John Bonner was the managing editor of Harper’s Weekly, 1858-1863.  He was born in Quebec, Canada, in 1828.  After graduating from Queen’s College in Kingston, Ontario, he lived for six years in Paris studying law and medicine.  He immigrated to New York City around 1851 and joined the editorial staff of the New York Herald.  He was hired by as managing editor of Harper’s Weekly in 1858 and then left that position five years later to pursue business interests.  In the late 1860s, he moved to San Francisco, where he worked for various newspapers, including the Examiner.  He was the author of several books, including A Treatise on the Registry Laws of Canada, a history of The Old Régime of the [French] Revolution, and children’s histories of France, Greece, Rome, Spain, and the United States.