20 September 1863: Jacob Grimm dies

German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist, Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm died on 20 September 1863. He was the older brother of Wilhelm Grimm; together, they were the literary duo known as the Brothers Grimm who collected some of the world’s most popular stories, known today as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The Grimms added to their collection for many years, and eventually it contained more than 200 tales.

While Jacob Grimm first became famous for publishing fairy tales with his brother Wilhelm, the latter part of his life was more focused on language and scholarly work. He became especially well known for his groundbreaking research in historical linguistics. One of his significant achievements was formulating Grimm’s Law, which explained how certain sounds in words changed as the Proto-Indo-European language evolved into early Germanic languages.

Jacob also worked with Wilhelm on a vast and ambitious project—the German Dictionary—a detailed record of the German language.

In 1840, the brothers moved to Berlin, where they were both welcomed into the prestigious Academy of Sciences. Jacob began teaching at the University of Berlin and took an active role in Germany’s growing intellectual and cultural unity. He believed that language held the spirit of a nation, and this idea shaped much of his work.

Wilhelm Grimm died in 1859, and Jacob, devastated by the loss of his lifelong companion and collaborator, continued to work quietly until his own death in Berlin at the age of 78.

More than just a fairy tale collector, Jacob Grimm was a dedicated scholar whose later life was shaped by a passion for words—their origins, meanings, and power to define a culture. His legacy continues to shape the fields of linguistics, literary studies, and folklore to this day.