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Johann Hinrich GosslerGerman banker
Date of Birth: 18.08.1738
Country:  Germany |
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Johann Heinrich Gossler
Johann Heinrich Gossler, a prominent German banker, was born on August 18, 1738, in Hamburg, Germany. He was a scion of a distinguished Hamburg family that had been residing in the city since the 14th century. His paternal ancestors were velvet manufacturers, while his father purchased his promotion to become a Hamburg Councillor for 10,600 marks. Gossler's maternal grandfather, Jurgen Friedrich Bodeker, was a Hamburg merchant and an honorary citizen from 1706.
Banking Career
Gossler joined the firm of Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co., commonly known as "Berenberg Bank," as an apprentice in his youth. The company, founded by the Dutch Berenberg family in 1590, engaged in merchant banking, insurance, shipping, and commodity trading. After seven years, Gossler left Hamburg at the age of 22 and went to work for the company's branch in Cadiz, Spain. He traveled extensively throughout Spain, Portugal, France, and England.
In 1768, Gossler returned to Hamburg and married Elisabeth Berenberg (1749-1822), the sole heiress of the Berenberg banking family. The death of the Berenberg founder, Johann Berenberg, on March 2, 1772, led to her father making Gossler a full partner in 1769. With the demise of Elisabeth's brother, Cornelius, in 1773, the male line of the Berenberg dynasty became extinct, making Gossler the sole owner of the company.
In 1788, Gossler admitted his son-in-law, Ludwig Erdwin Seyler, who had married his daughter Anna Henriette Gossler, as a partner. Johann was also the father of Johann Heinrich Gossler II, a Hamburg senator and banker, and the grandfather of Hermann Gossler, a lawyer, Hamburg senator, and first mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and Johann Heinrich Gossler III, a banker. Gossler III was the father of Johann Berenberg Gossler.
Recognition and Legacy
In 1880, the Hamburg Senate bestowed the honorary name Berenberg-Gossler upon Johann Berenberg Gossler. In 1888, the family was ennobled in the Kingdom of Prussia, and the prefix "von" was added to the Berenberg-Gossler surname. In 1910, Johann von Berenberg-Gossler received the title of baron. Baron Johann von Berenberg-Gossler was the father of John von Berenberg-Gossler, a senator and German ambassador to Rome.
Johann Heinrich Gossler passed away on August 31, 1790, in Hamburg. His legacy as a prominent banker and a respected citizen of Hamburg continues to this day.
