Counter-Admiral Peter Frederik Wulff (26 November 1774 – 2 February 1842) was a Danish naval officer. He headed the

Royal Danish Naval Academy The Royal Danish Naval Academy ( or more commonly, ''Søofficerskolen'') educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Navy. Having existed for more than 300 years, it is the oldest still-existing officers' academy in the world. ...

from 1824 to 1841. Wulff, his wife Henriette Wulf, and several of his children were loyal friends and supporters of the writer

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

Early life

Wulff was born on 26 November 1774 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, the son of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

and later commander Frederik Christian Wulff (1749–1812) and Kirstine Johansen (1755–1829). He was the elder brother of

Christian Wulff Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff (; born 1959) is a retired German politician and lawyer who served as President of Germany from 2010 to 2012. A member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he previously ...

Career

Wulff enrolled as a voluntary cadet in 1780 and became a cadet in 1788. He was awarded Gerner's medal in 1793 and became a second lieutenant in 1794. In 1797–98, he visited the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

on board the frigate ''Iris''. In 1799 he became a first lieutenant. In 1799-1801, he served on the frigate in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Back in Denmark, in 1802, he participated in cartographic surveys in the

Little Belt The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish straits, Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the Nor ...

and served on the ship in 1803. He was commander of the brig in 1804. In 1806, he was appointed to second-in-command of the Naval Cadet Corps. In 1807, he served as commander of the brig '' Lougen'' at

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

where he fought off the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

brig '' Childers'' and captured ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

''. He was promoted to captain-lieutenant in 1808 and returned to his position at the Royal Cadet Academy ship in 1809. In 1810, he was commander of the naval training ships ''Tigress'' and ''Lolland''. In 1811, he was commander of the gunboats at

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

and

Ærø Ærø () is one of the Denmark, Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of the Region of Southern Denmark, Southern Denmark Region. Since 1 January 2006 all of Ærø has constituted a single Municipalities of Denmark, municipality, known as Ærø M ...

. In 1812 his gunboats assisted a wrecked Russian frigate at

Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Denmark, Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Region Sjælland, Sjælland region. It is the Extreme points of Denmark, southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost poin ...

. He reached the rank of captain in 1813. In 1813–19 and again in 1820–23, he served as commander of the naval training brigs and . In 1824, he was commander of the naval training frigate , which transported Prince Christian Frederik (Christian VIII) to

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

, leading to a controversy with counter admiral H. C. Sneedorff who wanted to command the ship while the prince was aboard. Wulff replaced Sneedorff as head of the Royal Cadet Academy that same year. He reached the rank of in 1825 and commander in 1834. He was appointed to and in 1839. He was promoted to

counter admiral Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Dependi ...

in 1840 and retired from the Royal Cadet Academy in 1841.

Personal life

Wulff married Henriette Weinholdt (12 October 1784 - 5 September 1836) in 1803. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. Their two sons, Jørgen Peter Frederik Wulff and

, both followed in their father's footsteps as naval officers. Their elder daughter, Henriette Wulff, drowned when the '' SS Austria'' sank in 1858. Their younger daughter, Ida Wulff, married the architect

Jørgen Hansen Koch Jørgen Hansen Koch (4 September 1787 – 30 January 1860) was a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical Denmark, Danish architect. He was chief of the national Danish building administration from 1835 and director of the Royal Danish Academy ...

. Wulff's home was frequented by a number of cultural figures of the

Danish Golden Age The Danish Golden Age () covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, Battle of Co ...

. Wulff was introduced to a young

and remained a loyal friend and supporter for the rest of his life. Wulff completed P. Foersom's translation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's plays and also translated

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

and G. C. Byron.

References

External links

Peter Frederik Wulff
at geni.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wulff, Peter Frederik 18th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers 19th-century Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officers Danish naval commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Danish Navy counter admirals Royal Danish Naval Academy alumni Academic staff of Royal Danish Naval Academy 1774 births 1842 deaths 19th-century Royal Danish Navy admirals Danish military personnel of the Gunboat War

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links