Cort Adeler Cort Sivertsen Adeler ( 16 December 1622 – 5 November 1675 ) , known in Denmark as Coort Sifvertsen Adelaer , in The Netherlands as Koert Sievertsen Adelaer and in Italy as Curzio Suffrido Adelborst , was the name of honour given to Kurt Sivertsen , a Norwegian seaman , who rendered distinguished service to the Royal Dano - Norwegian Navy , the Dutch navy , and also to the Republic of Venice against the Turks . Early naval career . Cort Sivertsen was born in Brevik , Norway , the son of a shipper . At the age of fifteen he took service with the Dutch navy ; in 1639 he fought under Lieutenant - Admiral Maarten Tromp at the Battle of the Downs . In 1642 he was first mate on the " Grote St . Joris " , a Dutch ship hired by the fleet of Venice as the " San Giorgio Grande " . Sivertsen called himself " Adelborst " in this period , a Dutch name meaning " cadet " . In 1645 he became captain of the " San Giorgio " and entered full Venetian service . In 1650 the " San Giorgio " became a flagship and Sivertsen therefore flag captain . In an action against the Turkish fleet on 13 May 1654 near the Dardanelles he broke with his ship a line of Turkish galley s and sank fifteen of them ; next day the Turkish garrison of Tenedos surrendered to him . For this he was knighted in the Order of San Marco ; the Venetian senate rewarded him with an annuity of 1400 golden ducats . In 1660 he was made Vice - Admiral . Merchant . Sivertsen had during this period maintained close connections with the Dutch Republic , his son Sivert was raised there . In this period he changed his name to " Adelaer " , Dutch for " Eagle " . His son Sivert Adelaer served as a cadet on the ship of the famous Dutch Vice - Admiral Michiel de Ruyter . Retiring from Venetian service he worked from 1661 till 1663 for an Amsterdam merchant house , having a supply contract with the Admiralty of Amsterdam , one of the five Dutch admiralties . In 1665 , when the Second Anglo - Dutch War threatened , he was offered a position in the Dutch navy as a Vice - Admiral , but the refused . He started a salt - company together with William Davidson of Curriehill and Jonas Trellond in Denmark . After the death of the Dutch supreme commander Lieutenant - Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam in the Battle of Lowestoft Adelaer was considered for this function but again indicated that he had no interest in it . Dutch naval operations . In 1663 Adelaer had begun working as an agent for the Danish navy , that in this period had close ties with the Dutch navy . The leading Dutch military advisors in Denmark , including Frederick Stachouwer and Volckert Schram , were recalled to the Dutch Republic because of their expertise in amphibious landings , to be employed in a planned landing on the English coast which in 1667 materialised as the Raid on the Medway . Subsequently Adelaer was asked to join the Danish navy as operational supreme commander , to supervise the modernisation of their fleet . In 1666 King Frederick III of Denmark personally convinced Adelaer by offering him a considerable commission . While in the Dutch Navy any commoner could be appointed in the highest positions , in Denmark it was still mandatory to be of nobility to command , so Adelaer became the Danish Knight " Coort Sifvertsen Adelaer " in order to become Admiral - General . During Adelaer ' s command the navy was expanded with thirty new ships - of - the - line . In the years 1669 and 1670 he headed a diplomatic mission to South - India to establish trade relations with Coromandel . Adeler acquired a substantial private capital and owned among others estates Dragsholm in Denmark and Gjemsø Kloster and Bratsberg near the city of Skien in Norway . Later life . Adelaer was a personal friend of the new Dutch supreme commander Lieutenant - Admiral Michiel de Ruyter who also had been knighted in Denmark , for his victory over Sweden in 1659 . A large part of their correspondence in Dutch has survived . In 1675 Denmark joined the Dutch in the Franco - Dutch War ; Sweden then declared war . Adelaer commanded a single minor action against the Swedish fleet — the only time he would actually fight in Danish service — but during an epidemic that swept Scandinavia that Fall , Adelaer was afflicted and died after many weeks of suffering on 5 November 1675 at Copenhagen . He was replaced as supreme commander on 8 May 1676 by a Dutch Admiral , Cornelis Tromp . Personal life . Adelaer was first married in 1646 in Hoorn ( Netherlands ) with Angelica Sophronia ( died before 1661 ) and secondly in 1662 in Amsterdam with Anna Pelt ( 1640 – 1692 ) . He was the father of Sivert Adeler ( 1647 – 1683 ) and Frederik Christian Adeler ( 1668 – 1726 ) . Descendants of Cort Adeler became members of a Danish noble family when Admiral Cort Adeler was converted into position of nobility on 7 February 1666 . Cort Adeler ’ s older son , Sivert Cortsen Adeler was a Danish naval officer . His younger son , Frederik Christian von Adeler was a Danish Councilor and Prefect in Zealand Diocese . Members of the family have been associated with a number of Danish estates including Ulstrup Slot . Legacy . During the period of romantic nationalism in the 19th century , Adelaer gained the status of Norwegian naval hero , largely due his appearance in a novel by the romantic Danish writer Bernhard Severin Ingemann .