Charles-Alexandre Steinhäuslin (4 April 1827 – 17 August 1890) was a Swiss artist, soldier, businessman and politician. Born in

Le Locle Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...

as a pastor's son, he was educated in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

and, after discovering his artistic talent, began attending the

Städelschule The Städelschule, full name Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule, is a tertiary school of art in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It accepts about 20 students each year from around 500 applicants, and has a total of approximately 150 ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in October 1846. With the outbreak of the

Sonderbund war The Sonderbund War (, , ) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic cantons formed the ("separate alliance") in 1845 to protect their interests against ...

in autumn 1847, Steinhäuslin was recalled to Switzerland. He served as a lieutenant in a Bernese unit on the Federal side (the 19th battalion, 2nd brigade, II. Division), which participated in the campaigns against Fribourg and Lucerne without having to engage in combat. In the field, he made a number of ink drawings illustrating the actions of his unit as well as of the major engagements of the war, based on the testimony of fellow soldiers. After the war, he continued to pursue his military career, rising to the grade of lieutenant-colonel commanding a brigade in the army mobilization of 1870. Promoted to colonel three years later, his health prevented him from assuming command of a division. In civilian life, Steinhäuslin lived and worked in Bern as inspector general of the '' Société d'assurance mobilière'' for the French-speaking part of Switzerland. He was elected to the city council and to the

Grand Council of Bern The Grand Council (, ) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern. It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura (distric ...

, where he sat with the Conservatives. It can be inferred from the obituaries following his death in 1890 that he must have been a most engaging personality.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhauslin, Charles-Alexandre 1827 births 1890 deaths People from Le Locle Swiss politicians People from the canton of Bern Swiss military officers 19th-century Swiss military personnel Swiss artists