He was married to Charlotte Norrie, née Harbou (1855–1940), who was a pioneer of modern nursing.
Originally trained as a surgeon, his interest later turned to ophthalmology, where he specialized in treatment of the blind.
He is associated with the eponymous "Norrie disease", a rare form of hereditary blindness that he described in 1927,[2] and referred to as atrophia oculi congenita.
This disorder is characterized by severe retinal malformations, cataracts, leukocoria and atrophy of the iris.
The National Eye Clinic is now part of the Kennedy Center in Glostrup, another Copenhagen suburb.