Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm were simply two close brothers growing up in a small town called Hanau within the country of Germany. Little did they know that they were to change the way society views science and politics, morals and language, and literature and life. Their tireless work would forever leave its mark on the world.

Jakob Grimm was born on January 4, 1785. His brother Wilhelm was born a short year later on February 24, 1786. They grew up with 9 brothers and sisters. Three of the nine children died young. This left Jakob as the oldest with Wilhelm the second oldest. Their father, Phillip Grimm, a lawyer and court official, died in 1796. This caused his family to move back to their mother's hometown. At the ages of thirteen and fourteen the brothers lived with their aunt as they attended school in Kassel. By 1803 Jakob and Wilhelm were both studying law at the University of Marsburg and in 1806 they had begun to compile folktales out of a sense of patriotism, personal interest, and as a favor for a friend.

Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm are among the most influential people in the last one thousand years. They provided a sense of unity for the German people. They created a collection of fairy tales that have been translated in 160 languages and that are popular to this day. The brothers Grimm inspired authors to this day. They even inspired theme parks and the movie industry. They preserved German language. They helped to bring around governmental reform. That is a great amount of influence to be exerted in one lifetime.

Life was fine until 1808, the year their mother Dorothea Grimm died. This forced the responsible brothers to take up jobs at their alma mater, Kassel, so they could support their younger siblings. At Kassel, Jakob and Wilhelm worked as librarians. In 1812 their first edition of Children's and Household Tales was published. This was the result of years of recording and editing German folklore taken from storytellers. In 1819 the brothers Grimm, now established scholars, received their doctorates from the University of Marsburg. In 1825 Wilhelm married Henriette Wild and by 1830 both Grimm brothers had resigned from their positions at Kassel and had become professors at the University of Gottingen. In 1837 The Grimm brothers and five of their associates protested an infraction made by the King of Hannover. This protest lost them their jobs. Due to their already significant accomplishments they had many job opportunities and both Jakob and Wilhelm took positions at the University of Berlin. In 1842 the brothers resigned from their positions on the University of Berlin to focus on their own research. In 1859 Wilhelm Grimm died on December 16 at the age of 73 and in 1863 Jakob died on September 20 at the age of 78. (Grimm Brothers' Homepage; http://www.pitt.edu/~das

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Approximate Word count = 1201
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)