Born in
Saarlouis,
Rhenish Prussia, Knorr entered the
Prussian Navy in 1856. While serving on the
paddle steamer , he fought at the
Battle of Tres Forcas against pirates off the coast of
Morocco later that year. In 1859 he was promoted to (sub-lieutenant). From 1859 to 1862, he sailed with the transport ship
Elbe on the
Eulenburg expedition to the
Far East. He was promoted to (lieutenant) in 1862 and during the
Second Schleswig War, he captained the
gunboat . He was promoted to (captain lieutenant) in 1865. On 12 November 1870, during the
Franco-Prussian War, Knorr commanded the
gunboat in a battle with the French
aviso Bouvet near
Havana, for which he was awarded the
Iron Cross 2nd Class. In 1871 he was promoted to (corvette captain). Beginning in 1874, Knorr took part in a voyage through the
Pacific Ocean as captain of the
screw frigate to discuss trade negotiations with
Tonga on behalf of the
German Empire. He was promoted to (captain at sea) in 1876, made Chief of Staff of the Admiralty in 1881, and promoted to (rear admiral) in 1883. As commander of the West African Squadron in December 1884, Knorr intervened in disputes between rival clans in
Douala, Cameroon, imposing German sovereignty over the
Cameroon estuary. He was awarded the
Order of the Red Eagle for this success. From 1 April to 4 July 1885, Knorr was of the German colony of
Kamerun. He then commanded a cruiser squadron travelling to
Zanzibar and negotiated with its sultan for the acquisition of a strip of German colonial territory in what would become
German East Africa. In 1886, Knorr commanded a cruiser squadron at
Samoa. He was promoted to (vice admiral) in 1889, Admiral in 1893, and Commanding Admiral in 1895. Raised to the
German nobility on 18 January 1896, he received the
Order of the Black Eagle on 15 June 1898. He retired in 1899 and was appointed an admiral
à la suite of the . Knorr died in
Berlin. Admiral-Knorr-Straße, a street in Saarlouis, is named after him. , 1891 on 31 May 1895 ==Honours==