Born in Prussia in 1799, died in Paris in 1856; of Hebrew
descent; with assistance from an uncle, studied
jurisprudence at Bonn, Berlin, and Göttingen; embraced
Christianity in 1825; lived alternately in Hamburg, Berlin
and Munich; settled in Paris after 1831, where he spent his
remaining years; receiving, 1837-48, an annuity from the
department of foreign affairs; his first collection of poems
published in 1822; his most notable prose work, "Pictures of
Travel," in 1826-31; his complete works comprize twenty-one
volumes.