Peter Schlemihl, The Shadowless Man

ADALBERT VON CHAMISSO Peter Schlemihl, the Shadowless Man Adalbert von Chamisso, a German lyric poet and scientist, was born on January 30, 1781, at the Castle of Boncourt, in the Champagne district of France. His parents emigrated in 1790, and in 1796 he became page to the Queen of Prussia. Two years afterwards he entered the army, which he left in 1806 to go to France, returning to Berlin in the following year. In 1810 he proceeded to France once more, and thence to Geneva, where he began his study of natural history. In 1815 he went with Otto von Kotzehue on a tour round the world, and on his return he settled in Berlin, having obtained a post in the Botanical Gardens.