
Five Famous Brothers Who Made History
Some families produce multiple overachievers - siblings who go on to change the world and leave their mark, usually with positive outcomes.
Siblings play a vital role in family dynamics. While it’s noteworthy when one person in a family accomplishes great things, it’s doubly or triply remarkable when multiple siblings achieve success and greatness. Here is a list of five notable brothers who have had an impact on history.
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
Wilhelm Carl Grimm and Jacob Ludwig Carl are popular worldwide for Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The brothers were born a year apart and they collected oral folktales and published them between 1812 and 1822 in several volumes. The classic collection of folktales include “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Snow White”. While the Grimm brothers turned out to be stars of the kiddie set, they were also serious linguists and academics who intended to collect the stories as part of a scholarly treatise on folktales.
Edwin and John Wilkes Booth
Edwin Booth was a renowned stage actor in America during the 1800s, who won acclaim for his portrayal of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. His younger brother, John Wilkes Booth was also a famous stage actor, but the theatrical performance for which he will forever be remembered is his assassination of Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre in 1865.
The Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers — Harpo, Chico, Gummo, Zeppo, and Groucho were a pre-eminent fraternal comedy troupe in America. The brothers began their career performing vaudeville and burlesque, drawing on song, music, dance, and comedy to fill out their act. The Marx Brothers eventually branched out into the movies, making some notable films like Duck Soup (1933), A Night at the Opera (1935), and A Day at the Races (1937). Throughout their lives, the brothers performed not only on stage and in films but also on radio, in nightclubs, and on television.
Wilbur and Orville Wright
Wilbur and his brother Orville Wright—a pair of self-taught engineers ushered in the era of flight when they designed the world’s first power-controlled flight near North Carolina. The Wright brothers gained rapid popularity for their mechanical genius and inclination towards relentless refinement and experimentation.
George and Ira Gershwin
Ira and George Gershwin left their mark on the world of music. Ira wrote the lyrics and George created the music. Together they created a sound that defined the jazz age of the 20s and 30s. The two uber-talents composed more than two dozen Broadway and Hollywood scores, including the classic and fascinating folk-opera ‘Porgy & Bess’ and Tony award winner ‘Crazy for You’.
It is incredible how history is full of siblings who have achieved greatness either in the same career or in different endeavors.