| Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
|---|
| Adolf von Baeyer |
Chemist |
31-Oct-1835 |
20-Aug-1917 |
Synthesized indigo |
| Steven C. Beering |
Educator |
20-Aug-1932 |
|
President of Purdue, 1983-2000 |
| Walter Benjamin |
Philosopher |
15-Jul-1892 |
26-Sep-1940 |
The Arcades Project |
| Eduard Bernstein |
Politician |
6-Jan-1850 |
18-Dec-1932 |
Evolutionary Socialism |
| Elisabeth Bing |
Activist |
8-Jul-1914 |
15-May-2015 |
Natural childbirth movement |
| W. Michael Blumenthal |
Government |
3-Jan-1926 |
|
US Secretary of the Treasury, 1977-79 |
| Curt Bois |
Actor |
5-Apr-1901 |
25-Dec-1991 |
Pickpocket in Casablanca |
| Rudy Boschwitz |
Business |
7-Nov-1930 |
|
US Senator from Minnesota, 1978-91 |
| Horst Buchholz |
Actor |
4-Dec-1933 |
3-Mar-2003 |
The Magnificent Seven |
| Ernst B. Chain |
Scientist |
19-Jun-1906 |
12-Aug-1979 |
Isolated penicillin |
| Katharine Cornell |
Actor |
16-Feb-1898 |
9-Jun-1974 |
The Barretts of Wimpole Street |
| Max Delbrück |
Scientist |
4-Sep-1906 |
10-Mar-1981 |
Molecular structure of viral genes (phages) |
| Marlene Dietrich |
Actor |
27-Dec-1901 |
6-May-1992 |
The Blue Angel |
| Karl Doenitz |
Military |
16-Sep-1891 |
2-Dec-1980 |
U-Boat admiral |
| Klaus Eppler |
Attorney |
8-May-1930 |
|
Retired Partner, Proskauer Rose |
| Paul Peter Ewald |
Physicist |
23-Jan-1888 |
22-Aug-1985 |
X-Ray crystallographer |
| Frank Eyck |
Historian |
13-Jul-1921 |
28-Dec-2004 |
Religion and Politics in German History |
| Hans Eysenck |
Psychologist |
4-Mar-1916 |
4-Sep-1997 |
Intelligence and personality |
| Thomas L. Farmer |
Attorney |
26-Jul-1923 |
5-Feb-2015 |
Overseas Development Council |
| Fritz Feld |
Actor |
15-Oct-1900 |
18-Nov-1993 |
Bringing Up Baby |
| Friedrich Karl Flick |
Business |
3-Feb-1927 |
5-Oct-2006 |
Richest man in Austria |
| Werner Forssmann |
Doctor |
29-Aug-1904 |
2-Jun-1979 |
Cardiac catheterization |
| Lukas Foss |
Conductor |
15-Aug-1922 |
1-Feb-2009 |
Director, Buffalo Philharmonic, 1963-71 |
| Frederick the Great |
Royalty |
24-Jan-1712 |
17-Aug-1786 |
King of Prussia, 1740-86 |
| Frederick William IV |
Royalty |
15-Oct-1795 |
2-Jan-1861 |
King of Prussia, 1840-61 |
| Henry Friedlander |
Historian |
24-Sep-1930 |
17-Oct-2012 |
The Origins of Nazi Genocide |
| Wilhelm Furtwängler |
Conductor |
25-Jan-1886 |
30-Nov-1954 |
Pre-War German conductor |
| Peter Gay |
Historian |
20-Jun-1923 |
12-May-2015 |
The Enlightenment: An Interpretation |
| Götz George |
Actor |
23-Jul-1938 |
|
Schtonk! |
| Magda Goebbels |
Relative |
11-Nov-1901 |
1-May-1945 |
Wife of Joseph Goebbels |
| Bill Graham |
Business |
8-Jan-1931 |
25-Oct-1991 |
Rock & roll promoter |
| J. A. S. Grenville |
Historian |
11-Jan-1928 |
7-Mar-2011 |
Lord Salisbury and Foreign Policy |
| Walter Gropius |
Architect |
18-May-1883 |
5-Jul-1969 |
Founder of the Bauhaus school |
| George Grosz |
Artist |
26-Jul-1893 |
6-Jul-1959 |
German social caricaturist |
| Alexander Grothendieck |
Mathematician |
28-May-1928 |
13-Nov-2014 |
Grothendieck topologies |
| Albert Hague |
Composer |
13-Oct-1920 |
12-Nov-2001 |
Redhead |
| Veit Harlan |
Film Director |
22-Sep-1899 |
13-Apr-1964 |
Jud S�ss |
| Eduard von Hartmann |
Philosopher |
23-Feb-1842 |
5-Jun-1906 |
Philosophy of the Unconscious |
| Gordon Hessler |
Film Director |
12-Dec-1930 |
19-Jan-2014 |
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad |
| Karl M. von der Heyden |
Business |
? |
|
Vice Chairman of Pepsi, 1996-2001 |
| Paul von Heyse |
Author |
15-Mar-1830 |
2-Apr-1914 |
L'Arrabbiata |
| Peter B. Hirsch |
Scientist |
16-Jan-1925 |
|
Electron microscopy in metallurgy |
| Alexander von Humboldt |
Geographer |
14-Sep-1769 |
6-May-1859 |
Cosmos |
| Julia Jentsch |
Actor |
20-Feb-1978 |
|
The Edukators |
| Gottfried John |
Actor |
29-Aug-1942 |
|
GoldenEye |
| Nastassja Kinski |
Model |
24-Jan-1959 |
|
Cat People |
| Fritz Kolbe |
Spy |
25-Sep-1900 |
1971 |
Allied mole in WWII Berlin |
| Henry Koster |
Film Director |
1-May-1905 |
21-Sep-1988 |
The Bishop's Wife |
| Nicolette Krebitz |
Actor |
2-Sep-1971 |
|
The Tunnel |
| Willy Ley |
Author |
2-Oct-1906 |
24-May-1969 |
The Conquest of Space |
| Arthur O. Lovejoy |
Historian |
10-Oct-1873 |
30-Dec-1962 |
The Great Chain of Being |
| Ernst Lubitsch |
Film Director |
28-Jan-1892 |
30-Nov-1947 |
To Be or Not To Be |
| Christa Ludwig |
Singer |
16-Mar-1928 |
|
Operatic mezzo-soprano |
| Hans Luther |
Head of State |
10-Mar-1885 |
11-May-1962 |
German Chancellor 1925-26 |
| Herbert Marcuse |
Philosopher |
19-Jul-1898 |
29-Jul-1979 |
One-Dimensional Man |
| Peter Max |
Artist |
19-Oct-1937 |
|
Psychedelic art has featured Statues of Liberty |
| Audra McDonald |
Actor |
3-Jul-1970 |
|
A Raisin in the Sun |
| Kurt Mendelssohn |
Mathematician |
7-Jan-1906 |
18-Sep-1980 |
Cryogenics and pyramids |
| Inge Meysel |
Actor |
30-May-1910 |
11-Jul-2004 |
Popular German TV actress |
| Stephan Minikes |
Attorney |
29-Aug-1938 |
24-Sep-2011 |
US Ambassador to the OSCE, 2001-05 |
| Dominic Monaghan |
Actor |
8-Dec-1976 |
|
Charlie on Lost |
| Me'Shell NdegéOcello |
Singer |
29-Aug-1969 |
|
Eclectic R&B singer and bassist |
| Helmut Newton |
Photographer |
31-Oct-1920 |
23-Jan-2004 |
Celebrity photographer |
| Mike Nichols |
Film Director |
6-Nov-1931 |
19-Nov-2014 |
Primary Colors |
| Meret Oppenheim |
Artist |
6-Oct-1911 |
15-Nov-1985 |
Fur-covered teacup |
| Gerd Oswald |
Film Director |
9-Jun-1919 |
22-May-1989 |
A Kiss Before Dying |
| Pief Panofsky |
Physicist |
24-Apr-1919 |
24-Sep-2007 |
Stanford Linear Accelerator |
| Christiane Paul |
Actor |
8-Mar-1974 |
|
In July |
| Rudolf Peierls |
Physicist |
5-Jun-1907 |
19-Sep-1995 |
Frisch-Peierls Memorandum |
| John C. Polanyi |
Chemist |
23-Jan-1929 |
|
Infrared chemiluminescence |
| André Previn |
Pianist |
6-Apr-1929 |
|
Concert pianist and orchestral conductor |
| Hermann Prey |
Singer |
11-Jul-1929 |
22-Jul-1998 |
Operatic baritone, Figaro |
| John Price |
Diplomat |
18-Aug-1933 |
|
US Ambassador to Mauritius, 2002-05 |
| Jürgen Prochnow |
Actor |
10-Jun-1941 |
|
Das Boot |
| Rex Reason |
Actor |
30-Nov-1928 |
19-Nov-2015 |
Adam MacLean on Man Without a Gun |
| Natacha Régnier |
Actor |
11-Apr-1972 |
|
The Dreamlife of Angels |
| Andrew Sachs |
Actor |
7-Apr-1930 |
23-Nov-2016 |
Manuel on Fawlty Towers |
| Nelly Sachs |
Poet |
10-Dec-1891 |
12-May-1970 |
O the Chimneys |
| Moritz Schlick |
Philosopher |
14-Apr-1882 |
22-Jun-1936 |
Positivist philosopher, Vienna Circle |
| Alexander von Schlippenbach |
Pianist |
7-Apr-1938 |
|
Improv pianist and bandleader |
| Karl Schnabel |
Pianist |
6-Aug-1909 |
27-Aug-2001 |
Modern Technique of the Pedal |
| Gershom Scholem |
Historian |
5-Dec-1897 |
21-Feb-1982 |
Revolutionized the study of Kabbalah |
| Max Schreck |
Actor |
6-Sep-1879 |
20-Feb-1936 |
Nosferatu |
| Klaus Schulze |
Electronic Musician |
4-Aug-1947 |
|
Synthesizer pioneer |
| Peter Sebastian |
Diplomat |
19-Jun-1926 |
22-Mar-2011 |
US Ambassador to Tunisia, 1984-87 |
| Georg Simmel |
Sociologist |
1-Mar-1858 |
26-Sep-1918 |
Philosophy of Money |
| Elke Sommer |
Actor |
5-Nov-1940 |
|
Deadlier Than the Male |
| Willi Stoph |
Head of State |
9-Jul-1914 |
13-Apr-1999 |
East German leader, 1973-76 |
| Gustav Stresemann |
Head of State |
10-May-1878 |
3-Oct-1929 |
German Chancellor 1923 |
| Ludwig Tieck |
Novelist |
31-May-1773 |
28-Apr-1853 |
Franz Sternbalds Wanderungen |
| Walther von Brauchitsch |
Military |
4-Oct-1881 |
18-Oct-1948 |
Nazi general, failed to capture Moscow |
| Christoph von Dohnányi |
Conductor |
8-Sep-1929 |
|
Conductor, Cleveland Orchestra, 1984-2002 |
| Erich von Manstein |
Military |
24-Nov-1887 |
10-Jun-1973 |
Nazi general |
| Baldur von Schirach |
Government |
9-Mar-1907 |
8-Aug-1974 |
Hitler-Jugend, Gauleiter of Vienna |
| Karl-Heinrich von Stuelpnagel |
Military |
2-Jan-1886 |
30-Aug-1944 |
Nazi general, tried to overthrow Hitler |
| Henry C. Wallich |
Economist |
10-Jun-1914 |
16-Sep-1988 |
Council of Economic Advisers, 1959-61 |
| Bruno Walter |
Conductor |
15-Sep-1876 |
17-Feb-1962 |
Conductor, Leipzig Gewandhaus, 1929-33 |
| Alfred Wegener |
Scientist |
1-Nov-1880 |
Nov-1930 |
Continental drift |
| Joseph Weizenbaum |
Computer Programmer |
8-Jan-1923 |
5-Mar-2008 |
ELIZA |
| Kaiser Wilhelm II |
Head of State |
27-Jan-1859 |
4-Jun-1941 |
Last of the German emperors |
| Adolf Windaus |
Chemist |
25-Dec-1876 |
9-Jun-1959 |
Investigated cholesterol, Vitamin D |
| Georg Wittig |
Chemist |
16-Jun-1897 |
26-Aug-1987 |
Wittig Reaction |
| Werner F. Wolfen |
Attorney |
15-May-1930 |
|
Former Partner, Irell & Manella |
| Dana Wynter |
Actor |
8-Jun-1931 |
5-May-2011 |
Sink the Bismarck! |
| Konrad Zuse |
Engineer |
22-Jun-1910 |
18-Dec-1995 |
Built first Turing-complete computer |
| Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
|---|
| Gerd Albrecht |
Conductor |
19-Jun-1935 |
2-Feb-2014 |
Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, 1998-2007 |
| David Anderson |
Diplomat |
3-Jan-1937 |
4-Jul-1997 |
US Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1981-85 |
| Artur Axmann |
Government |
18-Feb-1913 |
24-Oct-1996 |
Hitler Youth leader |
| Rudolf Bahro |
Philosopher |
18-Nov-1935 |
5-Dec-1997 |
The Alternative in Eastern Europe |
| Ludwig Beck |
Military |
29-Jun-1880 |
20-Jul-1944 |
Supported failed coup against Hitler |
| Peter Behrens |
Architect |
14-Apr-1868 |
27-Feb-1940 |
Invented corporate identity |
| Gottfried Benn |
Poet |
2-May-1886 |
7-Jul-1956 |
Postwar Germany's T. S. Eliot |
| Anita Berber |
Actor |
10-Jun-1899 |
10-Nov-1928 |
Scarlet whore of Berlin |
| Eduard Bernstein |
Politician |
6-Jan-1850 |
18-Dec-1932 |
Evolutionary Socialism |
| Boris Blacher |
Composer |
19-Jan-1903 |
30-Jan-1975 |
Die Nachtschwalbe |
| Michael Bohnen |
Singer |
2-May-1887 |
26-Apr-1965 |
Operatic bass baritone |
| Curt Bois |
Actor |
5-Apr-1901 |
25-Dec-1991 |
Pickpocket in Casablanca |
| Franz Bopp |
Linguist |
14-Sep-1791 |
23-Oct-1867 |
Comparative Grammar |
| Martin Bormann |
Government |
17-Jun-1900 |
2-May-1945 |
Adolf Hitler's adjutant |
| Horst Buchholz |
Actor |
4-Dec-1933 |
3-Mar-2003 |
The Magnificent Seven |
| Ferruccio Busoni |
Pianist |
1-Apr-1866 |
27-Jul-1924 |
Fantasia Contrappuntistica |
| Eric Dolphy |
Jazz Musician |
20-Jun-1928 |
29-Jun-1964 |
Jazz saxophonist, clarinetist |
| Marion Dönhoff |
Journalist |
2-Dec-1909 |
11-Mar-2002 |
Die Zeit |
| Friedrich Ebert |
Head of State |
4-Feb-1871 |
28-Feb-1925 |
German Chancellor, 1918-19 |
| Johann Gottlieb Fichte |
Philosopher |
19-May-1762 |
27-Jan-1814 |
Critique of Revelation |
| Emil Fischer |
Chemist |
9-Oct-1852 |
15-Jul-1919 |
Peptide bond |
| Theodor Fontane |
Author |
30-Dec-1819 |
20-Sep-1898 |
Before the Storm |
| Frederick William III |
Royalty |
3-Aug-1770 |
7-Jun-1840 |
King of Prussia, 1797-1840 |
| Roland Freisler |
Government |
30-Oct-1893 |
3-Feb-1945 |
Headed the Reich Ministry of Justice |
| Klaus Fuchs |
Spy |
29-Dec-1911 |
28-Jan-1988 |
Manhattan Project scientist, spy for USSR |
| Mikhail Glinka |
Composer |
21-May-1804 |
3-Feb-1857 |
Ruslan and Lyudmila |
| Magda Goebbels |
Relative |
11-Nov-1901 |
1-May-1945 |
Wife of Joseph Goebbels |
| Carl Goerdeler |
Politician |
31-Jul-1884 |
2-Feb-1945 |
Politician, hanged by the Nazis |
| Eugen Goldstein |
Physicist |
5-Sep-1850 |
25-Dec-1930 |
Cathode rays |
| George Grosz |
Artist |
26-Jul-1893 |
6-Jul-1959 |
German social caricaturist |
| Franz Guertner |
Government |
26-Aug-1881 |
29-Jan-1941 |
Reich Minister of Justice |
| Hugo Haase |
Politician |
29-Sep-1863 |
7-Nov-1919 |
German parliamentarian, Marxist, pacifist |
| Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel |
Philosopher |
27-Aug-1770 |
14-Nov-1831 |
Phenomenology of Spirit |
| Gustav Hertz |
Physicist |
22-Jul-1887 |
30-Oct-1975 |
Franck-Hertz experiment |
| Georg Heym |
Poet |
30-Oct-1887 |
16-Jan-1912 |
Der ewige Tag |
| E. T. A. Hoffmann |
Author |
24-Jan-1776 |
25-Jun-1822 |
Das Fr�ulein van Scuderi |
| August Wilhelm von Hofmann |
Chemist |
8-Apr-1818 |
2-May-1892 |
Organic chemist, researched aniline |
| Friedrich von Holstein |
Politician |
24-Apr-1837 |
8-May-1909 |
Ran the German foreign office |
| Alexander von Humboldt |
Geographer |
14-Sep-1769 |
6-May-1859 |
Cosmos |
| Daniel Ernst Jablonski |
Religion |
20-Nov-1660 |
25-May-1741 |
Worked to unite protestantism |
| Karl Gustav Jacobi |
Mathematician |
10-Dec-1804 |
18-Feb-1851 |
Investigated elliptical functions |
| Joseph Joachim |
Violinist |
28-Jun-1831 |
15-Aug-1907 |
Virtuoso violinist, Joachim Quartet |
| Gustav Robert Kirchhoff |
Physicist |
12-Mar-1824 |
17-Oct-1887 |
Theory of spectrum analysis |
| Martin Heinrich Klaproth |
Chemist |
1-Dec-1743 |
1-Jan-1817 |
Discovered uranium, zirconium, titanium |
| Hildegard Knef |
Actor |
28-Dec-1925 |
1-Feb-2002 |
The Murderers Are Among Us |
| Johann Heinrich Lambert |
Mathematician |
26-Aug-1728 |
25-Sep-1777 |
Pyrometrie |
| Melvin J. Lasky |
Journalist |
15-Jan-1920 |
19-May-2004 |
Editor of journal Encounter |
| Max von Laue |
Physicist |
9-Oct-1879 |
23-Apr-1960 |
X-ray crystallography |
| Lilli Lehmann |
Singer |
24-Nov-1848 |
17-May-1929 |
Operatic, Wagnerian soprano |
| Richard Lepsius |
Historian |
23-Dec-1810 |
10-Jul-1884 |
German Egyptologist |
| Karl Lohmann |
Chemist |
10-Apr-1898 |
22-Apr-1978 |
Discovered ATP |
| Rosa Luxemburg |
Activist |
5-Mar-1871 |
15-Jan-1919 |
Co-Founder, Communist Party of Germany |
| Anthony Mann |
Film Director |
30-Jun-1906 |
29-Apr-1967 |
El Cid |
| Moses Mendelssohn |
Philosopher |
26-Sep-1729 |
4-Jan-1786 |
Brilliant German-Jewish philosopher |
| Yehudi Menuhin |
Violinist |
22-Apr-1916 |
12-Mar-1999 |
Child prodigy violinist, conductor |
| Brigitte Mira |
Actor |
20-Apr-1910 |
8-Mar-2005 |
Fassbinder actress |
| Karl Philipp Moritz |
Novelist |
15-Sep-1757 |
26-Jul-1793 |
Anton Reiser |
| Hermann Mueller |
Head of State |
18-May-1876 |
20-Mar-1931 |
German Chancellor 1920, 1928-30 |
| Friedrich Olbricht |
Military |
4-Oct-1888 |
20-Jul-1944 |
German general, failed coup plotter |
| Wilhelm Pieck |
Head of State |
3-Jan-1876 |
7-Sep-1960 |
President of East Germany, 1949-60 |
| Johann Christian Poggendorff |
Physicist |
29-Dec-1796 |
24-Jan-1877 |
Annalen der Physik und Chemie |
| Johannes Popitz |
Government |
2-Dec-1884 |
2-Feb-1945 |
Prussian finance minister 1933-44 |
| Samuel von Pufendorf |
Legal Scholar |
8-Jan-1632 |
13-Oct-1694 |
De iure natura et gentium |
| Leopold von Ranke |
Historian |
12-Dec-1795 |
23-May-1886 |
Prominent 19th century German historian |
| Johannes Rau |
Head of State |
16-Jan-1931 |
27-Jan-2006 |
President of Germany, 1999-2004 |
| Franz Reuleaux |
Mathematician |
30-Sep-1829 |
20-Aug-1905 |
Father of modern kinematics |
| Ernst Ruska |
Physicist |
25-Dec-1906 |
27-May-1988 |
Inventor of the electron microscope |
| Giuseppe Sarti |
Composer |
28-Dec-1729 |
28-Jul-1802 |
I Due Litiganti |
| Friedrich Schleiermacher |
Philosopher |
21-Nov-1768 |
12-Feb-1834 |
A founder of Protestant theology |
| Werner von Siemens |
Business |
13-Dec-1816 |
6-Dec-1892 |
Founder of Siemens AG |
| Giuseppe Sinopoli |
Conductor |
2-Nov-1946 |
20-Apr-2001 |
Principal Conductor, Philharmonia, 1984-94 |
| Max Stirner |
Philosopher |
25-Oct-1806 |
26-Jun-1856 |
Existential German nihilo-anarchist |
| Willi Stoph |
Head of State |
9-Jul-1914 |
13-Apr-1999 |
East German leader, 1973-76 |
| Gustav Stresemann |
Head of State |
10-May-1878 |
3-Oct-1929 |
German Chancellor 1923 |
| Peter Struck |
Government |
24-Jan-1943 |
19-Dec-2012 |
German Defense Minister, 2002-05 |
| Bayard Taylor |
Author |
11-Jan-1825 |
19-Dec-1878 |
Europe seen with Knapsack |
| Ludwig Tieck |
Novelist |
31-May-1773 |
28-Apr-1853 |
Franz Sternbalds Wanderungen |
| Walter Ulbricht |
Head of State |
30-Jun-1893 |
1-Aug-1973 |
East German leader, 1960-73 |
| Rudolf Virchow |
Doctor |
13-Oct-1821 |
5-Sep-1902 |
Pathology and progressive politics |
| Helmuth von Moltke |
Military |
26-Oct-1800 |
24-Apr-1891 |
German military strategist |
| Carl von Ossietzky |
Activist |
3-Oct-1889 |
4-May-1938 |
German pacifist, Nobel Prize recipient |
| Claus von Stauffenberg |
Military |
15-Nov-1907 |
20-Jul-1944 |
Tried to kill Hitler in 1944 |
| Erwin von Witzleben |
Military |
4-Dec-1881 |
8-Aug-1944 |
German general, tried to overthrow Hitler |
| August von Wassermann |
Biologist |
21-Feb-1866 |
16-Mar-1925 |
Syphilis test |
| Helene Weigel |
Actor |
12-May-1900 |
6-May-1971 |
The Berliner Ensemble |
| Richard von Weizsäcker |
Head of State |
15-Apr-1920 |
31-Jan-2015 |
President of Germany, 1984-94 |
| Horst Wessel |
Activist |
9-Oct-1907 |
23-Feb-1930 |
Nazi martyr |
| Christa Wolf |
Novelist |
18-Mar-1929 |
1-Dec-2011 |
Divided Heaven |
| Arthur Zimmermann |
Government |
5-Oct-1864 |
6-Jun-1940 |
Zimmerman Telegram |
