Hans Langsdorff, German captain (b. 1894)
Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff (20 March 1894 – 20 December 1939) was a German naval officer, most famous for his command of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate off the coast of Uruguay in 1939. After the Panzerschiff ( Deutschland-class cruiser) was unable to escape a pursuing squadron of Royal Navy ships, Langsdorff scuttled his ship. Three days later he committed suicide in Buenos Aires, Argentina.