Born January 12, 1628, in Paris, France. Died May 16th, 1703.
Charles Perrault will forever be known as the Grandfather of Fairy Tales, though he would not know it during his life time. Fairy Tale stories were well known in the upper class, but he was the first to write them down and publish them.
He didn't start as the storyteller he became but instead the secretary for the Minister of France, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, during Louis XIV reign. But after his boss's death, he turned his focus to his children. This is when he picked up his pen and put the fairy tales onto the page.
His book, "Histoires ou contes du temps passe'" was published in 1967. This was the birth of fairy tales. Stories included Tom Thumb, Blue Beard, Little Red Riddinghood, and Sleeping Beauty in the Woods and other favorites.
It is worth noting that he did publish a handful of literary works before his novel's debut. In 1694 he penned Patient Griselda, Ridiculous Wishes, and Donkey Skin. But his most noted works were released in 1967.
No matter how we look at this, he lived and inspired close to 100 years before The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson were even born.