Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs ( born August 29, 1854 in Sydney, † January 30, 1916 in Yonkers ) was an Australian historian and folklorist, who dealt primarily with narrative research. He was not only one of the authors of the Jewish Encyclopedia, but was also responsible for some collections of fairy tales.

Jacobs was the son of John and Sarah Jacobs. He attended Sydney Grammar School and finally the University of Sydney, the latter thanks to a scholarship for ancient languages ​​, mathematics and chemistry. He did not finished his studies, however, in Sydney from, but traveled at the age of 18 years to England and enrolled at St. John 's College, Cambridge, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1876. From 1877 he studied at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He was from 1878 to 1884 secretary of the Society of Hebrew Literature. From 1884 to 1900, he worked on various anthropological studies, articles and books.

Between 1890 and 1912 he gave five collections of fairy tales out: English Fairy Tales, More English Fairy Tales, Celtic Fairy Tales, More Celtic Fairy Tales, and European Folk and Fairy Tales. He was influenced in this respect by the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and the romantic nationalism. Among others, the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs have been known by him.