Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt

Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt (born 14 February 1741 29 February 1796) was a Danish naval officer and ship builder, who served in the French navy for four years and became a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Family E W Stibolt's grandfather, Hans Andersen Stibolt, was Commandant on Christiansø, Denmark's most easterly point, with the army rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He had roots to German nobility. His father, (naval) Commander Caspar Henrik Stibolt, who became a naturalised Danish citizen in 1777, two years before his death, was also for many years Commandant of Christainsø. He was married twice, the second marriage (to Cathrina von Harrasoffski) giving issue to sixteen children of whom eight, including Ernst Wilhelm, became Danish naval officers. See Stibolt In 1791 Ernst Wilhelm Stibolt married Kirsten Güldencrone Kaas, the daughter of rear admiral Ulrik Christian Kaas.

Career From a cadet in the Danish navy in 1760, Stibolt was promoted steadily to captain in 1781 and commander in 1790.

Early years Immediately on receiving his first commission Stibolt chose to specialise in ship construction under the tutelage of master shipwright :da:Frederik Michael Krabbe and was given a junior position in the Construction Commission, which included in its remit the education of young naval officers. In 1768, together with Henrik Gerner, he embarked on a study tour to England, France and Holland. He returned in November 1773 to become, in March 1774, a lecturer in ship construction at the naval cadet college, which were to work at Christiansand. In 1776 he became second-in-command of the ship-of-the-line Mars and a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

In the meantime, Gerner had been named the Danish navy's master shipbuilder, so there was no prospect for Stibolt for further promotion in the technical field. In 1778, therefore, he sought permission to go into the service of a foreign power, France, which at that time was engaged in hostilities with Britain during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

French Service In the period 1778 to 1782 Stibolt served in three French ships: ship}French ship|Neptune|1778|2 (74) (ship-of-the-line) (frigate), before her capture by the British Royal Navy (ship-of-the-line}

Under the admirals Latouche Tréville and Count de Grasse he performed well, together with, among other Danes, Lorentz Fisker, witnessing various naval actions. Stibolt wrote numerous reports back to the Danish admiralty during his service on these ships. He met George Washington during the siege of Yorktown in 1781. On being recalled to Danish service in 1782 he was awarded a pension from the French, which caused much dissatisfaction amongst other Danish officers returning from French service, and was decorated with the Order Pour le merité militaire, which was questioned by some French officers on the grounds that Stibolt had not participated in any major battle. as designed and built by Stibolt, including four ships-of-the-line five frigates and many lesser ships. More ships, especially brigs, were built to Stibolt's design long after his death. Of these, the following are notable:

Lougen (1791) brig – the first Danish warship to be copper-sheathed Lougen (1805) brig

Several of Stibolt's ships were captured at the Battle of Copenhagen (1807) Ships-of-the-line: Danmark, Seieren, & Waldemar Frigates: Freia, Havfruen, Iris, & Triton Brigs: Glommen, Nidelven, & Sarpen, and later Allart (1807) Long after Stibolt's death, one of his designs for a new ship-of-the-line was used. Laid down in the year after the Battle of Copenhagen (1807), launched in 1810 but not fully fitted out until 1813. This was appropriately named Phoenix.

Death

At the beginning of 1796, suffering from "weakness and a deep melancholy", Stibolt resigned his position, and shortly after on 29 February that year – committed suicide by jumping out of the window in his flat in Toldbodvejen (modern street name Esplanaden). He is buried in the Assistens Cemetery.