The Brothers Grimm

fairy tales · storytelling · German folklore · writers

Collected folk stories. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm gathered traditional tales from people in Germany and published them in a book called Children's and Household Tales starting in 1812. These stories had been told by families for hundreds of years before the brothers wrote them down.

Made famous tales. The Grimms didn't invent their stories, but their collection made fairy tales like Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel known all around the world. Kids and adults everywhere still read and love these tales today.

Studied language deeply. Beyond collecting stories, the Brothers Grimm were scholars who studied how the German language worked and its history. They helped create the first big German dictionary and were experts in medieval German literature.

Lifelong partnership. Jacob was born in 1785 and Wilhelm in 1786, and these two brothers worked together their whole lives. They studied at the same universities, lived together, and spent decades collecting and publishing their folklore work side by side.