Lorentz Fisker

Counter-Admiral Lorentz Fisker (5 October 1753 – 1 January 1819) was a Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy officer who charted the Skagerrak and Kattegat and served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Early life

As the son of Vice-Admiral Henrik Fisker, Lorentz Henrik Fisker accompanied his father on many voyages to the Levant, gaining so much experience that, at the age of only nine years, he was listed as a volunteer cadet in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy and at 14 years old (in 1767) was already a junior lieutenant. In 1761 Lorentz had been on board the Grønland, captained by his father, on a voyage to the Mediterranean whose main purpose was to deliver members of the Royal Danish Scientific Expedition to Arabia Felix (modern day Yemen) to Constantinople.

As the Grønland was passing Malta, young Lorentz fell ill and his father left him on the island in the care of some nuns. On the ship’s return, Lorentz had recovered and came back on board. Thirty-five years later, in 1796, when Lorentz Fisker was himself a captain, namely of the frigate Thetis, he had a tour of duty in the Mediterranean and visited Malta on many occasions. One of the nuns who had nursed him back to health was by now the Abbess, and she had delivered to the Thetis each day a silver tray of magnificent cakes.

1770–71

Fisker served on the ship-of-the-line Sophie Magdalene under the Admiral Frederik Christian Kaas off Algiers.

American War of Independence

1778

He went into the French naval service on the staff of Admiral Grasses, and later was second-in-command of a number of French frigates.

1779–1782

Fisker was present at the French capture of the British colony of Grenada and the naval battles that followed.