Bonnier family

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The Bonnier family is an influential Swedish family of German-Jewish origin, active in the publishing business since the 19th century. The family controls the media group Bonnier AB.

[edit] Family background

Gerhard Bonnier (1778–1862)

The earliest known member of the patriarchal line of the family was a German-Jewish cloth salesman named Jacob Schye (born 1674) from the town of Soborten in Bohemia. His son, the jeweller Löbel Schie (1718–1790), fathered the jeweller and coin dealer Löbel Salomon Hirschel (born 1745). Hirschel's son, Gutkind Hirschel (1778–1862) moved from Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1801 and changed his name to Gerhard Bonnier (the name Bonnier is a French variant of the German given name Gutkind). In Copenhagen, Gerhard Bonnier started a library, a bookstore and also started a publishing company.

Gerhard Bonnier's oldest son, Adolf Bonnier (1806–1867) moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1827 to try to expand the family's business. He opened up a library in the city in the following year. A few years later business was started in Stockholm as well. Adolf Bonnier started a publishing company in 1834 and his two younger brothers, David Felix Bonnier (1822–1881) and Albert Bonnier (1820–1900), soon moved to Stockholm to help in his business.