Carl Petersen
Carl Petersen in the ornate uniform of the Hamburg senate; by Rudolf Dührkoop
First Mayor of Hamburg and President of the Hamburg Senate
In office 1 January 1876 – 31 December 1877
Preceded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1880 – 31 December 1880
Preceded by	Hermann Weber
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1883 – 31 December 1883
Preceded by	Hermann Weber
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1886 – 31 December 1886
Preceded by	Hermann Weber
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1889 – 31 December 1889
Preceded by	Johannes Versmann
Succeeded by	Johann Georg Mönckeberg
In office 1 January 1892 – 14 November 1892
Preceded by	Johannes Versmann
Succeeded by	Johann Georg Mönckeberg
Second Mayor of Hamburg
In office 1 January 1879 – 31 December 1879
Preceded by	Hermann Weber
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1882 – 31 December 1882
Preceded by	Hermann Weber
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1885 – 31 December 1885
Preceded by	Hermann Weber
Succeeded by	Gustav Kirchenpauer
In office 1 January 1889 – 31 December 1889
Preceded by	Max Theodor Hayn [de]
Succeeded by	Johann Georg Mönckeberg
In office 1 January 1891 – 31 December 1891
Preceded by	Johannes Versmann
Succeeded by	Johann Georg Mönckeberg
Personal details
Born	6 July 1809 Hamburg
Died	14 November 1892 (1892-11-15) (aged 83) Hamburg
Nationality	German
Political party	Nonpartisan
Spouse	Kathinka Hasche (1813–1863)
Children	5
Parent	Marcus Hermann Petersen (1784–1860)
Alma mater	Georgia Augusta, Ruperto Carola
Occupation	Lawyer

Carl Friedrich Petersen (6 July 1809 in Hamburg – 14 November 1892 in Hamburg) was a Hamburg lawyer and politician, who served several terms as First Mayor of Hamburg. He was a Hamburg senator from 1855 until his death.

He studied law at the University of Göttingen and at Heidelberg University, and earned a doctorate in 1830. After a stay in Paris, he became a burgher of Hamburg in 1831 and practised as a lawyer.

From the 1830s, he held numerous public offices, and he was elected as a senator in 1855. In 1861 he became First Lord of Police (i.e. Minister of Police and the Interior). He became First Mayor in 1876 and was reelected in the following year. He also served as Second and First Mayor during the terms 1879/80, 1882/83, 1885/86, 1888/89 and 1891/92.^[1][2][3]

Two grandsons by his son Gustav Petersen, Carl Wilhelm Petersen and Rudolf Hieronymus Petersen, also officiated as first mayors of Hamburg, the former between 1924 and 1929 and again 1932 and 1933, the latter from 1945 to 1946.