Iron Hans

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in the 1780s in Hanau, near Frankfurt in Hesse. They were among a family of nine children, six of whom survived infancy. During their early childhood, both their father and grandfather died, leaving the children and their mother to struggle in reduced circumstances. During their early twenties, the two brothers began linguistic and philological studies, which would culminate in both Grimm's Law and their collected editions of fairy and folk tales. Their collections of tales became immensely popular, though the brothers' main goal was linguistic research. After running afoul of King Ernest Augustus I, the brothers were fired from their university posts and exiled. However, the next year, the two were invited to Berlin by the King of Prussia, and both settled there. Wilhelm died in 1859; his elder brother Jacob died in 1863.