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{{Short description|German merchant, banker, and amateur malacologist}}
{{Infobox person
|name              = Carl Jonas Pfeiffer
|birth_date        = {{birth date|1779|2|7|df=y}}
|birth_place       = [[Kassel|Cassel]], [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death_date        = {{death date and age|1836|3|5|1779|2|7|df=y}}
|death_place       = Cassel, [[Electorate of Hesse]]
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage | Maria Louisa Theodora Merrem|1808|1827|end=d.}}
* {{marriage | Dorothea Margarita Karoline Magdalene Friederike Wilhelmine Günste|1831}}}}
|relations = {{unbulleted list|[[Johann Jakob Pfeiffer]] (father)| [[Burkhard Wilhelm Pfeiffer]], [[Franz Georg Pfeiffer (German politician)|Franz Georg Pfeiffer]] (brothers)|[[Louis Pfeiffer]] (nephew)}}
|alma_mater     =
}}

'''Carl Jonas Pfeiffer''' (7 February 1779 - 3 May 1836) was a German [[merchant]], [[banker]], and amateur [[malacology|malacologist]].

==Early life and business ventures==

Pfeiffer, called Jonas as a child, was born in the Oberneustadt [[parsonage]] on Karlsplatz in Cassel, where his father, [[Johann Jakob Pfeiffer]], was the preacher. Shortly after his birth, the family relocated to [[Marburg]], where his father accepted a position as a professor in the Department of Theology at the [[University of Marburg|university]] there. His mother died before he was 5 years old, but his father's second wife cared for all of their children, especially after Johann Jakob's early death in 1791. Pfeiffer attended the gymnasium of Marburg until the age of 14, at which point he relocated to Cassel to apprentice as a cloth merchant.<ref name=pfeiffer>{{cite book|last=Pfeiffer|first=August Ludwig|date=1886|title=Die Familie Pfeiffer: Eine Sammlung von Lebensbildern und Stammbäumen|url=https://orka.bibliothek.uni-kassel.de/viewer/!metadata/1568028714368/155/-/|location=Kassel|publisher=Druck von Friedr. Scheel}}
</ref> At the completion of his apprenticeship, he spent time as a traveling salesman in [[Frankfurt am Main]], but soon found himself back in Marburg, where, despite not attending the [[University of Marburg|University]], as had his father and brothers, he spent time learning French, Hungarian and Spanish. He also attended lectures by some of the academic luminaries of the time, such as [[:de:Michael Conrad Curtius|Michael Conrad Curtius]] on history and statistics, [[:de:Johannes Bering|Johannes Bering]] on logic, [[Johann Heinrich Jung]] on occupation science, and [[:de:Karl Wilhelm Justi|Carl Wilhelm Justi]] on aesthetics.<ref name=justi>{{cite book|last1=Justi|first1=Karl Wilhelm|last2=Pfeiffer|first2=Karl Jonas|date=1831|chapter=Pfeiffer (Karl Jonas)|title=Grundlage Zu Einer Hessichen Gelehrten-Schriftsteller Und Künstler-Geschichte vom Jahre 1806 bis zum Jahre 1830|location=Marburg|publisher=Garthe|pages=486–488}}</ref>

By 1803, Carl Pfeiffer and his brother Georg were living in [[Hanau]], where they had take over running a [[Snuff (tobacco)|snuff]] factory owned by their uncle Simon Rüppell and his partner Wilhelm von Harnier, prominent bankers in Frankfurt. Drawing on his experience as a traveling salesman, as well as his knowledge of languages, Carl undertook many journeys throughout central Europe in the interest of increasing tobacco sales. He travelled on horseback through Germany, Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, and often claimed that there was not a single town in Bavaria that he had not visited, no matter how remote.<ref name=pfeiffer/> In 1807, the [[Napoleonic wars]] transformed the borders of the German states, with Cassel becoming the capital of the new [[Kingdom of Westphalia]], and Hanau being absorbed into the newly created [[Grand Duchy of Frankfurt]]. This created new [[border]]s and [[customs]] issues that affected trade and commerce throughout the region, which spurred the brothers Pfeiffer to open a second snuff factory in Cassel, so as not to lose their profitable business in [[Electorate of Hesse|lower Hesse]]. George relocated to Cassel, while Carl remained in Hanau, where he tried and filed to set up a [[Turkey red]] yarn-dying factory, but that venture proved unsuccessful. Due to the difficulties presented by the interruptions in the Napoleonic period, the brothers realized that they were well-positioned to engage in banking, having business interests in both Cassel and Hanau. With the return to normalcy after the re-establishment of the [[Electorate of Hesse]], the factory in Hanau was closed. In the meantime, George and their eldest brother [[Burkhard Wilhelm Pfeiffer|Burkhard Wilhelm]] purchased (for 17,0000 thaler) a grand house on the Königsplatz in Cassel, directly next to the ''Hôtel zum König von Preußen'', which had formerly been owned by [[Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal]].<ref name=pfeiffer/> The production of tobacco took place in a workshop and warehouse behind the residence, augmented by extensive gardens. After Burkhard Wilhelm was forced to relocated to [[Lübeck]] in 1820, Carl and his family moved into the vacant second floor. Around 1825, Carl and Georg ceded the tobacco business to their cousins Hartmann and Wilhelm Pfeiffer, who relocated the factory, and focused themselves solely on their banking interests.<ref name=pfeiffer/>

==Scientific career==
While living in Hanau, Carl Pfeiffer cultivated a friendship with the naturalist [[Philipp Gottfried Gaertner|Gottfried Gärtner]], which resulted in a deep interest in botany and the natural world.<ref name="Piderit">Piderit, Franz Carl Theodor. ''Geschichte der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Cassel'', Klaunig, Cassel 1882</ref> Pfeiffer's curiosity eventually settled on [[conchology]], a field in which his nephew [[Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer|Louis Pfeiffer]] would eventually achieve renown.<ref>Dance, S. Peter. A History of Shell Collecting. E. J. Brill-W. Backhuys, Leiden 1986.</ref> His particular specialty was [[land snails]].<ref name="Piderit"/> In Hanau, and later in Cassel, Carl would spend his evening walks searching for snails and mollusks anywhere they could be found: hedges, old masonry, stagnant water, ponds and streams. He trained himself to kill the animals without damaging their shells, which he would then store in small green and white card boxes (handmade for that purpose), and meticulously classify.<ref name=pfeiffer/> Carl's reduced role in the banking business after 1823 afforded him more time to engage in his scientific pursuits, as indicated by the publishing of additional volumes of his conchological work. His scholarship was well-received by the academic community, despite his lack of formal training, and he was given membership in the natural history societies of [[Wetterau]], [[Bonn]], Frankfurt, Marburg, [[Paris]] and [[Lund]] in recognition of his scholarship.<ref name=justi/>

==Family and later life==
[[File:Bankhaus l. Pfeiffer, Anzeige 1913.jpg|thumb|Carl's banking interests would eventually become ''Bankgeschäft L. Pfeiffer'' and flourish under family directorship for four generations]]
Carl Jonas Pfeiffer was married twice. He married his first wife, Louise Marie Theodore (née Merrem, 13 October 1787 - 31 Aug 1827) on August 7, 1808 in Marburg. She was the eldest daughter of the naturalist and [[University of Marburg]] professor [[Blasius Merrem]] (4 February 1761 – 23 February 1824) and his wife Juliane Johanne Marie (née von Cotzhausen, 1759-1808).<ref>Bohle, H. W. Von Der Naturgeschichte Zur Zoologie: Blasius Merrem Und Die Entwicklung Der Zoologie an Der Universität Marburg Im 19. Jahrhundert (1807-1928). Waxmann, 2015.</ref> This union produced three children:
*[[:de:Georg Ludwig Pfeiffer|Georg Ludwig]] (18 July 1809 - 1892)
*Marie Sophie Christiane (14 December 1810 - 22 March 1850)
*Carl Wilhelm Theodor (19 May 1816 - after 1886)
Louise Pfeiffer had spent much of her late life in delicate health, and Carl had purchased her a garden plot on the Akazienallee in Cassel, where he built her a small summer home. Despite his best efforts, she died on August 31, 1827 at the age of 39.<ref name=pfeiffer/> In 1831, Carl remarried, this time to his erstwhile childhood sweetheart, Friederike (née Günste, 1 December 1784 - 13 July 1871). Their happiness was short-lived, however, as Carl suffered a debilitating stroke in that same year, and never recovered. Carl Jonas Pfeiffer died on May 30, 1836, just weeks after his daughter's wedding. By this time, his elder son had taken over his banking interests, and his younger son had followed his [[Johann Jakob Pfeiffer|grandfather]]'s footsteps and was living in [[Switzerland]] as a [[preacher]]. At his death, Carl Pfeiffer's extensive collection of malacological and conchological specimens was given partly to his friend, Dr. [[Karl Theodor Menke]], and partly to his nephew, Dr. [[Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer|Louis Pfeiffer]].<ref name=Hodvina>Hodvina, Sylvain. ''[https://botanik-hessen.de/Pflanzenwelt/bio/Pfeiffer1/Pfeiffer1.html Carl Georg Ludwig (Louis) Pfeiffer]'', 30 Oct. 2020.</ref>

==Bibliography==

*''Systematische Anordnung und Beschreibung deutscher Land- und Süßwasserschnecken, mit besonderer Rücksicht aus die bisher in Hessen gefundenen Arten,'' Vol 1. Weimar 1821.
*''Naturgeschichte deutscher Land- und Süßwasser-Mollusken'' Vol 2. Weimar 1824, Vol. 3. Weimar 1828<ref name=Coan>Coan, E. V. & Alan R. Kabat, 2,400 Years of Malacology. 15th ed., February 11, 2018, 1,594 pp. + 109 pp. [Annex 1 – Book Collations] + 65 pp. [Annex 2 – Küster Collation], 51 pp. [Annex 3 – Journal Collations].</ref>

==Further reading==
*''[https://www.lagis-hessen.de/pnd/1132839556 Pfeiffer, Carl Jonas]'' in: Hessische Biografie (Stand: 7.2.2022)

==Notes==

*The malacologist Carl Pfeiffers of Germany need clarification as to who wrote which papers. There is also Pfeiffer, Carl (****-1852; Germany) and Pfeiffer, C.<ref name=Coan/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeiffer, Carl Jonas}}
[[Category:German bankers]]
[[Category:German malacologists]]
[[Category:German merchants]]
[[Category:German naturalists]]
[[Category:People from Hesse]]
[[Category:People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel]]
[[Category:Scientists from Kassel]]
[[Category:Tobacconists]]
[[Category:1779 births]]
[[Category:1836 deaths]]