TheGossler family (also spelledGoßler, historically alsoGosler), including theBerenberg-Gossler branch, is aHanseatic and partiallynoblebanking family fromHamburg.
The family is descended fromweavers andburghers in thecity-republic of Hamburg, and rose to great prominence in Hamburg in the late 18th century as a result ofJohann Hinrich Gossler's marriage toElisabeth Berenberg, the last member of the Belgian-originedBerenberg family and the sole heir toBerenberg Bank. Through marriage, the family thus became the main owners of the bank, which has legally been namedJoh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. since 1791. Since the late 18th century the family has been widely regarded as one of the two most prominent Hanseatic families of Hamburg, alongside the closely relatedAmsinck family.[1] A branch of the Gossler family was granted the name Berenberg-Gossler by the Hamburg Senate in 1880 and was later—controversially in therepublic of Hamburg, which did not recognise the concept ofnobility—conferredbaronial rank by theKingdom of Prussia.
Several family members served as senators in Hamburg in the 19th and early 20th century, andHermann Gossler was head of state in 1874.Richard J. Evans describes the family as one of Hamburg's "great business families."[2] TheGossler Islands inAntarctica are named in honour of the family.
The family's earliest known ancestor Claus Gossler (1630–1713), who was most likely avelvetweaver, was a burgher of Hamburg from 1656 and lived in the parish ofSt. Catherine. He was the father of, among others, Daniel, David, Albert and Jacob Gossler (1666–ca. 1732), who all became velvet weavers and Hamburg burghers. Jacob Gossler had nine children, among them Johann Eybert Gossler (1700–1776), who was an accountant and a Hamburg burgher, and who bought the ceremonial office ofHerrenschenk (i.e.cup-bearer; master of ceremonies of the Hamburg council) in 1739.[3]
Johann Eybert Gossler was the father of, among others, the bankerJohann Hinrich Gossler (1738–1790) and Johann Jacob Gossler (1758–1812), who served as a French colonel during theNapoleonic Wars and who died during theFrench invasion of Russia.
The bankerJohann Hinrich Gossler (1738–1790) started as an apprentice atBerenberg Bank; after marrying the sole heir to the company,Elisabeth Berenberg (1749–1822), he was named a partner in 1769 by his father-in-lawJohann Berenberg and became the bank's sole owner upon the latter's death in 1772. In 1788 Gossler accepted his own son-in-lawL.E. Seyler as a partner. Seyler was married to Anna Henriette Gossler, the eldest daughter of Johann Hinrich Gossler and Elisabeth Berenberg, and became head of Berenberg Bank in 1790.
Johann Hinrich Gossler's sonJohann Heinrich Gossler (II) became a partner in 1798 and served as a HamburgSenator from 1821. He eventually succeeded his brother-in-law Seyler as head of Berenberg Bank, and was in turn succeeded as head of the company by his own son Johann Heinrich Gossler (III), who also served as consul-general ofHawaii. The latter's brotherHermann Gossler was a lawyer and senator and served asFirst Mayor and President of the Senate, i.e.head of state of the city-republic, in 1874.[4][3]
In 1880Johann (known as John) Berenberg Gossler, longtime head of Berenberg Bank and son of Johann Heinrich Gossler (III), was granted the name Berenberg-Gossler by the Hamburg Senate. He was ennobled byPrussia in 1889 and granted the title ofBaron by the Prussian king in 1910;[5] the ennoblement was controversial in the strictly republican city-republic of Hamburg, where nobility did not exist and where (foreign) nobles were traditionally barred from holding political office and even from owning property;[6] according toRichard J. Evans, "the wealthy of nineteenth-century Hamburg were for the most part stern republicans, abhorring titles, refusing to accord any deference to the Prussian nobility, and determinedly loyal to their urban background and mercantile heritage."[7]
One of Baron Johann von Berenberg-Gossler's sons,John von Berenberg-Gossler, served as a Hamburg senator 1908–1920 and as German Ambassador to Rome 1920–1921. John's younger brother, BaronCornelius von Berenberg-Gossler, succeeded his father as head of Berenberg Bank in 1913. He was succeeded by his son, BaronHeinrich von Berenberg-Gossler in 1932; Heinrich von Berenberg-Gossler also served asconsul general ofMonaco.
TheGossler Islands inAntarctica andGossler's Park in Hamburg are named for the family.
Wilhelm Gossler (1811–1895) was the grandfather of the painter and sculptorMary Warburg, who was married to the art historian and cultural theoristAby Warburg, a member of theWarburg banking family.
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