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berühmte Deutschen (Famous Germans)

- A -

AdenauerKonrad Adenauer (1876-1967)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman, politician, and the first chancellor of post-war Germany from the town of Bonn, who was the man given the responsibility for Germany’s economic recovery after World War Two

- B -

BachJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer during the Barock period (early 1700’s) and wrote musical works for the church
BallinAlbert Ballin (1857-1918)
Erfinder / inventor of first luxury cruise and the founder of the Hapag-Lloyd enterprises, which helped assist millions of emigrants with their passage to America
BarlachErnst Barlach (1870-1938)
Bildhauer / sculptor, who was an important representative of the expressionistic period of the 1930’s
BeckerBoris Becker (1967-   )
Tennisspieler / former world No. 1 professional tennis player. His Grand Slam singles titles included three Wimbledons, two Australian Opens and one US Open
BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who was born in Bonn, was famous for writing symphonies, and continued to write after becoming tone deaf at the age of 29
BehringEmil von Behring (1854-1917)
Chemiker und Mediziner / chemist and doctor who discovered vaccine against diptheria and tetanus
BenzKarl Benz (1844-1929)
Erfinder und Techniker / inventor and technician, who along with Gottlieb Daimler, invented the first car
BiermannWolf Biermann (1936- )
Schriftsteller in Ostberlin / former East German writer in East Berlin and is a singer-songwriter today
BismarckOtto von Bismarck (1815-1898)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman and politician; he was the chancellor who founded „das deutsche Reich" in 1871, with Prussia as the leading state, Berlin as the leading city, and Hohenzollern as the ruling family (Kaiser Wilhelm)
BollHeinrich Böll (1917-1985)
Schriftsteller / one of Germany’s foremost writers, who was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972
BoschRobert Bosch (1861-1942)
Elektriker / electrical technologian, whose company today produces electrical parts for cars
BraedenEric Braeden (1941- )
Schauspieler / actor, who is an Emmy Award-winning German film and TV actor and is best known for his role as Victor Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless
BrahmsJohannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer of a famous lullabye
BrandtWilly Brandt (1913-1992)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman and politician, who was the leader of the Social Democratic Party 1964-1987 and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany 1969-1974
BraunWerner von Braun (1912-1977)
Raketeningenieur und Konstrukteur / rocket engineer and designer, who was one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany and in the US
BrechtBertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
Dichter, Dramatiker, Regisseur und Philosoph / poet, dramatist, director, and philosopher, whose most famous work was The Three-Penny Opera
BrucknerAnton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Musiker und Komponist / Austrian musician and composer
BuchnerKarl Georg Büchner (1813-1837)
Schriftsteller, Naturwissenschaftler, und Revolutionär / dramatist, scientist, and revolutionary
BunsenRobert Bunsen (1811-1899)
Chemiker / chemist who invented the Bunsen burner
BuschWilhelm Busch (1832-1908)
Maler, Dichter, und Zeichner / painter, poet, and cartoonist, whose works are full of jokes and humor; one of his most famous stories is Max und Moritz

- C -

CalvinJohn Calvin (1509-1564)
Theologe und Pfarrer / theologian and pastor
CharlemagneCharlemagne (742-814)
Staatsmann, Politiker, und Feldherr / statesman, politician, and general, who was the founder of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation, who made the Franks the strongest Germanic tribe, and who converted many of his conquerors to Christianity; also known as Karl der Große
CopernikusNikolaus Copernikus (1473-1543)
Astronom / astronomer, who established his own system of the world and set up the early stages of astronomy
CranachLucas Cranach der ältere (1472-1553)
Kunstler / artist

- D -

DaimlerGottlieb Daimler (1834-1900)
Techniker / engineer and maschine builder, who built the first motor and helped create the first automobile
DasslerAdolf Dassler (1900-1978)
Schuster, Erfinder und Unternehmer / a German cobbler, inventor and entrepreneur who founded the German sportswear company Adidas
DieselRudolf Diesel (1858-1913)
Techniker / engineer & inventor of diesel engine
DietrichMarlene Dietrich (1901-1992)
Sängerin und Schauspielerin / German-American actress and singer, who was known as “Lily Marlene” during WWII and remained popular throughout her long career
DoblinAlfred Döblin (1878-1957)
Schriftsteller / novelist and doctor, best known for his novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. He is considered one of the most important figures of German literary modernism
DurerAlbrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
Maler / greatest painter and etcher of the Renaissance period from Nürnberg, whose famous woodcarvings and etchings were betende Hände, Ritter, Tod und Teufel, and die apokalyptischen Reiter
DurrenmattFriedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990)
Schriftsteller / Swiss writer, whose most famous works are called Besuch der alten Dame and die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi

- E -

EbertFriedrich Ebert (1871-1925)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman and politician, who was the first President of the Weimar Republic, the government in Germany after World War One
EinsteinAlbert Einstein (1879-1955)
Physiker / physicist, who won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his Theory of Relativity and immigrated to the US
EngelsFriedrich Engels (1820-1895)
Philosoph / philospher and socialist, who wrote Das Kapital along with Karl Marx
ErnstMax Ernst (1891-1976)
Maler und Bildhauer / painter and sculptor, who was one of the most important representatives of surrealism

- F -

FahrenheitDaniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736)
Physiker / physicist who made changes to the thermometer, and a measuring scale was named after him
FassbinderWerner Fassbinder (1946-1982)
Filmdirektor / film director in post-war Germany, who directed the Marriage of Maria Braun and Berlin Alexanderplatz
FichteJohann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814)
Philosoph / philosopher who took Immanuel Kant’s philosophy (ethics and idealism) further and mixed it with religious and scientific overtones
Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012)
Sänger / one of the greatest baritone and opera singers of the 20th century
FrankAnne Frank (1929-1945)
Schriftsteller / author of The Diary of a Young Girl, in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II
FreudSigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Psycholog / psychoanalyist and doctor from Vienna, who said every dream can be related to the subconscious mind
Frederick the GreatFriedrich II (1712-1786)
König von Preußen / King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, Elector of Brandenburg, and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, whose nickname was „der alte Fritz"
FrobeGert Fröbe (1913-1988)
Schauspieler / actor, who made more than 100 films and whose most famous film was Goldfinger, of the James Bond series
FroebelFriedrich Fröbel (1782-1852)
Pädagoge / educator and founder of the first Kindergarten in 1837
FurtwanglerWilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954)
Komponist und Dirigent / composer and director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for many years

- G -

GaussKarl Friedrich Gauß (1777-1855)
Mathematiker, Physiker, und Astronom / Mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, who has a magnetic unit of measure named after him
GenscherHans-Dietrich Genscher (1927-2016)
Politiker / politician of the FDP (Free Democratic Party), who served from 1974 to 1992 as foreign minister and vice-chancellor and was very instrumental in "diplomatically deconstructing the Iron Curtain"
GerlachWalter Gerlach (1889-1979)
Physiker / physicist who co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effect
GluckChristoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer
von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Wissenschaftler, Dichter, Staatsmann, und Schriftsteller / scientist, poet, statesman, and writer; he is considered the greatest German writer
GrafSteffi Graf (1969-  )
Tennisspieler / a former German tennis player, who was ranked world No. 1 during her career. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles.
GrassGünther Grass (1927-2015)
Romanschriftsteller / postwar novelist and author of The Tin Drum
GrillparzerFranz Grillparzer (1791-1872)
Schriftsteller und Dichter / writer and poet, who was Austria’s greatest dramatist from Vienna and whose most famous work is called das golden Vlies
Jacob GrimmJakob Grimm (1785-1863)
Sprachforscher / linguist and researcher, one of two brothers, who collected fairy tales and published them into books; also wrote dictionaries and grammar books
Wilhelm GrimmWilhelm Grimm (1786-1859)
Sprachforscher / linguist, who was one of two brothers who collected fairy tales (Es war einmal … / Once upon a time…/) and published them in books; also wrote dictionaries and grammar books
GutenbergJohann Gutenberg (circa 1397-1468)
Erfinder / inventor of moveable-type for the printing press from the city of Mainz

- H -

HahnOtto Hahn (1879-1968)
Chemiker / chemist who split uranium nucleus and led to the development of the atomic bomb
HandelGeorg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
Musiker und Komponist / a German-born musician and composer, who lived most of his life in England, and whose most famous work appears every year at Christmas time: Hallelujah Chor, which is part of the opera Der Messias
HauptmannGerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946)
Dramatist und Romanschriftsteller / dramatist and novelist, who is regarded among the most important promoters of literary naturalism and who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1912
HaydnJosef Haydn (1732-1809)
Musiker und Kompinist / Austrian musician and composer, whose musical works dealt with instrumental music and chamber music
HebbelFriedrich Hebbel (1813-1863)
Dichter / dramtic writer and poet
HegelGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
Philosoph / Philosopher, who was a major figure in German idealism
HeineHeinrich Heine (1797-1856)
Dichter / poet, who wrote many poems and ballads and whose most famous one was die Lorelei
HeisenbergWerner Heisenberg (1901-1976)
Physiker / a theoretical physicist, one of the key pioneers of quantrum mechanics, worked with nuclear physics, and won the Nobel Prize in 1932
von HelmholtzHermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894)
Mathematiker, Physiologer, und Mediziner / mathematician, physiologist, and doctor; made significant contributions to several varied areas of modern science
HerbartJohann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1841)
Pädagoge und Philosoph / educator and philosopher who stressed the study of literature and history, not just Latin and math
HerschelFriedrich Wilhelm Herschel (1738-1822)
Astronom und Komponist / German-born British astronomer and composer. In 1781, he was the first to discover Uranus
HertzHeinrich Hertz (1857-1894)
Physiker / physicist, who discovered electromagnetic waves, which were named after him and whose discovery led to the development of the modern radio
HesseHermann Hesse (1877-1962)
Dichter und Schriftsteller / poet and writer
HeussTheodor Heuss (1884-1963)
Politiker / politician, who was the first Federal President (Bundespräsident) of postwar Germany
HindemithPaul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Musiker und Komponist / famous German-American musician and composer
von HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg (1847-1934)
Staatsmann, Politiker und Feldherr / statesman, politician, and general in World War I; President of Germany during the Weimar Republic
HitlerAdolf Hitler (1889-1945)
Politiker / politician, who was the founder of „das dritte Reich" and Führer from 1933 to 1945
HoferAndreas Hofer (1767-1810)
Feldherr in Innsbruck, österreich / general from Austria, who helped save the city of Innsbruck during Napolean’s time
von HofmannsthalHugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929)
Dichter und Schriftsteller / Austrian poet and author, whose greatest work was Tor and Tod (Death and the fool); who along with the composer Richard Strauß and the actor and director Max Reinhardt, helped start the Salzburger Sommerfestspiele
von HumboldtAlexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)
Erforscher und Geograph / founder of modern geography and a naturalist researcher, who had 900 plants, animals, mountains, and rivers named after him
von HumboldtWilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835)
Pädagog, Philosoph und Staatsmann / educator, philosopher, and statesman, and founder of Humboldt University of Berlin
HumperdinckEngelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, whose most famous opera was Hänsel und Gretel
HusJan Hus (1372-1415)
Priester und Philosoph / priest and philosopher

- I -

- J -

JunkersHugo Junkers (1859-1935)
Flugzeugskonstrukteur / airplane builder, who was a pioneer in the German aviation field, built his innovative airplane, and built the first plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean from east to west

- K -

KafkaFranz Kafka (1883-1924)
Schriftsteller / writer
KantImmanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Philosoph / philosopher, who wrote Critique of Pure Reason and whose ideas dealt with knowledge and wisdom being attained through experience
KlumHeidi Klum (1973-  )
Modell / model, TV host, businesswoman, fashion designer, and occasional actress
von KarajanHerbert von Karajan (1908-1989)
Musiker und Komponist / world famous musician, composer, and conductor from Salzburg, Austria, who directed the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for many years
CharlemagneKarl der Große (742-814)
Staatsmann, Politiker, und Feldherr / statesman, politician, and general, who was the founder of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation, who made the Franks the strongest Germanic tribe, and who converted many of his conquerors to Christianity; also known as Charlemagne
KeplerJohannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Mathematiker und Astronom / mathematician and astronomer during the Middle Ages, who established the laws of planetary motion
KinskiKlaus Kinski (1926-1991)
Schauspieler und Regisseur / actor and film director
KnefHildegard Knef (1925-2002)
Schauspielerin, Schriftstellerin, und Sängerin / actress, writer, and singer, who was popular in both Germany and in the United States
KochRobert Koch (1843-1910)
Bakteriologe / bacteriologist, who discovered the causes of tuberculosis and cholera and won the Nobel Prize in 1905
KohlHelmut Kohl (1930-2017)
Politiker / politician, who is known as the "Chancellor of Unity" for his leadership during the fall of the Berlin Wall, for the peaceful unification of Germany, for the longest-serving head of government, and for serving as the Federal Chancellor for more than 16 years from 1982 to 1998
KollwitzKäthe Kollwitz (1867-1945)
Maler und Bildhauer / painter and sculptor, who is considered one of Germany’s most important early 20th-century artists. She captured the hardships suffered by the working class in drawings, paintings, and prints. View examples of her artwork.
KopernikusNikolaus Kopernikus (1473-1543)
Astronom / astronomer, who established his own system of the world and set up the early stages of astronomy
KreiskyBruno Kreisky (1911-1990)
Kanzler und Politiker / chancellor and politician from Österreich, who brought his country back into an important position in European culture
Alfred KruppAlfred Krupp (1812-1887)
Herrscher der Kruppfamilie / leader of the Krupp family, who was the founder of a munitions company from the city of Essen, which makes steel products today (Big Bertha)
Friedrich Carl Krupp (1787-1826)
berühmte Kruppfamilie aus Essen; Stahl- und Waffenwerke / famous Krupp family from the city of Essen, who manufactured steel products and munitions

- L -

LangFritz Lang (1890-1976)
Regisseur / German-Austrian filmmaker, screen writer, producer, and actor
LeiblWilhelm Leibl (1844-1900)
Maler / painter
LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Freiherr von Leibniz (1646-1716)
Philosoph / philosopher, Politiker / politician, und Forscher / researcher
LessingGotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781)
Schriftsteller / writer, critic, and dramatist, whose middle class tragedies left a great impact on the literature of the 18th century, such as Nathan der Weise
LiebermannMax Liebermann (1847-1935)
Maler und Grafiker / painter and print maker
von LiebigJustus von Liebig (1803-1873)
Chemiker / chemist who built the first modern laboratory in Germany
LilienthalOtto Lilienthal (1848-1896)
Flugpionier / pioneer in the field of aviation and made the first gliding flight in 1891 and was known as "Germany’s Wright Brothers"
von LisztFranz von Liszt (1811-1886)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer
LoeweFrederick Loewe (1901-1988)
Komponist / Berlin-born composer of famous Lerner and Loewe musicals, including Camelot and My Fair Lady
LubkeHeinrich Lübke (1894-1972)
Politiker / politician and former Federal President of postwar Germany
LudendorffErich Ludendorff (1865-1937)
Heerführer / leader and general of the German army in World War One from 1916 to 1918
Ludwig IILudwig II (1845-1886)
König / king of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Mad King and der Märchenkönig, the Fairy Tale King.
LutherMartin Luther (1483-1546)
Theologe und Sprachforscher / theologian and philologist, who was responsible for starting a new religion and his translation of the Bible became the first accepted German language

- M -

MahlerGustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Österreischer Komposer und Dirigent / Austrian composer and conductor
MannThomas Mann (1875-1955)
Schriftsteller und Dichter / novelist, short-story writer, and poet, whose novels often had several levels of meaning
MarxKarl Marx (1818—1883)
Sozialist und Philosoph / philosopher and founder of Marxism, who proposed the theory of dialectical materialism and wrote Das Kapital
Maximilian IMaximilian der 1. (1756-1825)
König / king of Bavaria, from the Wittelsbach family, who made Munich a cultural center; his son was Ludwig der 1., whose marriage started Oktoberfest
MayKarl May (1842-1912)
Schriftsteller / writer, who was the best selling writer of all time and who wrote mainly wild west books set in the American West, similar books set in the Orient and Middle East, and books set in his native Germany
MelanchthonPhilipp Melanchthon (1497-1560)
Theologe, Professor, Philosoph / a theologian, teacher, philosopher, who was a German reformer, a collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the Luthern Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems
MendelGregor Mendel (1822-1884)
österreichischer Biologe / Austrian biologist
Mendelssohn-BatholdyFelix Mendelssohn-Batholdy (1809-1847)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who wrote overtures to Shakespeare’s works, oratories, and chamber music
MerkelAngela Merkel (1954- )
Politikerin und Kanzlerin Deutschlands / German politician and a former research scientist, who has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and the leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000
von MetternichKlemens Lothar Wenzel von Metternich (1773-1859)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman and politician, who was the chancellor of Austria during Napolean’s reign over Europe and made deals with him to keep Austria’s independence
MeyerConrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825-1898)
Dichter / Swiss poet and writer
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Musiker und Komponist / Austrian musician and composer from the city of Salzburg, who wrote the opera Zauberflöte; played the piano at age 3; played the organ and violin at age 7; composed musical works at age 10

- N -

NastThomas Nast (1840-1902)
Zeichner / artist and drawer, who was considered the "father of American political cartoonists" took many photographs during the Civil war; emigrated from Germany to New York in 1846
NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(1844-1900)
Philosoph / philosopher of "pessimism"
NoetherAmalie Emmy Noether(1882-1935)
Mathemathiker / mathematician best known for her contributions to algebra and theoretical physicals. Many consider her the most important woman in the history of mathematics.

- O -

OhmGeorg Simon Ohm (1787-1854)
Physiker / physicist who worked in the field of electrical resistance, and a law was named after him
Otto IOtto der 1. Oder der Große (912-973)
Kaiser / emperor during Germanic days of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation

- P -

ParacelsusParacelsus (1493-1541)
Mediziner / a Swiss German physician, botanist, alchemist, who founded the discipline of toxicology
PastoriusFranz Daniel Pastorius (1651-1719)
Gründer von Deutschestadt / leader of the first German immigrants who settled in Germantown (Philadelphia) on October 6, 1683; his protests ended slavery in other German religious colonies
PestalozziJohann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
Pädagoge und Erzieher / a Swiss educator, who stressed that the individual talents of each student were more important than the learning about a lot of subjects in school
PlanckMax Planck (1858-1947)
Physiker / physicist and creator of the quantrum theory in physics
PorscheFerdinand Porsche (1875-1951)
Konstrukteur / designer of the car bearing his name and the Volkswagen "Beetle"

- Q -

- R -

ReinhardtMax Reinhardt (1873-1943)
Regisseur / film director who directed the American film A Midsummer Night's Dream of William Shakespeare's play.
von RichthofenManfred von Richthofen (1882-1918)
Flugzeugführer / fighter pilot during World War One with the German Imperial Army Air Service, who was better known as the "Red Baron," who is considered the top ace of the war, and who is officially credited with 80 air combat victories
RiefenstahlLeni Riefenstahl (1902-2003)
Filmregisseurin des Filmes „Triumph des Willens" / film director of the movie Triumph of the Will
RitterKarl Ritter (1779-1859)
Geograph / geographer who along with Alexander von Humboldt is considered one of the founders of modern geography
RoeblingJohn Augustus Roebling (1806-1869)
Bauingenieur und Brückenbauer / German-American civil engineer and bridge-builder who designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge.
RommelJohannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (1891-1944)
Feldherr und Militärtheoretiker / a German general and military theorist. Popularly known as the Desert Fox, he served as field marshal in the Wehrmacht (Defense Force) of Nazi Germany during World War II
RontgenWilhelm Konrad von Röntgen (1845-1923)
Physiker / physicist who discovered X-rays
Rudolf IRudolf der erste von Hapsburg (1218-1291)
König / this Hapsburg king was the first ruler of the kingdom of Austria, which ruled from the 1200’s to 1918 over the Austro-Hungarian empire

- S -

von SavoyenPrinz Eugen von Savoyen (1663-1736)
Feldherr / prince and general during the Hapsburg rule of Austria; defeated the Turks to protect Vienna from being overrun
von SchillerFriedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)
Dichter, Dramatiker, und Schriftsteller / poet, dramatist, and writer, who is regarded as one of Germany’s great literary figures
SchindlerOskar Schindler (1908-1974)
Industrieller / ethnic German idustrialist, spy, and member of the Nazi party, who is credited with saving the lives of 12,000 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories
von SchlegelAugust Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767-1845)
Schriftsteller / writer
von SchlegelFriedrich von Schlegel (1772-1829)
Schriftsteller / author and philosopher of the Romantic period
SchmelingMax Schmeling (1905-2005)
Boxer / German athlete, who was the first boxer to defeat Joe Louis
SchmidtHelmut Schmidt (1918-2015)
Politiker und Kanzler / a Social Democratic politician, who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982 and negotiated treaties with East Germany
SchneiderRomy Schneider (1938-1982)
Schauspielerin / German actress, whose career was marked by tremendous success and personal tragedies
SchollSophie Scholl (1921-1943)
Politiker / political activist, who was one of the members of the Nazi resistance group called the White Rose
SchopenauerArthur Schopenauer (1788-1860)
Philosoph / philosopher, who was known as the "philosopher of pessimism;" and whose main work is called die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung (World as Will and Representation)
SchrodingerErwin Schrödinger (1887-1961)
Physiker / Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in the field of quantum theory
SchubertFranz Schubert (1797-1828)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who wrote chamber music and symphonies and whose most famous works are Ständchen and Unvollendete Symphonie
SchumanRobert Schumann (1810-1856)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who set to music the verses of many German lyric poets and also composed chamber music, symphonies and pieces for piano
SchurzCarl Schurz (1829-1906)
Staatsmann und Militärsoffizier / a German immigrant, who became a military officer, fought in the Civil War, and became a statesman in New York
SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
Arzt, Komponist, und Mensch / physcian, composer, and humanitarian, who was an educated man in the fields of theology, philosophy, music, and medicine; a humanitarian who built hospitals and fought disease in Africa
von SiemensWerner von Siemens (1816-1892)
Physiker, Elektroingenieur, und Großindustrieller / physicist, electro-engineer, and industrialist, who started a large electro-technology company and who was the inventor of the dynamo in 1866
von StauffenbergClaus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1907-1944)
Armeeoffizier, Oberst / army officer, colonel, who was one of the leading figures of the failed July 20 plot of 1944 to kill Adolf Hitler and seize power in Germany
SteinmetzCharles Steinmetz (1865-1923)
Mathemathiker und Elektrotechniker / German-born American mathematician and electrical engineer, who fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of electrical power industry in the US
von SteubenBaron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730-1794)
Soldat und Offizier / Prussian general who came to America to help train American soldiers at Valley Forge and became Inspector General of the Continental Army under General Washington
StockhausenKarlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007)
Komponist / major composer of the 20th century, who is known for his work in electronic music
Strauss IJohann Strauß I (1804-1849)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer from Vienna who was famous for his waltzes. His most famous piece is the Radetzky March
Strauss IIJohann Strauß II (1825-1899)
Musiker und Komponist / Austrian musician and composer, who is known for the Vienna waltz
Levi StraussLevi Strauss (1829-1902)
Einwanderer und Unternehmer / German-Jewish immigrant to the United States and entrepreneur, who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans in San Francisco, California
Richard StraussRichard Strauss (1864-1949)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who was known for his operas, his songs, his tone poems, and other instrumental works; he was also a prominent conductor throughout Germany and Austria
StresemannGustav Stresemann (1878-1929)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman and politician, who was the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic until 1929

- T -

TheresaMaria Theresa (1717-1780)
Königin von österreich / Habsburg queen of Austria during Prussia’s rise to power and married into the French royal family
Georg von TrappGeorg Johannes von Trapp (1880-1947)
Kriegsmarineoffizier / Austro-Hungarian navy officer, whose naval exploits during World War One earned him numerous decorations, later married Maria Kutschera, who trained his children to sing, and later emigrated to the US instead of serving in the German navy in 1938 (Baron von Trapp and the Sound of Music)
Maria von TrappMaria von Trapp (1905-1987)
Nonne, Stiefmutter, und Sängerin / nun, stepmother from Salzburg, Austria, singer, and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers, who was the inspiration for the musical film The Sound of Music

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Walter UlbrichtWalter Ulbricht (1893-1973)
Politiker / East German leader who ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961

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Richard WagnerRichard Wagner (1813-1883)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who was the first to write both the music and lyrics to his works (Ring of the Nibelungen and other German legends and sagas), and who was patronized and who was supported by King Ludwig of Bavaria
Wolfgang WagnerWolfgang Wagner (1919-2010)
Dirigent and Festspielleiter / conductor and festival director of the Bayreuth Festival in Bayreuth, Bavaria, who was also the grandson of Richard Wagner
WaldheimKurt Waldheim (1918-2007)
Politiker und Diplomat / Austrian politician and diplomat, who was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations (1972-1981), the ninth President of Austria (1986-1992)
von WallensteinAlbrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634)
Feldherr / mercenary general during the Thirty Years War
WankelFelix Wankel (1902-1988)
mechanischer Ingenieur / mechanical engineer, who designed the internal combustion engine
von WeberCarl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Musiker und Komponist / musician and composer, who was famous for chamber music and operas
Johnny WeissmullerJohnny Weissmuller (1904-1984)
Schwimmer und Schauspieler / Austrian-American gold-medal Olympic swimmer (3 in 1924 and 2 in 1928) and portrayed "Tarzan" in films of the 1930s and 1940s.
Carl von WeizsackerCarl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912-2007)
Physiker und Philosoph / physicist and philosopher, who was a member of the team which performed nuclear research in Germany during World War Two, under Werner Heisenberg’s leadership
Richard von WeizsackerRichard von Weizäcker (1920-2015)
Politiker / politician, who was the first president of a reunited Germany and played a major role in helping the country face up to its Nazi past
WiesenthalSimon Wiesenthal (1908-2005)
Schriftsteller / Austrian writer and Jewish Holocaust survivor, who became famous after World War Two for his work as a Nazi hunter
WilderBilly Wilder (1904-1984)
Filmemacher / an Austrian-born American filmmaker whose career spanned more than fifty years and sixty films including The Apartment, Double Indemnity, and Some Like It Hot
Kaiser WilhelmKaiser Wilhelm (1815-1898)
Staatsmann und Politiker / statesman and politician; he was the chancellor who founded „das deutsche Reich" in 1871, with Prussia as the leading state, Berlin as the leading city, and Hohenzollern as the ruling family (Otto von Bismarck)
WittKatarina Witt (1965-  )
Eiskunstläuferin / former figure skater from East Germany who won two Olympic gold medals (1984, 1988), was World Champion (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988), and was European Champion (1983-88)
WolfHugo Wolf (1860-1906)
Musiker und Komponist / Austrian musician and composer, who put to music many poems from famous German and foreign poets
WundtWilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
Psychologe / psychogist, who is considered one of the founding fathers of modern psychology

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ZeissKarl Zeiss (1816-1888)
Konstrukteur / designer of the microscope, telescope, and photo lenses
von ZeppelinFerdinand Graf von Zeppelin (1838-1917)
Erfinder und Bauer des ersten Luftschiffes / inventor and builder of the first airship
ZuseKonrad Zuse (1910-1995)
Ingenieur und Computerbahnbrecher / engineer and computer pioneer, whose greatest achievement was the world’s first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer
ZwingliUlrich Zwingli (1484-1531)
protestantischer Reformist / protestant reformer from Switzerland, who translated the Bible during the Reformation into a Swiss-German version known as the Zürich Bible

For Educational Puposes Only.  Photos via Wikimedia Commons.