Albrecht von Stosch (20 April 1818 – 29 February 1896) was a German General of the Infantry and admiral who served as first chief of the newly created Imperial German Navy from 1872 to 1883.[1]
Born in Koblenz, he was a cousin of Hans Stosch-Sarrasani, the founder of the Circus Sarrasani. He was the third son of Prussian general Hermann Ferdinand Stosch, who was a traditional military man who had a nationalistic feelings. Just like his father, Stosch was conscious of the tradition of duty and service, and Prussian military heritage was a strong political opinion of his.[2]
After being educated in state schools and a Gymnasium, in 1829 Stosch was admitted to the Cadet corps. In 1835 Stosch, aged seventeen, was appointed as second-lieutenant in the Prussian Army. He eventually became a General Staff officer.[2]
After the Franco-Prussian War, Stosch was also appointed as an admiral and first chief of the Admiralty and thus of the fledgling Imperial German Navy. Acknowledged by William I for his loyal service to the country; he considered himself as a reformer.[2]
Stosch died in Rheingau. There is an island in Chile named after him, Isla Stosch.
^"Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Grossherzogtums Hessen (in German), Darmstadt, 1881, p. 27 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Königliche Ritter-orden", Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen (1873) (in German), Dresden, 1873, pp. 74, 131{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Königliche Ritter", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg, Stuttgart, 1894, p. 64{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Norges Statskalender (in Norwegian), 1890, pp. 595–596, retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org
Hildebrand, Hans; Henriot, Ernest (1990). P — Z (in German). Vol. 3. Osnabrück: Biblio-Verl. pp. 400–401. ISBN3764814993. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Prussia
German Confederation
North German Confederation
Prussian Army
Imperial German Navy
Grand Duchy of Hesse: Commander of the Ludwig Order, 1st Class, 15 March 1868[4]
Kingdom of Saxony:[5]
Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 2 January 1871[6]
Sweden-Norway: Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, 1 June 1875[7]
