Adelbert von Chamisso
He was born Louis Charles Adélaïde de Chamissot at the château of Boncourt at Ante, in Champagne, France, the ancestral seat of his family. His name appears in several forms, one of the most common being Ludolf Karl Adelbert von Chamisso. Driven out by the French Revolution, his parents settled in Berlin, where in 1796 young Chamisso obtained the post of page-in-waiting to the queen, and in 1798 entered the Prussian infantry regiment as ensign. Shortly thereafter, upon the Peace of Tilsit, his family was permitted to return to France; he remained in Germany and continued his military career.
Chamisso will be remembered as well for his work as a botanist, with many works published. He studied natural science for three years while in the Prussian military service in Berlin. After he was released from the service, he devote himself to botanical research.
As a poet Chamisso's reputation stands high. Frauenliebe und -leben (1830), a cycle of lyrical poems set to music by Robert Schumann, by Carl Loewe, and by Franz Paul Lachner, is particularly famous. Also noteworthy are Schloss Boncourt and Salas y Gomez. He often deals with gloomy or repulsive subjects; and even in his lighter and gayer productions there is an undertone of sadness or of satire. In the lyrical expression of the domestic emotions he displays a fine felicity, and he knew how to treat with true feeling a tale of love or vengeance.
He died the 21st of August, 1838 in Berlin of lung cancer.