Dictionary.net

A Danish poet and novelist; born in Frederikshald, Norway, May 12, 1790; died at Rome, March 4, 1872. A several-years" European tour ended by the amputation of his foot in Italy. He lectured on physics at Soro, and was professor of poetry at Kiel. The revolution of 1848 drew him in, and he took permanent refuge in Scandinavia; was made professor of Aesthetics in the Copenhagen University, and held the post till his death. His plays won him his first general recognition, and several have had brilliant success both in Scandinavia and Germany. "Contrasterne" and "Rosaura" were the earliest; and "Tiberius", "Don Juan", and "Tycho Brahe", among the later. "Hamadryads" gave him fame in romantic poetry, and his lyrics rank him as Denmark's foremost poet of nature and sentiment. His romances, especially "William Zabern", "Guldmageren", "The Story of Thorwald Vidforle", and "Robert Fulton", have passed through many editions. In him, depth of feeling unites with taste and mysticism in a charming whole.