Wilhelm Grimm is one of the famous German storytellers whose books are relevant at all times. Many are familiar with their Cinderella, the Bremen Town Musicians, and the Wolf and the Seven Little Kids. But not everyone knows that the brothers were not only storytellers, but also great scientists.
Biography: early years
Wilhelm Karl Grimm was born on February 24, 1786 in the small German town of Hanau, which stands on the banks of the River Main. He became the second child in the family. And the firstborn was Jacob, with whom he subsequently will begin to write fairy tales famous all over the planet. Later, three more sons and a daughter were born in the family of the famous lawyer Philip Grimm and Dorothea Zimmer.
When Wilhelm turned five, his father was appointed to a respectable position in the neighboring city of Steinau. He became the district chief. Following him, the whole family moved.
William, like his older brother Jacob, studied at Lyceum Fridericianum. This is one of the oldest classical gymnasiums in Germany, located in Kassel. After graduating from it, he became a student at the University of Marburg. Within its walls, William studied law. Then he decided to follow in his father's footsteps, which was no longer alive. He later realized that jurisprudence did not appeal to him at all. After graduation, Wilhelm returned to Kassel, where his mother lived.
Creation
Wilhelm had asthma as well as a sore heart. Because of these ailments, for a long time he could not get a decent position. In order to occupy himself with something, he decided to help his elder brother Jacob in collecting German fairy tales.
At that time, Germany was overwhelmed by the fashion of romanticism. And while German folklore remained unexplored. The Grimm Brothers are fascinated by the mysteries of the past. So Jacob and Wilhelm began to work on compiling a collection of German fairy tales.
In 1814, William became secretary of the Hessian Library in Kassel. He later moved to Göttingen. There, William first worked in the university library, and then received the post of professor.
The joint works of William and Jacob Grimm made a tremendous contribution to the development of linguistics. Their books on the history and grammar of the German language served as an incentive for the separation of linguistics into a separate science, and led to the beginning of a systematic study of runic writing. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm began to work on the compilation of a dictionary of the German language, but their death prevented to bring this matter to an end. Work on the book was continued by other scientists.
