Johann Berenberg (born 12 March 1718 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, died 2 March 1772 in Hamburg) was a Hamburg merchant banker. He was a co-owner of

Berenberg Bank Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, commonly known as Berenberg Bank and also branded as simply Berenberg, is a multinational full-service investment bank based in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded by the Flemish Berenberg family in 1590 () and ...

from 1748, with his brother, senator Paul Berenberg, and after the latter's death in 1768 the sole owner. The bank still bears his name (Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co.). He was also noted as an art collector and held several public offices in the city-state of Hamburg. He was a son of the Hamburg merchant banker and senator Rudolf Berenberg (1680–1746) and Anna Elisabeth

Amsinck Amsinck is a Dutch people, Dutch-origined patrician (post-Roman Europe), patrician family whose members were prominent merchants in multiple countries including the Netherlands, Hamburg, Portugal, England, France, Kingdom of Hanover, Hanover, Ho ...

(1690–1748), and a grandson of

Cornelius Berenberg Cornelius Berenberg (1634 – 1711) was a Hamburg grand burgher, merchant banker, a member of the Berenberg family, and owner of Berenberg Bank. His grandfather Hans Berenberg (1561–1626) had fled from Antwerp with his brother Paul Berenberg ...

and of the Lisbon and Hamburg merchant Paul Amsinck. He was also a great-grandson of the scholar Rudolf Capell, and was descended from the

Welser Welser was a Germans, German banking and merchant family, originally a patrician (post-Roman Europe), patrician family based in Augsburg and Nuremberg, that rose to great prominence in international high finance in the 16th century as bankers t ...

family. Both his parents' families were from today's

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and his family retained its Dutch identity throughout his lifetime. An extensive list of his ancestors is included in the ''

Hamburgisches Geschlechterbuch The ''Deutsches Geschlechterbuch'', until 1943 known as the ''Genealogisches Handbuch bürgerlicher Familien'', is a major German genealogical handbook of bourgeois or patrician families. It is the bourgeois and patrician equivalent of the '' Gen ...

''. The Berenberg company had been founded by his 2nd great-grandfather Hans Berenberg and the latter's brother Paul in 1590; both were married to daughters of the prominent

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

merchant Andries Snellinck and Françoise de Rénialme. At the age of 17 he was sent to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, where he learnt his trade as an apprentice in a Venice firm between 1735 and 1741; his father had started his career as an apprentice in the same firm. In 1748 he became owner of the Berenberg company together with his brother Paul. He also held numerous honorary offices in Hamburg. He was married to Anna Maria Lastrop (1723–1761), who belonged to a wealthy merchant family from Hamburg and Bremen, and they had two children. His only son Rudolf Berenberg was possibly mentally ill and died in the Dutch colony of

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

in 1768, aged 20; he had apparently been sent to manage his family's business interests there. In the same year, senator Paul Berenberg died without an heir, making Johann Berenberg's daughter Elisabeth the last surviving member of the

Berenberg family The Berenberg family (Dutch for "bear mountain") was a Flemish-origined Hanseatic family of merchants, bankers and senators in Hamburg, with branches in London, Livorno and other European cities. The family was descended from the brothers Hans a ...

. In 1768, she married an employee of the Berenberg company,

Johann Hinrich Gossler Johann Hinrich Gossler (born 18 August 1738 in Hamburg, died 31 August 1790 in Hamburg) was a German banker and grand burgher of Hamburg, a member of the Hanseatic Berenberg/Gossler banking dynasty and the owner and head of the firm Joh. Berenb ...

, and in 1769, Johann Berenberg made his son-in-law a partner. Three years after Berenberg's death, Johann Hinrich Gossler succeeded him as the company's head and sole owner."Berenberg, Johann," in ''

Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie The ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' (''DBE'') is a biographical dictionary published by Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus (from the third to fourth volume), the first edition of which was published from 1995 to 2003 in 13 volumes by K. G ...

'', Vol. 1,

Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

publishing house, 2005, ,

References

Literature

Percy Ernst Schramm Percy Ernst Schramm (14 October 1894 – 21 November 1970) was a German historian who specialized in art history and medieval history. Schramm was a Chair and Professor of History at the University of Göttingen from 1929 to 1963. Early lif ...

, ''Neun Generationen: Dreihundert Jahre deutscher Kulturgeschichte im Lichte der Schicksale einer Hamburger Bürgerfamilie (1648–1948)''. Vol. I and II, Göttingen 1963/64. *

, "Johann Berenberg," ''

Neue Deutsche Biographie ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...

'', 2, 1955, p. 68 *"Johann Berenberg," ''Hamburgische Biografie'', vol. 1, p. 43 {{DEFAULTSORT:Berenberg, Johann 1718 births 1772 deaths German bankers

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

Berenberg Bank people Grand burghers of Hamburg 18th-century German businesspeople