(1759–1805), German playwright, poet, historian, and critic; full name Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller. Initially influenced by the Sturm und Drang movement, he was later an important figure of the Enlightenment. His historical plays include the trilogy Wallenstein (1800), Mary Stuart (1800), and William Tell (1804). Among his best-known poems is ‘Ode to Joy’, which Beethoven set to music in his Ninth Symphony.