Ruyter, Michiel Adriaanszoon de [key], 1607–76, Dutch admiral. His life was spent in the Dutch mercantile and naval service. He fought under Maarten Tromp in the first (1652–54) of the Dutch Wars and distinguished himself in the second Dutch War (1664–67) by the capture of English holdings on the Gold and Guinea coasts. He saved the Dutch fleet in a brilliant withdrawal after defeat at North Foreland (Aug. 4, 1666) and burned English ships (1667) in the Medway. With Cornelis Tromp he led the Dutch fleet in the third Dutch War (1672–78) and saved Dutch ports (1672) from attack by the English and French. Despite his protests over the conditions of the Dutch fleet, he was sent to the Mediterranean (1675), where he was mortally wounded at Messina.
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