Carl Gustav Jung, best known as Carl Jung, was a famous Swiss psychologist, psychiatrist, and author. He is regarded as one of the most influential psychiatrists of all time for developing the study on analytical psychology and is best known for his theory of the collective unconscious.
In addition, Carl Jung also found fame and recognition for his introversion and extraversion concepts and the theory of personality types. As an author, he wrote several books like The Red Book, Man and His Symbols, Psychology of the Unconscious, The Black Books, etc. Let's know more about Carl Jung's biography and career.
Clara Barton Biography - American Red Cross Founder
Early Life, Family, and Education
Carl Gustav Jung was born on the 26th of July, 1875, in Kesswil, Switzerland. He was born to parents Paul Achilles Jung and Emilie Preiswerk alongside his sister Johanna Gertrud Jung. As a child, Carl was an introvert and suffered from multiple personality disorders. Also, Jung's mother suffered from depression and was always in an unpredictable mood, which caused him to have a bad relationship with her. His father, Paul Jung, was the youngest son of a Basel professor of medicine and a Swiss Reformed Church pastor.
Carl Jung was raised alongside his sister Johanna Gertrud Jung. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons.
While in school, Carl was bullied by his classmates, which caused him to faint from time to time, due to which he was unable to go to school for several months. Carl's parents suspected it was epilepsy. He also lived with his mother's sister in Basel for a certain period before coming back to live with his father in Laufen. Carl's father was later transferred to a church in Kleinhüningen, near Basel, which brought Carl's mother Emilie close to her family and helped uplift her mood. Jung's sister Johanna Gertrud was born in 1935 and later became his secretary.
As a young boy, Carl understood the reality of his family's poverty, which enlightened him with the need for academic excellence. Carl Jung studied philosophy in his younger years before deciding to attend the University of Basel to learn medicine in 1895.
The following year, the psychologist's father passed away, leaving the family in poor condition. The family was helped by relatives in their hard times and also helped Carl to pursue his studies. The hardships faced as a child shaped Carl to become the man he is known for today. He attended the University of Zurich and received his Ph.D. after finishing his thesis "On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena."
Career and Net Worth Earnings
In 1900, Carl traveled to Zürich and started to work under Paul Eugen Bleuler, a famous Swiss psychiatrist at the Burghölzli psychiatric hospital. Half a decade later, he became a permanent senior doctor at the hospital while also working as a Zurich University lecturer.
Over the years, he helped published several books like Pierre Janet's Idée fixe subconsciente and Diagnostic Association Studies with Franz Riklin. He published his book, On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena, in 1903. In 1909, Carl decided to leave the hospital and began practicing his studies in his home in Küsnacht.
Carl Jung eventually became very close to Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, as the two shared 360 letters over eight years. He was introduced to Freud by Eugen when he asked him to present a review of Freud's book The Interpretation of Dreams. Carl and Freud met in 1907 in Vienna, where the two psychologists exchanged ideas and views for thirteen hours. Finding himself an active pupil, Freud went on to become very close with Carl Jung.
In 1908, the Swiss psychologist was appointed as an editor of Yearbook for Psychoanalytical and Psychopathological Research. The following year, Jung traveled with Sigmund Freud and Hungarian psychoanalyst Sándor Ferenczi to the US to a meet at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. The conference was planned by American psychologist Granville Stanley Hall and included twenty-seven famous psychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists.
In 1910, Freud proposed Jung for the position of lifetime president of the International Psychoanalytical Association, to which his Viennese colleagues objected. Later, while Jung worked on his book, Psychology of the Unconscious: a study of the libido's transformations and symbolisms, conflict arose between him and Sigmund because of their disagreements concerning libido's nature.
Carl Jung published his book Psychology of the Unconscious in 1912. The same year Carl and Sigmund met in a meeting to discuss psychoanalytical journals at Munich. They met for the last time in the Fourth International Psychoanalytical Congress in Munich in September 1913, where Jung preached about the introverted and extroverted psychological types in analytical psychology.
In 1913, the psychologist suffered horrible experiences, which he described as "confrontation with the unconscious." Jung started to see visions and heard voices which led him to believe that he could have had psychosis or was getting mad. He decided to record his experiences in small journals, which he called his Black Book. In 1915, he licensed a sizeable red leather book and worked for sixteen years writing down notes along with paintings.
During World War I, Carl Jung was drafted into the army as a doctor and soon became the camp captain for British officers and soldiers. During his time of service, Jung worked to help the soldiers who were deserted in Switzerland and encouraged them to complete their education.
Around 1921, Jung became active in publishing several articles and including one of his most influential books, Psychological Types. The book boosted Jung's fame, followed by a decade of overseas travel and active publications. Over the years, Jung traveled to England, the US, East Africa, and even India on several occasions.
In 1943, Jung was appointed as the medical psychology professor at the University of Basel for a year before resigning due to a heart attack. Even in his final days, Jung continued to publish several books, including the Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, Answer to Job, and Man and His Symbols. Moreover, being a pioneer for psychologist and author of some of the most influential books in the medical field, Carl Jung's net worth must have certainly been of a considerable sum.
According to PayScale, a psychologist in Switzerland earns over $90K a year today. During the 1900s, the wage was fairly lower than the current figures considering the economy's state at the period. As for Carl Jung, being a part-owner of a watch company, a famous psychologist, doctor, professor, and author, his fortune must surely have been of a huge sum. Jung's books are still in demand today and can be bought on various online stores, including Amazon. Given below are some of Carl Jung's books alongside their price with reference to Amazon.
| Books | Price |
| On The Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena | $14.00 |
| Psychology of the Unconscious | $18.95 |
| The Undiscovered Self | $6.01 |
| A Modern Man in Search of a Soul | $6.25 |
| Memories, Dreams, Reflections | $4.04 |
With thousands of copies sold worldwide, Carl Jung's fortune could have crossed over a couple of million dollars today. His research and studies are available to the public to this day. However, many of Jung's research papers and studies are yet to be published and made available to the public. The Swiss psychologist's descendants are currently in charge of their great grandparent's books. As a famous psychologist, Carl Jung's net worth must have certainly been worth thousands of dollars during his active years.
Awards and Achievements
Throughout his career, Carl Jung had received several awards from various people and places. The psychiatrist had received honorary doctorates from universities like Clark University, Fordham University, Harvard University, University of Geneva, University of Oxford, University of Allahabad, University of Calcutta, University of Benares, and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
Carl Jung alongside Sigmund Freud and other famous psychologists. Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Furthermore, Jung was also awarded a Literature prize from the City of Zurich in 1932. In 1939, Carl was made an honorary member of the Royal Society of Medicine. On his 85th birthday, Carl was named Honorary citizen of Küsnacht in 1960.
Relationship and Children
Carl Jung met his wife Emma Rauschenbach in 1896 when she was still just a schoolgirl. The psychologist had also predicted that Emma would be his wife someday. Jung married his partner on February 14, 1903, seven years after the pair first met. Carl Jung's wife Emma was the daughter of a rich businessman, Johannes Rauschenbach.
Johannes was the owner of International Watch Company when he was alive. At the time of the marriage, Carl Jung's beau Emma was the second-richest successor in Switzerland. After her father's death, Emma and her sister, alongside their husbands, gained ownership of the company. The IWC was one of the main factors in increasing Carl's total income.
Although Carl's wife was not highly educated, Emma showed interest in her husband's research and acted as an assistant at Burghölzli. She later became a famous psychiatrist in her own right. Carl Jung's wife, Emma Jung, passed away in 1995. The lovely couple had five offsprings together and were named Agathe Jung, Gret Jung, Marianne Jung, Franz Jung-Merker, and Helene Jung. According to a survey published in 2002, Jung was ranked as the 23rd most mentioned psychologist of the 20th century.
Carl Jung was married to Johannes Rauschenbach's daughter Emma Rauschenbach. Image Source: Social Media.
In addition, Carl Jung was also rumored to be in a relationship with famous Russian psychoanalysts Sabina Spielrein and Swiss analyst Toni Wolff while he was still married to Emma Jung. However, very few details about Jung's personal life regarding other women are known to the public.
Nevertheless, after all his achievements and the great work he did, Carl Gustav Jung passed away on June 6, 1961. Following his demise, Carl Jung's descendants have taken over the responsibility of publishing and distributing his archives and studies.
Carl Jung's Descendants
In 1995, the famous Swiss psychologist's descendants were accused of supporting themselves from royalties from Jung's books by Harvard researcher Mr. Richard Noll. He stated that Carl Jung has falsified dates concerning the theory of the collective unconscious.
Mr. Noll also added that Jung was the most influential liar of the 20th century and was denied access to the papers by Jung's family. If the paper were proven to be a mistake, Carl Jung's legacy would have collapsed by a lot. Anyways, the Jung estate has not let anyone have any access to Jung's files for now. Carl Jung's descendants are currently residing in Zurich, Switzerland.
Trivia and Fun Facts
- Carl Jung developed the theory of Introvert and Extrovert.
- His four theories of consciousness include The Self, Persona, Shadow, and Anima/Animus.
- He is the founder of analytical psychology.
