Francesca Bonnemaison i Farriols

Francesca Bonnemaison i Farriols was a Spanish Catalan educator and promoter of female education in Catalonia. She established Biblioteca Popular de la Dona, first library exclusively for women in Europe, in Barcelona in 1909.

Early life

Bonnemaison was born on 12 April 1872 in Barcelona to father of French origin and Catalan mother. Her father was an affluent businessman. She was given a strong religious upbringing and learnt different languages, painting and music in her early life.
In 1893, at the age of 21, she married Narcís Verdaguer i Callís, a lawyer and politician. She collaborated with him at his law firm.

Female education

Bonnemaison devised a project, Women's Popular Library and the Culture Institute, in 1909 to provide opportunity to single, working-class women to get education. She established first library exclusively for women in Europe, Biblioteca Popular de la Dona, at Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera, Barcelona.