Axel Robert Schönthal

Axel Robert Schönthal (12 June 1858 – 10 March 1929) was a Swedish engineer, known for being the founder and first chairman of the sports club Hammarby IF in Stockholm.

Biography Axel Robert Schönthal was born in Norrköping to a Swedish- family, of Bavarian descent. His father was said to working in Norrköping, but non of this information is certain.

At age 20, he moved to Södermalm, a district in the Stockholm City Centre. He studied to become an engineer and found employment at Stockholms Bomullsspinneri- och Väfveri AB. Throughout his professional career, Schönthal worked as a supervisor at their cotton spinning mill Barnängen.

Founding Hammarby IF In 1884, Schönthal started to organise rowing competitions in Stockholm, which often drew attendances of some 1,000 people, allegedly drawing inspiration from the United Kingdom where he had lived for a couple of years in his teens.

By 1897, the club had diversified into different sports following demands from its members, with the first other being athletics, and it was renamed Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), or Hammarby IF for short. The new multi-sport club was officially established on 7 March said year, with Carl Julius Sundholm taking the inaugural chairman position.