Adelbert von Chamisso (1781–1838,) born Louis Charles Adélaïde de Chamisso, was a German poet, botanist, and writer known for his literary and scientific contributions. His works explore exile, identity, and nature, shaped by his experiences as a French-born aristocrat who fled to Germany during the French Revolution.
Born in Champagne, France, he and his family sought refuge in Berlin in 1790. He later joined the Prussian army but turned to literature and science after military service.
Chamisso gained literary fame with Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte (1814, Peter Schlemihl’s Remarkable Story,) a Faustian tale of a man who sells his shadow to the devil. His poetry, including Frauenliebe und Leben (1830,) was set to music by Robert Schumann, reinforcing his influence in German Romanticism. As curator of the Berlin Botanical Garden, he pursued scientific research.
Beyond literature, Chamisso was a respected botanist. From 1815 to 1818, he joined a Russian scientific expedition aboard the Rurik, documenting plant species and cultural observations. His travel writings, Ansichten und Bemerkungen über eine Entdeckungsreise (1821, Views and Remarks on a Voyage of Discovery) and Beschreibung einer Reise um die Welt (1836, Description of a Voyage Round the World,) contributed to ethnographic and botanical studies.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Adelbert von Chamisso
In pain is a new time born.
—Adelbert von Chamisso
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