Carl Bertelsmann, a printer and bookbinder, founded C. Bertelsmann Verlag in 1835.
The program during the first 100 years of the publisher’s history was dominated by the Protestant Christian tradition. The founder’s son Heinrich Bertelsmann, and the latter’s son-in-law Johannes Mohn, continued to lead the company in the traditional spirit, but gradually expanded the publishing program to include philology, history and youth literature, as well as mission literature. At the same time, they were involved in church and municipal bodies for the public good.