Seidel was the son of a pastor and studied in the Polytechnikum in Hannover from 1860 to 1862 and in the Gewerbeakademie in Berlin, becoming an Engineer. Beginning in 1866 he participated in the construction of the Anhalter Bahnhof railway station in Berlin, where he was the first to achieve the construction of its main hall roof with a free span of 62,5 m. However, in 1880 he gave up the profession to dedicate himself to writing the children's stories and fairy tales for which he is chiefly remembered today.
