Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 - 30 January 1916) was an Australian literary and Jewish historian. He was a writer for the Jewish Encyclopaedia and a notable folklorist, creating several noteworthy collections of fairy tales.
Jacobs was born in Australia, sixth surviving son of John Jacobs, a publican who had emigrated from London c.1837, and his wife Sarah, née Myers.[1] Jacobs was educated at Sydney Grammar School and at the University of Sydney, where he won a scholarship for classics, mathematics and chemistry. He did not complete his studies in Sydney, but left for England at the age of 18 and entered St John's College, Cambridge.[2] He graduated B.A. in 1876, and in 1877 studied at the University of Berlin. He was secretary of the Society of Hebrew Literature from 1878 to 1884, and in 1882 came into prominence as the writer of a series of articles in The Times on the persecution of Jews in Russia. This led to the formation of the mansion house fund and committee, of which Jacobs was secretary from 1882 to 1900. During these years he gave much time to anthropological studies in connection with the Jewish race, and became an authority on the question.
From 1899-1900 he edited the journal Folklore, and from 1890 to 1912 he edited five collections of fairy tales: English Fairy Tales, More English Fairy Tales, Celtic Fairy Tales, More Celtic Fairy Tales, and European Folk and Fairy Tales, which were published with distinguished illustrations by John Dickson Batten. He was inspired in this by the Brothers Grimm and the romantic nationalism common in folklorists of his age; he wished English children to have access to English fairy tales, whereas they were chiefly reading French and German tales[3]; in his own words, "What Perrault began, the Grimms completed."

Although he collected many tales under the name of fairy tales, many of them are unusual sorts of tales. Binnorie and Tamlane are prose versions of ballads, The Old Woman and Her Pig is a nursery rhyme, Henny-Penny is a fable, and The Buried Moon has mythic overtones to an extent unusual in fairy tales. According to his own analysis of English Fairy Tales, "Of the eighty-seven tales contained in my two volumes, thirty-eight are Märchen proper, ten sagas or legends, nineteen drolls, four cumulative stories, six beast tales, and ten nonsense stories."[4]

Jacobs settled permanently in the United States. He wrote many articles for the Jewish Encyclopaedia, and was generally responsible for the style of the whole publication. It was completed in 1906, and he then became registrar and professor of English at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America at New York. In 1908 he was appointed a member of the board of seven, which made a new English translation of the Bible for the Jewish Publication Society of America. In 1913 he resigned his positions at the seminary to become editor of the American Hebrew. He died on 30 January 1916. He married Georgina Horne and fathered two sons and a daughter. In 1920, Book I of his Jewish Contributions to Civilization, which was practically finished at the time of his death, was published at Philadelphia.

celt    celtic    celtic fairy tales    celtic fairytale    celtic fairytales    celtic folk lore    celtic folklore    celtic legend    celtic legends    celtic myth and legend    celtic myths    celtic myths and legends    classic fairy tales    classic fairytale    classic fairytales    classic folk lore    classic folklore    classic legend    classic legends    classic myth and legend    classic myths    classic myths and legends    classic old fairytales    classic world myths    english fairy tales    english fairytale    english fairytales    english folk lore    english folklore    english legend    english legends    english myth    english myths    english myths and legends    fairy    fairy books    fairy castle    fairy tales    fairytale    fairytales    fogotten fairy tales    folk    folk beliefs    folk lore    folk mythology    folk stories    folk tale    folk tales    folklore    folktale    folktales    folktales and fables    forgotten fairy tales    forgotten fairytale    forgotten fairytales    forgotten folk lore    forgotten folklore    forgotten legend    forgotten legends    forgotten myth    forgotten myth and legend    forgotten myths    forgotten myths and legends    indian fairy tales    indian folklore    irish fairy tales    irish fairytale    irish fairytales    irish folklore    irish legend    irish legends    irish myths    irish myths and legends    legend    legends    myth    myth and legend    myth and legends    mythic    mythic creatures    mythic fantasy    mythical    mythical being    mythical characters    mythical creatures    mythological    mythological creatures    mythology    myths    myths and legends    myths legends    old fairy tales    old fairytale    old fairytales    old folk lore    old folklore    old legend    old legends    old myth    old myth and legend    old myths    old myths and legends    pixie    pixie fairy witch spellbook fairyland    pixies    tales    victorian fairy tales    victorian fairytale    victorian fairytales    victorian folk lore    victorian folklore    victorian legend    victorian legends    victorian myth    victorian myth and legend    victorian myths    victorian myths and legends    welsh fairy tales    welsh fairytale    welsh fairytales    welsh folklore    welsh legend    welsh legends    welsh myths    welsh myths and legends    world legend    world myth and legend    world myths    world myths and legends