Karl Altenstein, baron von Stein zum Al-tenstein, a Prussian minister of state, born in Anspach, Oct, 7, 1770, died in Berlin, May 14, 1840. He was called by Hardenberg into the ministry at Berlin in 1799. During the war of 1806 he fled with the court from Berlin to Konigsberg, and after the treaty of Tilsit became the head of the department of finance. He took a principal part in the foundation of the university of Berlin in 1809. In 1815 he was sent with Wilhelm von Humboldt to Paris, to present the claims of Prussia for the restoration of the treasures of art and literature carried from the country by the French armies; and in the same year he was made a member of the commission for determining the boundaries of the Prussian possessions in Westphalia and in the province of the Rhine. After his return to Berlin he was made minister of public worship and education, and in this position he rendered lasting service to the universities, gymnasiums, and schools. Under his direction the university of Bonn was founded, and reforms were introduced into the several branches of popular instruction.

He was a zealous partisan of the philosopher Fichte.