- Eduard von Knorr
Ernst Wilhelm Eduard von Knorr (
8 March 1840 –17 February 1920 ) was a Germanadmiral of theKaiserliche Marine who helped establish theGerman colonial empire .Life
Born in
Saarlouis , Rhenish Prussia, Knorr entered thePrussian Navy in 1856. While serving on the corvette "Danzig", he fought against pirates off the coast ofMorroco later that year. In 1859 he was promoted toUnterleutnant . From 1859–62 he sailed with the "Elbe" on an expedition to theFar East . Knorr was promoted toLeutnant in 1862 andKapitänleutnant in 1865.On
12 November 1870 , during theFranco-Prussian War , Knorr commanded thegunboat "Meteor" in a battle with the Frenchaviso "Bouvet" nearHavana , for which he was awarded theIron Cross 2nd Class. In 1871 he was promoted toKorvettenkapitän .Beginning in 1874, Knorr took part in a voyage through the
Pacific Ocean to discuss trade negotiations withTonga on behalf of theGerman Empire . He was namedKapitän zur See in 1876, Chief of Staff of the Admiralty in 1881, andKonteradmiral 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 theCameroon Estuary . He was awarded theOrder of the Red Eagle for this success. From1 April 1885 –4 July 1885 Knorr wasReichskommissar of the German colony ofKamerun . He then commanded a cruiser squadron travelling toZanzibar and negotiated with its sultan for the acquisition of a strip of German colonial territory.In 1886 Knorr commanded a cruiser squadron at
Samoa . He was promoted toVizeadmiral in 1889, Admiral in 1893, and Commanding Admiral in 1895. Raised to theGerman nobility onJanuary 18 1896 , he received theOrder of the Black Eagle onJune 15 1898 . Knorr retired in 1899 and was appointed an admiralà la suite of theSeeoffizierkorps .Knorr died in
Berlin . Admiral-Knorr-Straße, a street in Saarlouis, is named after him.References
Further reading
* G.Beckmann, K.U. Keubke (Hrsg.): "Alltag in der Kaiserlichen Marine um 1890." ISBN 3-89488-051-1, S.102-103 de icon
* Cord Eberspächer/Gerhard Wiechmann: "Admiral Eduard von Knorr (1840-1920). Eine Karriere in der neuen Elite der Seeoffiziere in Preußen-Deutschland". In: Karl Christian Führer/Karen Hagemann/Birthe Kundrus (Hg.): Eliten im Wandel. Gesellschaftliche Führungsschichten im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Für Klaus Saul zum 65. Geburtstag, Münster 2004, S. 239-258 de iconExternal links
* [http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/knorr_eduard.htm Deutsche-Schutzgebiete.de biography] de icon
* [http://www.medalnet.net/Cameroon_1884.htm Cameroon 1884]
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