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Hans Pfyffer

(1866-1953)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ20685129 ↗
Source-derived summary

Hans Pfyffer von Altishofen (German: [ˈpfʏfɐ fɔn ˈʔaltɪʃoːfən]; 28 March 1866 – 5 April 1953) abbreviated as Hans Pfyffer was a Swiss businessman, hotelier, politician and diplomat who served as Minister to the Mission of Switzerland to Poland in Warsaw from 1921 to 1923. He concurrently served on Grand Council of Lucerne between 1911 and 1922. He previously was a conservative member of the City Council of Lucerne.

Born into a well established Patrician family, Pfyffer became a serial entrepreneur, primarily in the hospitality industry. Between 1890 and 1950 he was the general manager and majority owner of the Grand Hotel National. In 1892, he was among the co-founders of Berneralpen Milchgesellschaft (milk powder), among César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier. He also served on the board of directors of CKW (power supply), Papierfabrik Perlen (paper mill) and the Vitznau-Rigi railway line as well as member of the bank council of the Swiss National Bank from 1927 to 1939 and 1943 to 1947. He was also president of the Lucerne Cantonal Bank.

Early life and education

Pfyffer von Altishofen was born 28 March 1866 in Lucerne, Switzerland, the second of six children, to Alphons Maximilian Pfyffer von Altishofen, an architect, hotelier and military officer, and Maria Anna Pfyffer von Altishofen (née Segesser von Brunegg). He was baptized Johann Hans Georg Emil Karl which was abbreviated as Hans.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hans Pfyffer” as (1866-1953). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1866, 1953, 1921, 1923—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1866-03-28. The account is most persuasive where Hans, Pfyffer and 1866-1953 can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as (1866-1953). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20685129. VIAF identifies the subject as 100473676. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1866, 1953, 1921 and 1923.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hans Pfyffer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.