About Rudolph Bronner
Lived 1890 – 1960 (aged 69). Rudolph Bronner was an Australian civil servant and broadcasting executive.
Rudolph "Rudi" Bronner (27 September 1890 – 17 January 1960) was an Australian executive, National controller of talks for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (later Corporation).
History Bronner was the second son of Carl or Charles Bronner ( – 26 February 1944) and his first wife Marian or Marion "Marie" Bronner née Schmidhauser (died 10 April 1903). He married again, on 24 December 1907, to (Frances) May Shaw, née Hussey. Charles had six children by Marian and two by May. Their home for many years was "Helvetia", Victoria Street, Goodwood. Bronner was born in Lyndoch and educated at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide, where he graduated BA in 1912, then Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Philosophy and Social Sciences, and befriended Aldous Huxley. While in England he married Pauline Berkeley Bartels, also from Adelaide. He enlisted with the London Rifle Brigade on 26 April 1917 and served in Europe, where he was wounded but able to remain with his unit until cessation of hostilities.
On his return to Adelaide he lectured for the Workers' Educational Association then in 1921 was appointed assistant director of tutorial classes, University of Melbourne. In 1928 he moved to Germany, where at the University of Freiburg he studied under Professor Heussel and lectured as Reader in English, and developed an abiding love of the German language and its literature.
Bronner returned to Adelaide in 1934, and in September 1935 was appointed to the staff of the Australian Broadcasting Commission as assistant controller of talks, which became a National appointment in 1935 and moved to Sydney, where in 1937 he was appointed Federal controller of broadcasts to schools, a function which had previously been State-based.
Bronner retired in 1955 and died after a series of strokes, and was cremated.
Family Bronner married Pauline Berkeley "Pauli" Bartels (1894– ) in England on 7 April 1917. She was a daughter of Adolph Bartels, Adelaide businessman and mayor. They had one daughter: Elizabeth Pauline Berkeley Bronner (1919– ) married Donald Malcolm Reid in Sydney on 6 August 1940. She held a pilot's licence at 18 Donald was a grandson of Adelaide businessman Malcolm Reid."elder son of Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm P. Reid. Marrayatville". Elizabeth and Donald had a daughter in 1943.
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Important facts
People in Rudolph Bronner's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Rudolph Bronner's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Rudolph Bronner?
(1890-1960) radio administrator
When was Rudolph Bronner born?
Rudolph Bronner was born on 27 September 1890 in Lyndoch.
When did Rudolph Bronner die?
Rudolph Bronner died on 17 January 1960 in Wahroonga.
What was Rudolph Bronner's occupation?
Rudolph Bronner was a civil servant and broadcasting executive.
What nationality was Rudolph Bronner?
Rudolph Bronner was Australian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rudolph Bronner. https://biography.guide/rudolph-bronner/
MLA: "Rudolph Bronner." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rudolph-bronner/.
Chicago: "Rudolph Bronner." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rudolph-bronner/.
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