The Brothers Grimm
The German brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm spent years collecting and researching folk tales early in the 19th century. They published Children's and Household Tales in 1812, a collection which became known as "Grimm's Fairy Tales." The collection included what are now some of the world's most famous stories, including Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin. Wilhelm married in 1825, but Jacob never wed and for most of his life lived in his brother's home. The brothers also began a German historical dictionary, the enormous Deutsches Worterbook, which ran to 16 volumes when it was finally completed by others in 1954.
Extra credit: The Brothers Grimm, a fictional thriller based (very) loosely on the brothers, was released in 2005. The film starred Matt Damon as Wilhelm and Heath Ledger as Jacob... The Grimm fairy tale Snow-White and Rose-Red was made into the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Walt Disney. Disney also adapted Cinderella as an animated short in 1922 and a full feature in 1950.
Other famous storytellers include A.A. Milne, C.S. Lewis, Chris Van Allsburg and Philip Pullman.