Ernst Wilhelm Eduard von Knorr (8 March 1840 – 17 February 1920) was a German

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

of the

Kaiserliche Marine The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used partic ...

who helped establish the

German colonial empire The German colonial empire () constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies, and territories of the German Empire. Unified in 1871, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-lived attempts at colonization by Kleinstaat ...

Life

Born in

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

, Rhenish Prussia, Knorr entered the

Prussian Navy The Prussian Navy (German language, German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German Language, German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867. The Prussian N ...

in 1856. While serving on the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

, he fought at the Battle of Tres Forcas against pirates off the coast of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

later that year. In 1859 he was promoted to (sub-lieutenant). From 1859 to 1862, he sailed with the transport ship ''Elbe'' on the Eulenburg expedition to the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. He was promoted to (lieutenant) in 1862 and during the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

, he captained the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

. He was promoted to (captain lieutenant) in 1865. On 12 November 1870, during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, Knorr commanded the

in a battle with the French

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

''Bouvet'' near

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd Class. In 1871 he was promoted to (corvette captain). Beginning in 1874, Knorr took part in a voyage through the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

as captain of the

screw frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle stea ...

to discuss trade negotiations with

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

on behalf of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. He was promoted to (captain at sea) in 1876, made Chief of Staff of the Admiralty in 1881, and promoted to (rear admiral) in 1883. As commander of the West African Squadron in December 1884, Knorr intervened in disputes between rival clans in Douala, Cameroon, imposing German sovereignty over the Cameroon estuary. He was awarded the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

for this success. From 1 April to 4 July 1885, Knorr was of the German colony of Kamerun. He then commanded a cruiser squadron travelling to

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

and negotiated with its sultan for the acquisition of a strip of German colonial territory in what would become

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...

. In 1886, Knorr commanded a cruiser squadron at

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. He was promoted to (vice admiral) in 1889, Admiral in 1893, and Commanding Admiral in 1895. Raised to the

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

on 18 January 1896, he received the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

on 15 June 1898. He retired in 1899 and was appointed an admiral

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

of the . Knorr died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Admiral-Knorr-Straße, a street in Saarlouis, is named after him.

Honours

;German honours''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908''
p. 135
/ref> * Knight of the

, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords, ''1885''; with Crown, ''1894''; Grand Cross with Swords on Ring, ''27 January 1897'' (Prussia) * Knight of the Order of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class, ''18 January 1893'' (Prussia) * Knight of the

, ''15 June 1898''; with Collar, ''17 January 1899'' (Prussia) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1870), 2nd Class (Prussia) * Service Award Cross (Prussia) * Commander of the Order of the Zähringer Lion, 2nd Class with Swords, ''1878''; Grand Cross, ''1895'' (Baden) * Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) * Grand Cross of the Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) * Grand Cross of the

Albert Order The Albert Order () was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone who had served the state well, for civil virtue, s ...

, with Golden Star, ''1895'' (Saxony) ;Foreign honours * Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, ''1895'' (Austria-Hungary) * Knight of the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombard ...

, 1st Class, ''1890'' (Austria-Hungary) * Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) * Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, ''30 July 1888'' (Denmark) * Grand Cross of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

(Italy) * Knight of the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

(Russia) * Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

, ''27 July 1888'' (Sweden-Norway) * Knight of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar, Class II Grade I (Sultanate of Zanzibar)

Literature

References

External links

Deutsche-Schutzgebiete.de biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knorr, Eduard Von 1840 births 1920 deaths People from Saarlouis Military personnel from the Rhine Province German untitled nobility Admirals of the Imperial German Navy Prussian naval officers German colonial people in Kamerun German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War People of former German colonies Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Military personnel from Saarland

Life

Honours

Literature

Further reading

References

External links