Michael Thonet (2 July 1796 – 3 March 1871) was a German-Austrian cabinet maker, known for the invention of bentwood furniture.

However, his attempts to patent the technology failed in Germany (1840) as well as in Great Britain, France and Russia (1841).

As the Boppard establishment got into financial difficulties, Thonet sold it and emigrated to Vienna with his family.

There, he worked with his sons on the interior decoration of the Stadtpalais Liechtenstein for the Carl Leistler establishment.

The Great Exhibition in London 1851 saw him receive the bronze medal for his Vienna bentwood chairs.

At the next World's Fair, Exposition Universelle in Paris 1855, he was awarded the silver medal as he continued to improve his production methods.

209 with its curved armrests, which Le Corbusier adored, and in 1904 the art nouveau armchair 247 by Otto Wagner, the so-called postal savings bank chair, to name but a few.

Today, a museum in the factory in Frankenberg showcases the firm's history and the Thonet design.

Since he founded his first woodworking shop in 1819 in Boppard, the name Thonet has stood for high-quality, innovative and elegant furniture.

Today, Thorsten Muck runs the company with its head offices and production facilities in Frankenberg.

Michael Thonet's direct descendants in the fifth and sixth generation remain involved in the company's business as associates and sales partners.

[4] Often mispronounced "tho-nay" the name is pronounced "toe-net" with a hard beginning and ending t. The Museum of Applied Arts, MAK Vienna hosts the largest collection of original Thonet chairs in Austria.