Joseph Thornton (1808 – 2 June 1891) was a bookseller who founded Thornton's Bookshop in 1835 in Oxford, England, the oldest university bookshop in the city. Thornton's first bookshop was in Magdalen Street. He then moved to 51 High Street in 1840. He moved back to Magdalen Street in 1853 and to 10 Broad Street in 1863. In 1870, he moved to 11 Broad Street, where the shop remained as a family firm for many years, finally closing in 2002.