William Hartshorn Bonsall (February 10, 1846 – July 20, 1905) was an American military man, newspaper and magazine publisher, real-estate investor and insurance adjuster who was the effective manager of the California Veterans home in the 19th century and was a president of the Los Angeles City Council in the 20th.

[1][2] He died on July 20, 1905, in the family home at 1315 West Adams Street (in today's University Park area,[3][4] after complaining of a heart ailment ten days previously and being ill all that time.

At the close of the Civil War in 1865, he was offered the rank of major, but declined due to the death of his father, which made him responsible for the rest of the family.

[1][2] In November 1866 the family moved to Los Angeles, where he began a real estate business along with Theodore Wiesendanger in the Bryson Block at the corner of Main and Court streets.

"[11] During the Republican William McKinley administration, Bonsall was appointed a member of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

[1] Requiring approval by Congress in a joint resolution, his 1898 appointment was opposed in the House of Representatives by Rep. Eugene F. Loud, who said that he had not received a "fair hearing" in the matter and that Bonsall was "unknown to the volunteer soldiers."

He was in Buffalo, New York, the day President McKinley died, and with other board members he attended the funeral ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and Canton, Ohio.

[14]In 1889, Bonsall was elected on the Republican ticket to the City Council from the 3rd Ward, running against Charles Gassen, the Democratic nominee, and Dr. Bryant, an independent.