About

Gender: Male
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
Occupation: Admiral in the East India Trading Company (Formerly Commodore in the British Royal Navy)
Ships Used: The HMS Dauntless, The HMS Interceptor, The Black Pearl, Flying Dutchman
HMS Endeavour
Weapons: Rapier Cutlass, Pistol
Appearance(s): The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, At World's End
About: Norrington was originally written as an evil character who was going to join forces with Barbossa. They changed this, but remnants of the idea may have been an inspiration behind Norrington joining forces with Lord Beckett.

History
Little is known about Norrington's early life other than he joined the Royal Navy. He is first seen as a Lieutenant aboard HMS Dauntless when it transports new Governor Weatherby Swann and his young daughter Elizabeth to Port Royal in the Caribbean. During the voyage, he expresses his views about pirates to Elizabeth, saying that they all deserve a "short drop and a sudden stop." In other words, being hanged.

Norrington's personality initially seems rigid, even slightly bigheaded. However, it becomes apparent that he is a kind and compassionate man who eventually comes to discern between what is lawful and what is right. When Will halts Jack Sparrow's execution, Norrington is hesitant to resume, believing it is unjust. However, he unwittingly provides the wily pirate an escape avenue when Sparrow falls off the rampart and is rescued by his crew. Reluctantly intending to give chase, Norrington allows Sparrow one day's head start.

It is important to note that Norrington is the one character who is not driven solely by his own goals or needs. This is best demonstrated when he tells Jack Sparrow that he is able to forfeit the fame and prestige to be gained by capturing the Black Pearl, "by remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself." In several deleted scenes on the DVD (specifically "Accepting the Proposal" and "Happy Endings"), Norrington's character is further developed as a kind and decent man who loves Elizabeth so much that he is prepared to abandon any hope of having her to ensure her happiness with another.

Lord Cutler Beckett has issued an arrest warrant for Norrington's part in Jack Sparrow's escape, but he has disappeared. While unsuccessfully pursuing Sparrow, his ship fell victim to a violent hurricane. Disgraced, he was forced to resign his commission soon after. He resurfaces in Tortuga when he applies for a position on the Black Pearl, although he also attempts to shoot Jack. Upon his reappearance, he has descended into a ragged, drunken, bitter man, who schemes to regain his honor and seek vengeance against Jack Sparrow and (later) Will Turner, whom he blames for ruining his life. It is a stark contrast from the selfless, honorable man in the first film to the one who has degraded into an individual that he so previously despised. He also suspects that Elizabeth now prefers Jack over Will.

To win back his honor and career, he presents himself and the Letters of Marque to Lord Cutler Beckett. Beckett says that if he expects the Letters to be certified, he must have something to bargain with. Norrington tosses a small pulsating bag onto Beckett's desk and declares it, "The heart of Davy Jones".