Dorothea Maria Lösch (1730 – 2 February 1799) was a Swedish

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of licensed seafarer qualification; namely, a master's license. A master mariner is therefore allowed to serve as the captain (nautical), master of a merchant ship for which natio ...

, known for the incident during the

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 was fought between Gustavian era, Sweden and Russian Empire, Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. The war was ended by the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790 and took place concomitantly with both the A ...

in which she commandeered a Swedish ship during a crisis. She was the first female in Sweden to be given the rank of Kapten in the Swedish Navy (approximately the equivalent of lieutenant commander in the British Navy). Her name has also been spelled Losch and Läsch. Dorothea Maria Lösch was the daughter of the goldsmith Henrik Jakob Lösch from Stockholm and Dorothea Maria Beyms and married in 1756 to the Finnish sea captain Mårten Johan Thesleff: her spouse's name was also spelled Theslöf or Theslef. She had eleven children during her marriage. She was the author of a medical book of how to treat

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, ''Beskrivning af et bepröfvat medel emot Kopp-ärr'' (Stockholm, 1765). Dorothea Maria Lösch took over and commanded the ship ''Armida'' to safety after its officers had been killed or abandoned it during the

Battle of Svensksund The Second Battle of Svensksund (; ) was a naval battle fought in the Gulf of Finland outside the present day city of Kotka on 9 and 10 July 1790. The Swedish Empire, Swedish naval forces dealt the Imperial Russia, Russian fleet a devastatin ...

on 9 July 1790. For this act, she was awarded with the rank of a master mariner of the Swedish fleet, something unique for a woman of this period. Although this was a purely honorary, ceremonial title, she was nevertheless the first woman in such a position.

References

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
* Wilhelmina Stålberg: ''Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor'' (Notes on Swedish women) (Swedish) * Ann Öhrberg (2001). Vittra fruntimmer. Författarroll och retorik hos frihetstidens kvinnliga författare. Stockholm: Gidlunds Förlag. * Kvinnan inom svenska litteraturen intill år 1893. En bibliografi / * https://web.archive.org/web/20140220210415/http://www.mesterton.net/~d637989/juusten/t5368.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Losch, Dorothea Maria Swedish Navy officers 1730 births 1799 deaths Women in 18th-century warfare Women in war in Sweden 18th-century Swedish scientists 18th-century Swedish military personnel People of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) 18th-century Swedish women scientists 18th-century Swedish writers

See also

References