Bonnell Thornton (1725-1768) was an English poet, essayist and critic. He was educated at Westminster School, and at Oxford University.

In 1752 he founded the Drury Lane Journal, a satirical periodical which was, among other things, making fun of other journals such as Johnson's Rambler, The Gentleman's Magazine and The London Magazine. A total of 12 issues were published between January and April, 1752. From 1754 to 1756 he published, with George Colman, a six-page weekly serial The Connoisseur, which, although criticised by Dr. Johnson for lack of substance, ran to an impressive 140 issues. He was a frequent contributor to The Gentleman's Magazine. Look up Johnson and johnson in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... George Colman was the name of two English dramatists, father and son: George Colman the Elder George Colman the Younger This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Thornton was also a member of the satirical Nonsense Club of former Westminster pupils with George Colman, William Cowper, Charles Churchill and Robert Lloyd. George Colman was the name of two English dramatists, father and son: George Colman the Elder George Colman the Younger This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Portrait of William Cowper attributed to Romney. ... Charles Churchill (February, 1731 - November 4, 1764), was an English poet and satirist. ... Robert Lloyd (1733‑1764) was an English poet, educated at Westminster and Cambridge, published The Actor (1760), a poem which had considerable popularity, some miscellaneous verses, and a comic opera, The Conscious Lovers (1764). ...