Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786 - 1859)

Wilhelm Carl Grimm was born on 24 February 1786 in Hanau, in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel^[1] between 9-10 p.m.^[2] He was the son of Stadtschreiber (town clerk) Philipp Wilhelm Grimm and his wife Dorothea, née Zimmern. Wilhelm Carl's godparents were Hofgerichtsadvokat (Court Advocate) Wilhelm Carl Gerlach and the student Carl Philipp Boppelmann, residing in Birstein.^[2]

In 1791, the family moved to Steinau an der Straße, where Philipp Wilhelm had been transferred as a bailiff ("Amtmann").^[3] Philipp Wilhelm, who was a lawyer, died while Wilhelm was a child. Wilhelm's mother Dorothea was left with very small means; but her sister, who was lady of the chamber to the Landgravine of Hesse, helped support and educate Dorothea's large family. Wilhelm, with his older brother Jacob, was sent to the Friedrichsgymnasium in Kassel in 1798.^[4]

In 1803 Wilhelm started studying law at the University of Marburg, one year after his brother Jacob had started there. The two brothers spent their entire lives close together. In their school days, they had one bed and one table in common. As students, they had two beds and two tables in the same room. They always lived under one roof, and had their books and property in common.^[5]

From 1814 to 1829, Grimm was employed as a secretary at the library in Kassel.^[6] On 15 May 1825 Wilhelm married a pharmacist's daughter: Henriette Dorothea Wild, also known as Dortchen, at age 39. They had the following children:^[6]

• Jacob (3 Apr 1826 - 15 Dec 1826),
• Herman Friedrich (6 Jan 1828 - 16 Jun 1901), married Gisela von Arnim (30 Aug 1827 - 4 Apr 1889) on 25 Oct 1859, became known for his art history lectures using slide projection at the University of Berlin,
• Rudolf Georg (31 Mar 1830 - 13 Nov 1889),
• Barbara Auguste Luise Pauline Marie (21 Aug 1832 - 9 Feb 1919).

Wilhelm's marriage in no way disturbed the harmony of the brothers. As Richard Cleasby said, “they both live in the same house, and in such harmony and community that one might almost imagine the children were common property".^[5]

Wilhelm's character was a complete contrast to that of his brother. As a boy he was strong and healthy, but as he grew up, he was attacked by a long and severe illness, which left him weak all his life. When compared to his brother, he had a less comprehensive and energetic mind. He also had less of the spirit of investigation, preferring to limit his work within definite boundaries. He utilized everything that bore directly on his own studies, while ignoring the rest. His studies were almost always of a literary nature. Wilhelm delighted in music, which his brother Jacob had only a moderate liking for, and he had a remarkable gift of story-telling. Wilhelm was often described as animated and jovial and, as such, was much sought in society, which he frequented much more than his brother Jacob.^[5]

Since 1806 Jacob and Wilhelm had collected fairy tales, which were edited and published between 1812 and 1858.^[3][7] In 1829, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm moved to the University of Göttingen, where Jacob was appointed professor and librarian, and Wilhelm under-librarian.^[4] In 1831 Wilhelm was appointed librarian at the University of Göttingen.^[6] In 1835 he was appointed professor, but he and Jacob were dismissed and banished from the Kingdom of Hanover two years later for joining the Göttingen Seven and protesting against the abrogation of the liberal Hannover constitution by King Ernest Augustus. The brothers returned to Kassel and remained there until 1840, when they accepted King Frederick William IV's invitation to move to the University of Berlin, where they both received professorships and were elected members of the Academy of Sciences. In Berlin the brothers worked on their project of a German dictionary.^[4]

Wilhelm passed away in Berlin in 1859.^[8]

Research Notes

Birth/Baptism

What do we know about the birth/baptism of ?

• Transcription of baptism record: (1786) #27. den 24 Febr. abends zwischen 9-10 Uhr dem Herrn Philipp Wilhelm Grimm Stadtschreiber bey hiesiger Altstadt, und dessen Ehefrau Dorothea gebohrnen Zimmern ein Söhlein gebohren, d.(en) 3. Mertz getauft und Wilhelm Carl genannt worden. Gevattern sind H(err) Hofgerichtsadvokat Wilhelm Carl Gerlach dahier und H(err) Studiosus Carl Philipp Boppelmann zu Birstein im Hause.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: of Hesse-Kassel, accessed 6 October 2023.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Archion > Kurhessen-Waldeck: Landeskirchliches Archiv Kassel > HanauStadt > Marienkirche > Taufen 1768-1786> picture 1724, #1786-27.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} German Wikipedia article on his brother Jacob Grimm
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} English Wikipedia article on his brother Jacob Grimm
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} English Wikipedia article on Wilhelm Grimm
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} German Wikipedia article on Wilhelm Grimm
7. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Grimms Märchen
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #21567

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q6714
• German Wikipedia article on his great-grandfather Friedrich Grimm
• German Wikipedia article on his father Philipp Wilhelm Grimm
• German Wikipedia: Stammbaum Grimm
• Neumann, Friedrich. Grimm, Wilhelm. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 7 (1966), S. 77-79 (Online-Version); URL: https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118542265.html#ndbcontent
• Lebendiges Museum Online: Wilhelm Grimm 1786-1859
• Stammliste der Familie Grimm
• D. L. Ashliman (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/ashliman.html), retired professor from University of Pittsburgh, folklore researcher, (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm.html).
• Project Gutenberg: Works of Wilhelm Grimm
• The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales. University of Pittsburgh: Titles available to read online in both English and Deutsch.