Luckner, Felix, Graf von, 1881-1966

Felix Graf von Luckner (1881-1966) was born near Dresden, Germany. As a teenager he ran away to work as a cabin boy on the Russian vessel Niobe. He attended the Lubeck Navigation College in Germany, after which he served as an officer on the Petropolis. In 1910, Luckner married Petra Schulz from Hamburg. While serving in the Imperial German Navy, he is promoted to lieutenant junior grade. During World War I he commanded the cruiser Seeadler. As a captain in the German navy, Luckner sunk 14 ships; this, and his ability to evade capture, earned Luckner the nickname "The Sea Devil." The Seeadler sunk off the coast of Mopelia Island in 1917. After the war, Luckner became an author and lecturer. He toured throughout the United States, and was awarded honorary citizenship in numerous American cities. Luckner returned to his mother's house in Halle, Germany, in 1939, where Hitler placed him under house arrest during World War II for refusing to give up his honorary U.S. citizenships and Masonic membership in order to represent the Nazi regime. Luckner died April 13, 1966 in Malmo, Sweden.

From the description of Felix, Graf von Luckner letter, 1929. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 99997554