21 Facts About Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs was an Australian-born folklorist, literary critic and historian who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.

Joseph Jacobs published his English fairy tale collections English Fairy Tales in 1890 and More English Fairy Tales in 1893.

Joseph Jacobs published European, Jewish, Celtic, and Indian fairy tales, which made him one of the most popular English-language fairy tale writers.

Joseph Jacobs edited editions of The Thousand and One Nights.

Joseph Jacobs went on to join The Folklore Society in England and became an editor of the society journal Folklore.

Joseph Jacobs was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 29 August 1854.

Joseph Jacobs was the sixth surviving son of John Jacobs, a publican who had emigrated from London in around 1837, and his wife Sarah, nee Myers.

Joseph Jacobs did not complete his studies in Sydney, but left for Britain at the age of 18.

Joseph Jacobs then studied at St John's College, Cambridge, where he gained a BA in 1876.

Joseph Jacobs then returned to Britain and studied anthropology under Francis Galton.

Joseph Jacobs was concerned by the anti-Semitic pogroms in the Russian Empire and in January 1882 wrote letters on the subject to The Times of London.

Joseph Jacobs was the honorary secretary of the literature and art committee of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition held in the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1887, and with Lucien Wolf he compiled the exhibition catalogue.

In 1888 Joseph Jacobs visited Spain to examine old Jewish manuscripts there.

In 1896 Joseph Jacobs began publication of the annual Jewish Year Book, continuing the series until 1899, after which it was continued by others.

In 1896 Joseph Jacobs visited the United States to deliver lectures on "The Philosophy of Jewish History" at Gratz College in Philadelphia, as well as to groups of the Council of Jewish Women in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Joseph Jacobs moved to the United States to take on this task.

Joseph Jacobs involved himself in the American Jewish Historical Society, became a working member of the Jewish Publication Society's publication committee.

Joseph Jacobs married Georgina Horne, and fathered two sons and a daughter.

Joseph Jacobs died on 30 January 1916 at his home in Yonkers, New York, aged 62.

Joseph Jacobs was a student of anthropology at the Statistical Laboratory at University College London in the 1880s under Francis Galton.

Joseph Jacobs edited the journal Folklore from 1899 to 1900 and from 1890 to 1916 he edited multiple collections of fairy tales that were published with illustrations by John Dickson Batten: English Fairy Tales, Celtic Fairy Tales, Indian Fairy Tales, More English Fairy Tales, More Celtic Fairy Tales and Europa's Fairy Book in 1916.