Cornelius Didrikson Thijsen Anckarstierna (25 January 1655 – 19 April 1714) was a Swedish

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of Dutch origin and a member of the Swedish House of Nobility.

Early life

Cornelius Anckarstierna was born on 25 January 1655 in Stockholm. His father, Didrik Corneliusson Thijsen, was of Dutch origin and was a naval officer in the

Swedish navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

. Anckarstierna spent his childhood accompanying his father on his journeys. After joining the navy, he quickly rose through the ranks. In 1669, he became a lieutenant, and in 1676 a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Combat with the Danes and ennoblement

In the naval battle near

Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingbo ...

on 1 June 1677, he commanded the ship ''Kalmar castle'' with 74 cannons. When Anckarstierna was about to be defeated by the Danish admiral Bielke, he targeted two shots through the ballast of his own ship so that it sank. In 1678, Anckarstierna became a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and was ennobled. He was appointed to schoutbynacht in 1680, and vice admiral in 1683. The Swedish king

Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

appointed Anckarstierna in 1692 to

of Ousbyholm in Hörby parish,

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

Later years

Anckarstierna was in command of the Swedish fleet's second squadron during the landing on Zealand in 1700. He served as commander-in-chief the same year when Charles XII was transferred to Livonia and in 1705 during the failed landing on the island Retusari in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. He died in Knutstorp in 1714. Anckarstierna was married twice: first with Elisabeth Kröger, whom he had two sons and one daughter with, and then with Ms. Sparre, whom he had two daughters and one son with.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anckarstierna, Cornelius 1655 births 1714 deaths 17th-century Swedish military personnel Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War Swedish Navy admirals Swedish nobility Swedish people of Dutch descent

Early life

Combat with the Danes and ennoblement

Later years

See also

References