Carl August von Steinheil (12 October 1801 – 14 September 1870) was a German physicist, inventor, engineer and astronomer.

In July 1839, Steinheil demonstrated a photographic process at Nymphenburg Palace in the presence of Queen Therese.

Steinheil returned Munich as konservator (curator) of the mathematical-physical collections and ministerial secretary in the Trade Ministry of Bavaria.

Steinheil & Söhne produced large telescopes for observatories in Uppsala, Mannheim, Leipzig, Utrecht.

His great granddaughter Elsbeth Steinheil, through his son Hugo Adolph, and grandson Rudolf (1865-1930), worked for the company after graduating as the first female mechanical engineer in Germany in 1917.

Some sources state that Steinheilite, a transparent mineral that resembles blue quartz but is actually a form of iolite, was named after Carl von Steinheil.