Chamisso, Adelbert von

Chamisso, Adelbert von (Louis Charles Adelaide de Chamisso) (ä`dəlbĕrt fən shəmĭ`sō), 1781–1838, German poet and naturalist, b. Château de Boncourt, France. He served as page at the court of William II of Prussia and, after army service and travels, became keeper of the royal botanical gardens. He edited (1804–6) the Musenalmanach and was a member of Mme de Staël's circle. His sentimental poetic cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (1830) was set to music by Schumann. Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte (1814), his tale of a man who sold his shadow to the devil, has become legend. He also wrote plays, an account of his travels in the Pacific (1836), and a work on linguistics (1837).