Wilhelm Grimm's Birthday
Next: February 24, 2027
Once upon a time, a storyteller.
The story
Where it comes from
Wilhelm Grimm was born in Hanau, Germany, on 24 February 1786, and this Story marks his birthday. With his elder brother Jacob he collected folk tales, mostly from people who told them aloud, and published them as Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 'Children's and Household Tales', between 1812 and 1822. In English the book became Grimm's Fairy Tales. Its 200 stories include 'Snow White', 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'Rumpelstiltskin', and the way the brothers gathered and noted them laid the foundations of the modern study of folklore.
How it's celebrated
There is no formal observance, but his birthday is a fine excuse for a bedtime story. Read a favourite tale aloud, or try one of the lesser-known ones in the collection. Families can ask grandparents for the stories they heard as children and write them down, which is exactly how the Grimms began. Libraries and schools often use the brothers to show how old tales travel and change.
Did you know
- Wilhelm is credited with giving the tales a readable form without losing their folk character.
- The brothers' title implied that the stories were meant for adults and children alike.
- Jacob Grimm also found a pattern in how consonants changed between related languages, still known as Grimm's law.
Coming up next
- Renoir's Birthday · February 25, 2027
- Victor Hugo's Birthday · February 26, 2027
- International Polar Bear Day · February 27, 2027
- Vietnamese Physicians' Day · February 27, 2027
- Rare Disease Day · February 28, 2027
- Discovery of the Raman Effect · February 28, 2027