Willem Bonger

Willem Adriaan Bonger
Born(1876-09-06)September 6, 1876
Amsterdam, Netherlands
DiedMay 15, 1940(1940-05-15) (aged 63)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cause of deathSuicide
Known forEarly Marxist criminology; analysis of economic factors on crime; opposition to Nazism and fascism
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam
ThesisCriminalité et conditions économiques (1905)
Doctoral advisorG.A. van Hamel
InfluencesKarl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Karl Kautsky, S. R. Steinmetz
Academic work
DisciplineCriminology, Sociology
InstitutionsUniversity of Amsterdam
Notable worksCriminalité et conditions économiques (1905), Geloof en misdaad (1913), Problems of Democracy. A sociological and psychological study (1934), Ras en misdaad (1939)

Willem Adriaan Bonger (September 6, 1876 – May 15, 1940) was a Dutch criminologist and sociologist. He is considered an early Marxist criminologist which through his work, criminology stood out as an autonomous science, making its interrelationship with sociology more evident according to a scientific approach.