Maximilian Von Spee

Born June 22, 1861, in Copenhagen; died Dec. 8, 1914, near the Falkland Islands. German vice admiral. Count.

Spee entered the navy in 1878. In 1912 he became the commander of a cruiser squadron in the Pacific Ocean. After the outbreak of World War I, Spee took his squadron to the waters of South America. On Nov. 1, 1914, he defeated a British cruiser squadron in a battle at Coronel off the Chilean coast. On Dec. 8, 1914, Spee was defeated by a strong British squadron off the Falkland Islands. Spee went down with his flagship, the cruiser Scharnhorst.