Berlin.