😉 Hello, my dear readers! In the article “The Brothers Grimm: biography,” Interesting Facts" - the life story of the famous brothers - storytellers. You will learn a lot of interesting things.

Each of us is familiar with the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales, which go with us throughout life: first in our childhood, then in the childhood of our children and our grandchildren.

The appearance of such a seemingly “frivolous” book - a collection of fairy tales by these brothers - made a revolution in philology. It doesn’t even make sense to list the heroes of fairy tales, just as it is impossible to remember all the films, plays, collections, research papers related to the work of the Brothers Grimm.

They lived long enough for that time. They worked until their last breath and left a huge creative legacy.

But it is impossible not to say why few of the researchers of their work pay attention to the fantastic, inseparable, sometimes even incomprehensible to ordinary people, fraternal friendship, loyalty to which they remained faithful throughout their lives.

The origins of this friendship, apparently, as always, must be sought in childhood. And it was not very cheerful, although the Grimm family belonged to the so-called middle class. My father was a lawyer in Hanau (Germany). Then he worked as, as they would say today, a legal consultant to the prince.

Biography of the Brothers Grimm

The boys were born one after another. The eldest - Jacob - January 4, 1785 (Capricorn), Wilhelm - February 24 (Pisces) next year. The brothers grew up together, loved to walk in nature, watch animals, draw them, and collect herbariums. This is how love for the native land was laid.

There have long been discussions about what exactly unites these or other peoples: the similarity of economic structure, a common army, the shape of the skull (as some imagined), or perhaps, after all, language?

It turns out that folk myths, fairy tales, parables, collected under one cover and edited in a new way, but taking into account all the traditional features of German grammar, which did not yet exist, can play a significant role in all this.

Regarding the Brothers Grimm, we are dealing with an amazing phenomenon: fairy tales gave birth to grammar! Germany, strictly speaking, did not yet exist. The principalities scattered across the European expanses had little in common, except perhaps the similarity of orthoepic constructions.

When the brothers were 10 and 11 years old, respectively, their father died. Then for the family it was literally the collapse of hopes that had not even had time to form! In addition to Jacob and Wilhelm, the family also had a younger brother and three very little sisters - children as big as peas!

But they were lucky. A fairly wealthy aunt - maternal relatives - took upon herself both the expenses and the care of the children’s further arrangement in everyday life and education. The boys were first sent to the Kassel Lyceum, and since both turned out to be capable of studying, they entered the University of Marburg without much difficulty.

They chose, of course, following the example of their late father - jurisprudence. What else? By the way, it was here that brotherly relations were tested to their strengths. Jacob entered the university six months earlier than Wilhelm, and they were forced to separate for some time.

It turned out to be too difficult to live separately! So they never parted for a long time again.

Brothers Grimm

On January 4, 1785, in the small German town of Hanau (Hanau), a son named Jacob was born into the family of a modest lawyer Philip Wilhelm Grimm. A year later, on February 24, his younger brother Wilhelm was born. The Brothers Grimm were very friendly, they engaged in science together, becoming recognized authorities in the field of philology and mythology, together they collected, processed and published fairy tales, which are now known throughout the world.

Of the five Grimm brothers, the youngest, Ludwig, became famous as an artist, engraver and illustrator. It was his drawings that decorated the collections of fairy tales prepared by his older brothers.

Naturally, the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are better known as storytellers, because it is difficult to find a person who, from childhood, would not know about the adventures of the Bremen Town Musicians or the amazing fate of Snow White. But in scientific circles the attitude towards the Brothers Grimm is different. Scientists consider them to be the greatest philologists, linguists and folklorists, the founders of new directions in science.

It is curious that several generations of scientists worked for more than 100 years to complete the brothers’ largest unfinished work, the “German Dictionary,” which became, in fact, a comparative historical dictionary of all Germanic languages. But the brothers intended to complete this work within 15-20 years. And this was not bravado on their part; they had an amazing ability to work.

Even as children, while studying at the Kassel gymnasium, the brothers demonstrated brilliant abilities. This was followed by studies at the University of Marburg, after which the brothers moved to different places for a while. Wilhelm returned to Kassel, where their mother lived, and Jacob went to Paris, where he began searching for and studying ancient manuscripts under the guidance of his former university teacher, Professor Savigny.

In Paris, Jacob became interested in collecting folk tales, which revealed to him the wonderful world of folklore. Soon Wilhelm joined in this activity. Jacob's official position underwent significant changes in 1808; he received the position of personal librarian to the King of Westphalia, Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. The king sympathized with Jacob, did not burden him with official tasks, giving him the opportunity to seriously engage in science.

The brothers, although they lived far from each other, worked, as they say, in parallel, collecting and preparing folk tales for publication. Already in 1812, the first volume of “Children's and Family Tales” was published, which overnight made the Brothers Grimm widely known. Three years later the next volume was published. The illustrations for these books were drawn by their younger brother Ludwig.

The Brothers Grimm contained 200 fairy tales and 10 legends in two volumes. Soon a new two-volume book was published - “German Legends”. The interest in books was enormous, not only among children, but also among adults, many of whom, thanks to them, for the first time felt all the charm of folk tales and legends.

In 1815, Jacob Grimm almost abandoned science. He accompanied a representative of the Electorate of Kassel to the Congress of Vienna. Jacob impressed professional diplomats with his erudition and analytical skills. Several tempting offers followed, but accepting the proposed positions would have left him practically no time for scientific pursuits. Therefore, Jacob did not become a diplomat; he also rejected the offered professorship in Bonn. To a successful career, he preferred a position as a librarian in Kassel, where his brother already worked, and a serious pursuit of science.

The Grimm brothers spent almost 15 years in Kassel. They skillfully combined official duties with scientific research, especially philological research. During this period, Wilhelm married and had a son, Hermann, who later became a professor at the University of Berlin and a famous literary historian. Jacob remained a bachelor.

In 1830, Jacob Grimm moved to Göttingen, where he accepted positions as professor of German literature and senior librarian at the local university. Soon he was joined by Wilhelm, who also became a professor a few years later. Here the brothers Grimm completed and published the major work “Germanic Mythology” and the last volumes of the four-volume “German Grammar”, on which they had been working for many years.

In 1837, the brothers Grimm became embroiled in a political struggle due to the abolition of the constitution by the new king and were forced to urgently leave Göttingen. For some time they lived in their homeland in Kassel. Here they received an offer from major book publishers to prepare a comprehensive dictionary of the German language. A few years later, the Grimm brothers moved at the invitation of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm to Berlin, where they were elected members of the Academy of Sciences and began teaching at the local university. It was here that they seriously began their greatest scientific work - the compilation of a dictionary of the German language, the first volume of which was published in 1852.

Work on the dictionary captivated the brothers, occupying almost all of their time. It was necessary not only to collect the words of all Germanic dialects, but also to provide comprehensive information about each of them, including the history of occurrence and application, meaning, grammatical and stylistic features, etc.

The efficiency of the brothers, especially Yakov, was amazing, because the two of them performed work that could be handled by an entire institute of linguistics. By the way, after their death, the work begun by the brothers was continued by large scientific teams, completing it only in 1961.

Time has passed, and now only specialists know about the enormous contribution of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm to science. But even today, when their names are mentioned, almost any person will remember the amazing fairy tales that he listened to or read in childhood, and then read to his children or grandchildren. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm have firmly entered the treasury of world literature. They were reprinted so many times that scientists could not calculate their total circulation, it was so huge. If we take into account the cinema, which first made feature films based on these fairy tales, and then cartoons, then we can rightfully say that the fairy tales collected and processed by the Brothers Grimm have long conquered the whole world.

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863)

Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)

The Brothers Grimm were born into the family of an official in the city of Hanau. Their father was first a lawyer in Hanau, and then dealt with legal issues for the Prince of Hanau. The eldest, Jacob, was born on January 4, 1785, Wilhelm on February 24, 1786. From the Early age the brothers were bound by close bonds of friendship that lasted throughout their lives.

The brothers' father died in 1796, and only thanks to the help of their maternal aunt, the Grimm brothers were able to complete their studies, for which they showed excellent abilities very early on. After graduating from the Kassel Lyceum, the brothers entered the University of Marburg, wanting to study law following the example of their father. However, later the brothers Grimm began to devote more and more free time to the study of domestic German and foreign literature and eventually did this all their lives. Since 1805 to 1809 Jacob Grimm was in the service. At first he was Jerome Bonaparte's librarian in Wilhelmsgeg for some time, and then a statistical auditor.

In 1815, he was sent along with a representative of the Electorate of Kassel to the Congress of Vienna. However, the service was a burden to him and in 1816 he left it, rejecting the professorship offered in Bonn, and took the place of librarian in Kassel, where his brother Wilhelm had been secretary of the library since 1814. Both brothers were constantly engaged in their scientific research. This period in their lives was very fruitful. In 1825, Wilhelm Grimm married; but the brothers continued to work together.

In 1829, the director of the Kassel Library died, but his place was taken not by Jacob Grimm, but by a complete stranger. The brothers had to resign.

In 1830, Jacob Grimm was invited to Göttingen as a professor of German literature and senior librarian at the local university. Wilhelm entered the same place as a junior librarian, and in 1835 he was promoted to full professor. But the Brothers' stay in Göttingen was short-lived. A new king came to power in 1837. The brothers protested his changes to the constitution and were fired. They had to temporarily settle in Kassel, but they did not have to stay there for long.

In 1840, Frederick William of Prussia ascended the throne, he immediately summoned his brothers to Berlin. They were elected members of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and received the right to lecture at the University of Berlin. From then on, the Brothers Grimm lived in Berlin constantly until their death. Wilhelm Grimm died on December 16, 1859, and four years later, on September 20, 1863, Jacob also died. During their lives, the brothers published many works, and their collection “Children's and Family Tales,” published in 1812, thanks to which millions of children around the world learned their fairy tales, rightfully took its place in the treasury of world literature.

Jacob Grimm (01/04/1785 - 09/20/1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (02/24/1786 - 12/16/1859); Germany, Hanau

The Brothers Grimm are not only famous storytellers known throughout the world, but also philologists, linguists, and the founders of modern German studies. You can read, watch and listen to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm in almost all languages ​​of the world. The tales have been filmed many times. The fairy tale about “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is especially popular, based on which films, TV series, and cartoons were made.

Biography of the Brothers Grimm

The writers were born in Germany in the city of Hanau, in the family of a lawyer. From birth, the brothers were very friendly, and their friendship lasted all their lives. In 1796, Father Grimm died, and only with the help of their aunt, Jacob and Wilhelm completed their studies at the Kassel Lyceum. The next stage of their development was their studies at the University of Marburg, where the writers studied law. However, it soon became obvious that the brothers were much more interested in philology than legal sciences. As in the case of their passion for literature, the brothers owe it to their university professor. Professor Savigny managed to instill in the brothers not just a love of literature, but also to emphasize the beauty of German books. The brothers spent more than one hour with the professor reading ancient tomes. Grim began to devote more and more time to literature, and eventually devoted their entire lives to it.

In 1812, fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm were first published in Berlin, with a circulation of 900 copies. A little later the second volume was published. The collection of “Children's and Family Tales” collected fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, the list of which included 10 legends and 200 fairy tales, for example, “The Poor Man and the Rich Man” and “The King of the Golden Mountain.” And two years later, the world saw a new collection of writers, “German Legends.” Their collections were harshly criticized due to the content of fairy tales, which were not very suitable for children to read. The tales often described scenes of an intimate nature, cruelty and violence, and also included inserts with academic explanations. Later, the brothers republished and supplemented these collections, bringing them to a single literary style. As they later collected and wrote down their fairy tales from the words different people, sometimes even exchanged their clothes for fairy tales. Along with songs and poems, the brothers collected stories and legends of the German people, which passed from mouth to mouth for centuries. Their work is represented not only by fairy tales, Grimm compiled and wrote a historically important work, “Monuments of German Antiquity,” which collected unique materials about the morals, habits, and beliefs of the ancient Germans. This work is still of great importance to this day. The writers were familiar with Goette, who showed interest in their research and helped obtain valuable materials for their work. In 1825, Wilhelm Grimm tied the knot with Henrietta Dorothea Wild, three years later they had a son, a future famous literary historian.

In 1830, Jacob was invited to the university in Göttingen to lecture on German literature. And also take the place of senior librarian. Wilhelm got a job there as a junior librarian, and soon Grimm organized a circle of researchers of German science. It was in Göttingen that Jacob published his research on Germanic mythology. They did not stay in Göttingen for long; by order of the king, the brothers were dismissed from the university and exiled outside Hanover for life. This happened because they, in a group with university professors, opposed the abolition of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover. The writers' friends did not remain indifferent to their fate and found them a patron - Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. It was at his insistence that in 1840 the brothers received the right to teach at the University of Berlin. The writers devoted the rest of their lives to lecturing, and the Brothers Grimm filled their biography with a lot of research and literary achievements. For example, in 1852, writers began work on the very first German entomological dictionary. The preparatory period alone took 14 years. But they did not have time to bring their work to its logical conclusion. Wilhelm's life was cut short on December 16, 1859. And on September 20, 1863, his brother Jacob Grimm died right at his desk. Their work was completed by a group of scientists only in 1961. The work of these outstanding writers brought the world the best Grimm fairy tales, magnificent scientific works, the value of which is invaluable to this day.

Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm on the Top books website

It has been popular to read the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm for many generations, both in our country and around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of the works of the Brothers Grimm are presented in ours, as well as in. And given the continuing interest in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, we will see them more than once on the pages of our website.

Complete list of Brothers Grimm fairy tales

First Edition Volume 1:

• White Snake
• Brother-Veselchak
• Brother and sister
• Bremen street musicians
• Faithful Johannes
• Wolf and fox
• The wolf and the seven Young goats
• Wolf and man
• The thief and his teacher
• Louse and Flea
• All sorts of rabble
• Profitable turnover
• Hans is getting married
• Hansl the Player
• Carnation
• Mr. Corbes
• Madam Labor
• Two brothers
• twelve brothers
• Twelve Hunters
• Handless girl
• Clever Gretel
• Brownies
• Friendship between cat and mouse
• Robber Groom
• Mystery
• golden bird
• golden goose
• Golden children
• Cinderella
• Jorinda and Joringel
• King Thrushbeard
• The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Fox and geese
• Fox and godfather
• Thumb Boy
• Snowstorm (Mistress of the Dungeon)
• Dear Roland
• Little guy
• Foundlings
• Bunny's Bride
• About the mouse, the bird and the sausage
• Speckled Pelt
• Tailor in Heaven (Tailor in Heaven)
• Singing bone
• Reception of Our Lady
• Satchel, cap and horn
• Rapunzel
• Rumplestiltskin
• Mermaid
• Wedding of Mrs. Fox
• Seven Ravens
• The Tale of the Enchanted Tree
• The Tale of the Death of a Chicken
• The Tale of a Fisherman and His Wife
• The tale of someone who went to learn about fear
• Death in godfathers
• Clever Hans
• Dog and sparrow
• Straw, coal and bean
• sleeping Beauty
• Old grandfather and grandson
• Old Sultan
• Set the table, a golden donkey and a club from a bag
• The Travels of Thumb Boy
• Happy Hans
• Three snake leaves
• Three little woodsmen
• Three feathers
• Three spinners
• Three lucky people
• Three languages
• Smart Elsa
• Frieder and Katerlischen
• Brave Little Tailor
• Queen Bee
• The devil is in the godfathers
• The devil with three golden hairs
• Eccentric musician
• Wonder bird
• Six will travel across the world
• Six swans

First Edition Volume 2:

• Poor farmhand and cat
• Poor man and rich man
• White and black bride
• Fearless prince
• God's beasts and devil's beasts
• Thief in the thorn bush
• Crow
• Hans the Hedgehog
• Gusyatnitsa
• Two wanderers
• Twelve lazy workers
• Girl from Brakel
• Doctor Know-It-All
• Household servants
• Spirit in a bottle
• Iron stove
• Iron Hans
• Living water
• Star thalers
• earth man
• Zimeli Mountain
• Trampled shoes
• Knoist and his three sons
• Reforged Man
• Royal children
• Kinglet and bear
• King of the Golden Mountain
• Beauty Katrinelle and Pif-Paf-Poltry
• Lazy spinner
• Fox and horse
• Bearman
• Young Giant
• On the way on the road
• Ungrateful son
• One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed
• Donkey Werewolf
• Donkey
• Cowherd
• Warbler's Lark
• Cock log
• Reasoners
• Shroud
• Willful child
• Seven Swabians
• Blue candle
• The tale of already
• Sweet porridge
• The smart little tailor
• Bride
• Old beggar woman
• Old woman in the forest
• Old Hildebrand
• Three brothers
• Three lazy people
• Three birds
• Three paramedics
• Three black princesses
• Three apprentices
• Stolen penny
• Clever peasant daughter
• Scientist Huntsman
• Ferenand the Faithful and Ferenand the Unfaithful
• Flail from the sky
• The devil and his grandmother
• Damn dirty brother
• Four skilled brothers
• Six servants
• Lamb and fish

Second edition:

• Sparrow and his four children
• Dmitmarskaya fairy tale-fable
• Ocheski
• A tale about a land like no other
• Fairy tale-mystery

Third edition:

• Poor man in heaven
• Belyanochka and Rosette
• Vulture bird
• Lazy Heinz
• Strong Hans
• Glass coffin
• Clever servant

Fourth edition:

• Drummer
• Poor guy in the mogul
• The Giant and the Tailor
• Spindle, shuttle and needle
• Lifetime
• Bittern and hoopoe
• Nail
• Gusyatnitsa at the well
• Gifts of the Little People
• Hare and hedgehog
• Skilled thief
• True Bride
• Flounder
• Korolek
• forest house
• Master Pfrim
• Guinea pig
• The man and the devil
• Harbingers of death

Fifth edition:

• Mermaid in the pond
• Skinny Lisa
• Bread crumbs on the table

Sixth edition:

• Maid of Malaine
• Golden Key
• Grave Hill
• Buff Boot
• Old Rinkrank
• Ear of bread
• crystal ball

Children's legends:

• Poverty and Humility Lead to Salvation
• God fed
• Hazel branch
• Twelve Apostles
• Boy in Paradise
• Our Lady's Cups
• Old Man in the Forest
• old lady
• Three green branches

The Grimm brothers were born in Hanau, in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel - Jacob on January 4, 1785, and Wilhelm on February 24 of the following year. The boys' parents, Dorothea and Phillip Wilhelm Grimm, produced nine children in their marriage, three of whom died in infancy.

In addition to Jacob and Wilhelm, Ludwig's younger brother Emil, who became an artist, achieved some fame.

Study in Kassel

In order to give her eldest sons an appropriate education for their subsequent careers as lawyers, their mother sent them in the fall of 1798 to Kassel to live with her aunt. The boys' father had died of pneumonia two years earlier. The brothers graduated from the Kassel Lyceum, after which, one year apart, they became students at the University of Marburg, where they began studying jurisprudence.

One of their teachers, Friedrich Karl von Savigny, allowed inquisitive young people to use his private library from time to time. The brothers, who had previously become acquainted with the works of Goethe and Schiller, found here an extensive source of works of Romanticism and Minnesang.

Johann Gottfried Herder, who had his own point of view on folk poetry, had a significant influence on the views of Jacob and Wilhelm. However, the brothers did not turn into romantics who raved about the “Gothic Middle Ages,” but became realists who saw the roots of modern events in the distant past. They studied the historical development of German literature (legends, documents, poetry) and laid the foundations for the scientific interpretation of this area. In the spirit of Herder, they did not limit themselves to documents on German, using English, Scottish and Irish sources.

The beginning of a creative journey

After graduating in 1806, the brothers continued to lead a modest, secluded life. Two years later, Jacob managed to get a position as personal librarian to the King of Westphalia, Jerome Bonaparte (Napoleon I's brother). Job duties did not take up much time, which allowed the brothers to calmly concentrate on literary and scientific research. After the death of his mother in 1808, Jacob Grimm became the head of the family.

In 1807, Jacob and Wilhelm published an essay on the Minnesang. The brothers published their first independent works in 1811, and joint books followed in 1812, including the first volume of Children's and Family Tales. From 1813 to 1816, the brothers published three issues of the magazine Aldeutche Walder, where they published samples of old German literature.

Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm

It was during this period that the work that made their name known to every educated person began - Jacob and Wilhelm began collecting folk tales and legends.

Dorothea Wiemann, whom they met by chance in 1813 in a small peasant village near Kassel, became a real treasure trove of information for the brothers. Dorothea's father kept an inn through which an endless stream of travelers flowed. The girl, who helped her father with housework, had the opportunity to listen to many wonderful stories and fairy tales that passers-by shared with each other while passing the long evenings.

At the time of her acquaintance with the brothers, Mrs. Wiemann was already over fifty, but the fairy tales heard in her distant childhood were preserved in her memory unchanged, which, along with the talent of a natural storyteller, aroused the constant admiration of Jacob and Wilhelm. Of the two hundred fairy tales published in total by the Brothers Grimm, more than seventy were told by Dorothea Wiemann.

In the year the first volume of fairy tales was published, Napoleon Bonaparte suffered a crushing defeat in Russia, which redrew the map of Europe. In 1813, Allied forces expelled the French from Hesse, and Jacob was forced to break away from his literary pursuits, going to the Congress of Vienna as secretary of the Hessian delegation. While the elder brother worked in the field of diplomacy, the younger brother received a position as secretary of the library of the Elector of Hesse, who had returned from exile.

In 1815, the brothers published the second volume of fairy tales, and in 1819 they republished the first, significantly revised and expanded: new fairy tales were added, about a quarter of the stories were deleted.

Almost half of the remaining tales were revised to remove erotic allusions that were perceived as offensive in secular society.

Notes on fairy tales were published in 1822 as the third volume. In 1825, an illustrated small edition of “Children's and Household Tales” was published, which became widely known. Jacob and Wilhelm brought in their brother Ludwig Emil as an artist. An illustrated English edition of the tales was published in 1823. During the brothers’ lifetime, the large German edition of fairy tales was reprinted 7 times, and the small one 10 times.

German grammar

In it creative time Jacob Grimm's attention focused on the "German Grammar". The extensive work concerns all Germanic languages, their connections with other languages ​​and historical development. In this seminal work, Jacob explored the development of the laws of sound change, laying the foundations of modern etymology.

Jacob Grimm had predecessors in this matter: in 1787, William Jones in Bengal compared Sanskrit with ancient Persian, Greek, Latin, Gothic and Celtic languages ​​on the basis of the structure and roots of words, but did not do so systematically. The young Dane Rasmus Christian Rask did the same.

Jacob Grimm began to compare word formation and sound development in Old Norse with Slavic or Greek. In the "German Grammar" the stages of development of the languages ​​in question were compared for the first time. In the second edition, he was able to explain that Rask's identified sound correspondences were not (random) isolated phenomena, but followed a certain regularity. This is the rule until today called Grimm's law.

Fame in scientific circles

In 1816 and 1818, two volumes of a collection of sagas (German legends) appeared, which, however, did not have widespread success. At the age of 30, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm had already achieved outstanding fame thanks to numerous publications. In addition to official work as a librarian (Jacob) or library secretary (Wilhelm), they were able to carry out their own research locally, which was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Marburg in 1819.

The brothers were helped to run the household by their sister Charlotte, who, however, married a family friend, lawyer, and later minister of Hesse Ludwig Hassenpflug in 1822. His sisters Maria, Jeannette and Amalia contributed to the future literary legacy of the Brothers Grimm by sharing the folk tales they knew. After her marriage, Charlotte moved into her husband's house, and the brothers had to manage their bachelor household on their own, until in 1825 Wilhelm tied the knot with Dorothea Wild. Wilhelm was very lucky - Dorothea became not only a wife and mistress, but also the brothers’ personal secretary, enthusiastically helping their work.

Moving to Göttingen

In 1829, the brothers, who by that time had a reputation as prominent scientists, received a financially lucrative offer from the University of Göttingen in neighboring Hanover and left their native Hesse. In 1830, Jacob received a position as a professor and librarian, and William, after working for a year in the university library, began teaching. In 1835, like his older brother, he received the position of full professor. It was in Göttingen that Jacob prepared several significant works, including German Mythology.

The political crisis that erupted in the Kingdom of Hanover in 1837 led to the abolition of the liberal constitution. Seven professors at the University of Hanover, including the Brothers Grimm, sent a letter of protest to the king. The result was the dismissal of all seven from the university, and the expulsion of three, including Jacob, from the country.

Return to Kassel

The brothers, who lost their jobs, were forced to return to Kassel to younger brother Ludwig. The story received wide resonance in Europe, and

A special committee was created at the University of Leipzig to collect donations for the Göttingen Seven.

Soon the brothers were asked to begin work on the “German Dictionary,” which gave them some means of livelihood. Jacob and Wilhelm decide to move to Berlin, and in 1840 they realize this intention. In the spring of 1842 they began teaching at the University of Berlin.

The improved financial situation allowed Jacob Grim to make several trips to European countries, in which Wilhelm could not accompany him due to poor health. The 68-year-old Grimm Sr. visited Italy, Denmark, Sweden (where he stayed with Hans Christian Andersen), France, Austria and Bohemia.

In December 1859, 73-year-old Wilhelm fell ill with fever and died a few days later, surrounded by his family. The death of his brother was a blow for Jacob, and in order to distract himself from gloomy thoughts, he continued to work on the “German Dictionary” with even greater zeal. In 1860, Jacob Grimm published the second volume, summarizing his work and the works of his brother - this book became their last joint creation. Realizing that he did not have enough time to complete such a titanic work, Jacob nevertheless continued to work hard on the dictionary, publishing in the third volume the section on the letter “E” and the first part of the section on the letter “F”.

In September 1863, Jacob Grimm died of a heart attack without finishing the letter "F". The brothers are buried nearby in St. Matthew's Cemetery in Berlin.