The New International Encyclopædia/Becker, Nikolaus

BECKER, Nikolaus (1809-45). A German poet, born at Bonn. He is the author of the well-known song beginning, “Sie sollen ihn nicht haben, den freien, deutschen Rhein,” which, as an outburst of the popular German sentiment of the day, became widely celebrated. There are more than seventy different musical settings of it, only one of which, however, has become popular. The song was answered by a number of French poets, notably Alfred de Musset (“Nous l'avons eu, votre Rhin allemand”) and Lamartine (“Marseillaise de paix”).