List of people from Berlin

The following is a list of notable people who were born in, or spent substantial time in, Berlin, a city (and state) in the European country of Germany.

Politicians and statesmen

• Count Karl-Wilhelm Finck von Finckenstein (1714–1800), Prussian statesman and politician
• Friedrich Ancillon (1767–1837), Prussian historian and statesman
• Adolf Heinrich von Arnim-Boitzenburg (1803–1868), statesman and politician
• Eduard Bernstein (1850–1932), politician (SPD), member of the Reichstag
• Berthold von Bernstorff (1842–1917), politician and owner of Schiermonnikoog
• Anna of Brandenburg (1487–1514), noblewoman and mother of Christian III (King of Denmark)
• Rudy Boschwitz (born 1930), U.S. senator from Minnesota and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, born to a Jewish family in Berlin
• Rainer Brüderle (born 1945), politician (FDP)
• Sawsan Chebli (born 1978), politician (SPD)
• Eberhard Diepgen (born 1941), politician (CDU), governing mayor of Berlin
• Kurt Eisner (1867–1919), politician (SPD, USPD)
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786
• Frederick William (1620–1688), elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia 1640–1688
• Frederick William I (1688–1740), king in Prussia and elector of Brandenburg 1713–1740
• Frederick William II (1744–1797), king of Prussia 1786–1797
• Stefan Gelbhaar (born 1976), politician (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
• Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach (1795–1877), judge, politician and journalist
• George V of Hanover (1819–1878), king of Hanover 1851–1866
• Gregor Gysi (born 1948), politician (The Left)
• Klaus Gysi (1912–1999), Minister of Culture and state secretary for church affairs of GDR
• Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885), brother of future German emperor William I
• Reinhard Klimmt (born 1942), politician (SPD), prime minister of Saarland
• Hans Luther (1879–1962), chancellor in the Weimar Republic
• Otto von Manteuffel (1844–1913), Chairman of German Conservative Party
• David McAllister (born 1971), politician (CDU), Prime Minister of Niedersachsen
• Erich Mielke (1907–2000), head of the Stasi
• Petra Pau (born 1963), politician (The Left)
• Hugo Preuss (1860–1925), lawyer and "father of the Weimar Constitution"
• Jesko von Puttkamer (1855–1917), colonial military chief, and nine times governor of Cameroon
• Walther Rathenau (1867–1922), industrialist, politician (DDP) and Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic
• Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974), leader of the Hitlerjugend 1931–1940, Reich governor in Vienna
• Heinrich Schoene (1889–1945), SA general and Generalkommissar in Ukraine
• Rupert Scholz (born 1937), politician (CDU)
• Käte Selbmann (1906–1962), teacher and politician (KPD/SED/DFD)
• Paul Singer (1844–1911), SPD co-founder, whose chairman and Reichstag, producer
• Willi Stoph (1914–1999), politician (SED), Chairman of the State Council
• Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929), politician (DVP), chancellor and foreign minister of the Weimar Republic, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• Otto Wels (1873–1939), politician (SPD)
• William I, German Emperor (1797–1888), German emperor
• Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941), German emperor
• Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709–1758), Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
• Klaus Wowereit (born 1953), politician (SPD), governing mayor of Berlin 2001–2014

Businesspeople

• Ellen Allien, musician, DJ, founder of music label BPitch Control
• Heinz Berggruen (1914–2007), art dealer
• Ernst Dümmler (1830–1902), bookseller and historian
• Alexander Duncker (1813–1897), publisher and bookseller
• Friedrich Karl Flick (1927–2006), industrialist and billionaire
• Albert Göring (1895–1966), engineer and business manager
• Klaus and Eva Herlitz (born 1947 and 1952, respectively), business people and the initiators of the Buddy Bears
• Günter Herlitz (1913–2010), business people
• Bernhard Koehler (1849–1927), industrialist and art collector
• Gustav Langenscheidt (1832–1895), language teacher, book publisher, and the founder of the Langenscheidt Publishing Group
• Ernst Litfaß (1816–1874), publisher, inventor of the Litfaßsäule
• Joseph Mendelssohn (1770–1848), banker
• Franz Oppenheim (1852–1929), industrialist and chemist
• Harald Quandt (1921–1967), industrialist
• Hasso Plattner (born 1944), co-founder of SAP SE software company
• Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), industrialist and founder of the AEG
• Wolf Jobst Siedler (1926–2013), publisher and publicist
• Arnold von Siemens (1853–1918), entrepreneur and industrialist
• Carl Friedrich von Siemens (1872–1941), industrialist
• Georg Wilhelm von Siemens (1855–1919), industrialist
• Georg Solmssen (1869–1957), banker
• Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener (1782–1861), banker and patron of the arts

Military personnel

Military officers

• Hans-Rudolf Boehmer (born 1938), vice admiral A.D. the German Navy, inspector of the navy (1995–1998)
• Karl von Bülow (1846–1921), Prussian field marshal
• Heinz Brandt (1907–1944), General Staff officer
• Adolf von Brauchitsch (1876–1935), German major general
• Walther von Brauchitsch (1881–1948), German field marshal
• Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899), vice admiral of the Imperial German Navy, politicians, Chancellor as a successor Bismarck
• Karl Dönitz (1891–1980), grand admiral and commander of the German Navy in WWII
• Maximilian von Edelsheim (1897–1994), general
• Max von Fabeck (1854–1916), Prussian general
• Maximilian Vogel von Falckenstein (1839–1917), Prussian general
• Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix (1699–1765), Prussian general
• Georg Freiherr von Gayl (1850–1927), Prussian general
• Ludwig Friedrich Leopold von Gerlach (1790–1861), Prussian general
• Karl von Grolman (1777–1843), Prussian general
• Friedrich Wilhelm von Grumbkow (1678–1739), Prussian field marshal
• Wilhelm von Hahnke (1833–1912), Prussian field marshal
• Henning von Holtzendorff (1853–1919), German admiral
• Ludwig Karl von Kalckstein (1725–1800), Prussian field marshal
• Otto von Knobelsdorff (1886–1966), German general
• Christian Nicolaus von Linger (1669–1755), Prussian general
• Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow (1782–1834), Prussian lieutenant general
• Erich von Manstein (1887–1973), German field marshal
• Alexander von Monts (1832–1888), Prussian and German Imperial Navy officer
• Elhard von Morozowicz (1893–1934), Der Stahlhelm official and SA General
• Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf (1762–1823), Prussian field marshal
• Jürgen Oesten (1913–2010), German Korvettenkapitän in the Kriegsmarine
• Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski (1899–1966), German general
• Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape (1813–1895), Prussian field marshal
• Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia (1730–1813), Prussian general
• Adalbert of Prussia (1811–1873), Prussian admiral
• Albert of Prussia (1837–1906), Prussian general field marshal
• Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1873), Prussian field marshal
• Henry of Prussia (1726–1802), 13 child king Frederick William. I in Prussia, the Prussian commander army
• Albert von Rauch (1829–1901), Prussian general
• Fedor von Rauch (1822–1892), cavalry officer in the Prussian Army
• Friedrich von Rauch (1855–1935), Prussian general
• Gustav Waldemar von Rauch (1819–1890), Prussian general
• Nikolaus von Rauch (1851–1904), Prussian colonel
• Wilhelm Radziwiłł (1797–1870), Prussian general
• Klaus Reinhardt (1941–2021), German general
• August Otto Rühle von Lilienstern (1780–1848), Prussian lieutenant general
• Sigismund von Schlichting (1829–1909), Prussian general
• Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913), Prussian field marshal
• Samuel von Schmettau (1682–1751), Prussian field marshal
• Rudolf Schmidt (1886–1957), German general
• Friedrich von Sohr (1775–1845), Prussian colonel
• Christoph Ludwig von Stille (1696–1752), Prussian general
• Günther Tamaschke (1896–1959), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
• Detlof von Winterfeldt (1867–1940), German officer and military attaché
• Carl Friedrich Heinrich, Graf von Wylich und Lottum (1767–1841), Prussian general

Scientists

• Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich (1806–1886), mineralogist and geologist
• Franz Karl Achard (1753–1821), chemist, geoscientist, physicist and biologist
• Michael Albeck (born 1934), Israeli chemist; president of Bar-Ilan University
• Friedrich Eduard Beneke (1798 – ca.1854), psychologist and philosopher
• Emil du Bois-Reymond (1818–1896), physiologist and public intellectual
• Max Delbrück (1906–1981), biophysicist
• Paul Erman (1764–1851), a Huguenot physicist
• Paula Hertwig (1889–1983), biologist and professor
• Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894), philosopher, physiologist and physicist
• Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (1921–2015), Dutch astronomer
• Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), geographer, naturalist, explorer, and influential proponent of Romantic philosophy and science
• Julius Klaproth (1783–1835), orientalist, explorer, historian and ethnographer
• Edmund Landau (1877–1938), mathematician
• Paul Langerhans (1847–1888), pathologist, physiologist, and biologist
• Johann Nathanael Lieberkühn (1711–1756), physician
• Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (1709–1782), chemist
• Bernhard Hermann Neumann (1909–2002), mathematician
• Peter Simon Pallas (1741–1811), naturalist, botanist and zoologist
• Rabea Rogge, electrical engineer, robotic researcher, polar scientist and private astronaut
• Wolf-Dieter Schneider (1942–2025), metallurgist and university professor
• Alfred Wegener (1880–1930), polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist
• Adolf Windaus (1876–1959), chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928
• Carl Gustav Witt (1866–1946), astronomer and discover of two asteroids
• Konrad Zuse (1910–1995), civil engineer, inventor and computer pioneer

Judges and lawyers

• Heinz Drossel (1916–2008), judge, honored as Righteous Among the Nations
• Eduard Gans (1797–1839), jurist
• Rudolf von Gneist (1816–1895), jurist and politician
• Wilhelm Heinrich von Grolman (1781–1856), lawyer, Berlin Court of Appeal president (the "righteous judge")
• Jutta Limbach (1934–2016), president of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany 1994–2002, as the first woman in this office
• Fritz Oppenheimer (1898–1968), lawyer
• Hans-Jürgen Papier (born 1943), president of the Federal Constitutional Court 2002–2010

Theologians

• Kurt Aland (1915–1994), theologian
• Albrecht of Brandenburg (1490–1545), archbishop of Magdeburg and Elector of Mainz, Lord Chancellor of Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
• Otto Dibelius (1880–1967), leading member of the Confessing Church, bishop of Berlin, Chairman of the Council of Evangelical Church, president of Ecumenical Council
• Regina Jonas (1902–1944), first woman in history to be ordained as a rabbi

Writers (including historians, journalists), scholars and philosophers

• Ruth Andreas-Friedrich (1901–1977), author and journalist
• Achim von Arnim (1781–1831), poet and novelist
• Gisela von Arnim (1827–1889), writer
• Bernd-Rainer Barth (born 1957), historian and publicist
• Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–1762), philosopher
• Heinrich Becker (1770–1822), actor
• Walter Benjamin (1892–1940), philosopher
• Ludwig Borchardt (1863–1938), Egyptologist
• Adolf Brand (1874–1945), writer
• Gottfried Gabriel Bredow (1773–1814), historian
• Heinrich Brugsch (1827–1894), Egyptologist
• Friedrich von Canitz (1654–1699), poet and diplomat
• Hoimar von Ditfurth (1921–1989), physician and journalist
• Georg Ebers (1837–1898), Egyptologist
• Ernst Ehrlich (1921–2007), German-Swiss Judaic scholar and historian
• Joachim Fest (1926–2006), historian and journalist
• Paul Friedlander (1882–1968), philologist and writer
• Kurt Großmann (1897–1972), journalist
• Hans Gustav Güterbock (1908–2000), Hittitologist
• Hans von Hentig (1887–1974), criminologist
• Kurt Hiller (1885–1972), journalist and essayist
• Gerald Holton (born 1922), science historian and physicist
• Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin
• Maybrit Illner (born 1965), journalist
• Robert Jungk (1913–1994), journalist and futurist
• Manuela Kay (born 1964), journalist
• Klemens von Klemperer (1916–2012), historian
• Luise Kraushaar (1905–1989), historian
• Bernhard von Kugler (1837–1898), historian
• Günther von Lojewski (1935–2023), journalist
• Wolf von Lojewski (born 1937), journalist
• Richard Löwenthal (1908–1991), journalist
• Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979), German-American philosopher, political scientist and sociologist
• Erich Maschke (1900–1982), historian and professor of history
• Carolina Michaëlis (1851–1925), a German-Portuguese romanist
• Hildegard Maria Nickel (born 1948), sociologist specializing in gender studies
• Franz Oppenheimer (1864–1943), sociologist and economist
• Iris Radisch (born 1959), journalist
• Peter Rüchel (1937–2019), music journalist
• Hajo Seppelt (born 1963), journalist
• Georg Simmel (1858–1918), sociologist and philosopher
• Gabor Steingart (born 1962), journalist
• Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), poet, translator, editor, and novelist
• Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935), journalist
• Rahel Varnhagen (1771–1833), writer and salon host
• Theodor Wolff (1868–1943), journalist

Actors, visual artists (including architects), comedians, directors and musicians

• Ken Adam (1921–2016), set designer
• Die Ärzte band members, Farin Urlaub and Bela B
• Nadja Auermann (born 1971), supermodel
• Peer Augustinski (1940–2014), actor
• Hugo Egon Balder (born 1950), actor and comedian
• Michael Ballhaus (1935–2017), cinematographer
• Mario Barth (born 1972), comedian
• Karl Becker (1820–1900), painter
• Reinhold Begas (1831–1911), sculptor
• Tim Bendzko (born 1985), singer-songwriter
• Dagmar Berghoff (born 1943), actress, radio and television presenter
• Folker Bohnet (1937–2020), actor, theatre director and playwright
• Horst Buchholz (1933–2003), actor
• Buddy, singer
• Karl August Devrient (1797–1872), stage actor
• Ludwig Devrient (1784–1832), actor
• Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), singer and actress
• Christoph von Dohnányi (born 1929), conductor
• Klaus Doldinger (born 1936), saxophonist
• Angelica Domröse (born 1941), actress
• Caroline Fischer (born 1984), pianist
• Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925–2012)
• Elton (born 1971), comedian and television presenter
• Alexander Fehling (born 1981), actor
• Hansjörg Felmy (1931–2007), actor
• Julia Franck (born 1970), writer
• Naomi Frankel (1918–2009), novelist
• Peter Frankenfeld (1913–1979), comedian, radio and television personality
• Liv Lisa Fries (born 1990), actress
• Claus Theo Gärtner (born 1943), actor
• Bonaventura Genelli (1798–1868), painter
• Götz George (1938–2016), actor
• Kurt Gerron (1897–1944), actor
• Valeska Gert (1892–1978), dancer and cabaret artist
• Walter Gronostay (1906–1937), composer
• Walter Gropius (1883–1961), architect
• Georg Grosz (1893–1959), painter
• Nina Hagen (born 1955), singer
• Karoline Herfurth (born 1984), actress
• Judith Hermann (born 1970), writer
• Paul Heyse (1830–1914), novelist, dramatist and poet
• Martina Hill (born 1974), actress
• Margot Hielscher (1919–2017), actress
• Alfred Hirschmeier (1931–1996), film production designer
• Marta Husemann (1913–1960), actress, communist and resistance fighter
• Harald Juhnke (1929–2005), actor, singer, comedian and entertainer
• Roland Kaiser (born 1952), singer
• Nastassja Kinski (born 1961), actress
• Johanna von Koczian (1933–2024), actress
• Wolfgang Kohlhaase (1931–2022), screenwriter and film director
• Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), singer and actress
• Asuman Krause (born 1976), German-Turkish singer, model and television personality
• Hardy Krüger (1928–2022), actor
• Fritz Kühn (1910–1967), visual artist
• Peer Kusmagk (born 1975), actor
• Maria Landrock (1923–1992), actress
• Kevyn Lettau (born 1959), singer jazz
• Max Liebermann (1847–1935), painter
• Paul Lincke (1866–1946), composer and theatre conductor
• Albert Lortzing (1801–1851), composer, librettist, actor and singer
• Ernst Lubitsch (1892–1947), film director, producer, writer, and actor
• Florian Lukas (born 1973), actor
• Markus Majowski (born 1964), actor and comedian
• Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), opera composer
• Inge Meysel (1910–2004), actress
• Antonie Mielke (1856–1907), operatic soprano
• Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter) (1920–2004), photographer
• Désirée Nick (born 1956), actress and writer
• Erik Ode (1910–1983), actor and film director
• Gerd Oswald (1919–1989), film director
• Kerstin Ott (born 1982), singer
• Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667–1752), composer, lived in England
• Oliver Petszokat (born 1978), singer
• Günter Pfitzmann (1924–2003), actor
• Hans Poelzig (1864–1936), architect
• André Previn (1929–2019), pianist, conductor and composer
• Jürgen Prochnow (born 1941), actor
• Rammstein band members Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer and keyboardist Christian Lorenz
• Ivan Rebroff (1931–2008), singer
• Leni Riefenstahl (1902–2003), photographer, film director, producer, screenwriter and editor
• Marianne Rosenberg (born 1955), singer
• Hans Rosenthal (1925–1987), radio editor, director, and radio and television host
• Erna Sack (1898–1972), soprano singer
• Tom Schilling (born 1982), actor
• Wilhelm Schirmer (1802–1866), painter.
• Cornelia Schleime (born 1953), painter, performer, filmmaker and writer
• Jörn Schlönvoigt (born 1986), actor and singer
• Christoph Schneider (born 1966), musician of Band Rammstein
• Louis Schneider (1805–1878), actor and writer
• Klaus Schulze (1947–2022), electronic music pioneer, composer and musician
• Tomer Sisley (born 1974), Israeli humorist, actor, screenwriter, comedian, and film director
• Max Skladanowsky (1863–1939), early filmmaker and co-inventor of Bioscop
• Elke Sommer (born 1940), actor
• Detlef Soost (born 1970), dancer, choreographer and television presenter
• Ingrid Steeger (1947–2023), actress and comedian
• Carl Steffeck (1818–1890), painter
• Hermann Struck (1876–1944), painter
• Katrin Lea Tag (born 1972), scenic designer and costume designer
• Katharina Thalbach (born 1954), actress
• Christian Thielemann (born 1959), conductor
• Sophia Thomalla (born 1989), actress
• Nora Tschirner (born 1981), actress
• Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935), writer
• Michael Verhoeven (1938–2024), actor
• Otto Wallburg (1889–1944), actor
• Volker Wangenheim (1928–2014), conductor, composer and academic teacher
• Jonathan Elias Weiske (born 1996), film and television actor, and voice actor
• Wilhelmine von Wrochem (1798–1839), flutist, singer and actress
• Dana Wynter (1931–2011), actress
• Jing Xiang (born 1993), actress
• Rolf Zacher (1941–2018), actor

Sportspeople

• Rudi Ball (1911–1975), Olympic and Hall of Fame ice hockey player
• Muhamed BeÅ¡ić (born 1992), footballer who plays for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
• Jérôme Boateng (born 1988), football player and 2014 FIFA World Cup winner
• Kevin-Prince Boateng (born 1987), footballer
• John Brooks (born 1993), footballer
• Guido Buchwald (born 1961), footballer
• Omar Bugiel (born 1994), Lebanese international footballer
• Karim Darwiche (born 1998), Lebanese international footballer
• Sven Felski (born 1974), ice hockey coach
• Gottfried Fuchs (1889–1972), German-Canadian Olympic soccer player
• Niels Giffey (born 1991), basketball player, two-time NCAA champion and 2023 FIBA World Cup winner
• Thomas Häßler (born 1966), footballer and 1990 FIFA World Cup winner
• Robert Harting (born 1984), discus thrower
• Heinz Henschel (1920–2006), German Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, and IIHF Hall of Fame inductee
• Achim Hill (1935–2015), rower
• Robert Huth (born 1984), footballer
• Gustav Jaenecke (1908–1985), Olympic ice hockey player
• Patrick Jahn (born 1983), footballer
• Carsten Keller (born 1939), field hockey player and gold medalist at the 1972 Summer Olympics, father of Andreas Keller, Natascha Keller and Florian Keller
• Max Kepler (born 1993), baseball player for the Minnesota Twins of the MLB
• Henry Laskau (1916–2000), track and field athlete
• Pierre Littbarski (born 1960), footballer
• Laura Ludwig (born 1986), beach volleyballer
• Ingeborg Mello (1919–2009), track and field athlete
• Jonas Müller (born 1995), ice hockey player and silver medalist at the 2018 Winter Olympics
• Hassan Oumari (born 1986), footballer
• Joan Oumari (born 1988), footballer
• Claudia Pechstein (born 1972), speed skater
• Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer
• Daniel Prenn (1904–1991), Russian-born German, Polish, and British world-top-ten tennis player
• Nyara Sabally, WNBA player
• Otto Scheff (1889–1956), Olympic swimmer
• Gustav Scholz (1930–2000), boxer
• Jochen Schümann (born 1959), sailor and Olympic champion
• Amar Sejdić (born 1996), American soccer player for Atlanta United FC of the MLS
• Hagen Stamm (born 1960), water polo player
• Ulf Timmermann (born 1962), shot putter
• Franziska van Almsick (born 1978), swimmer and sport journalist
• Franz Wagner (born 2001), basketball player for the Orlando Magic and 2023 FIBA World Cup winner
• Moritz Wagner (born 1997), basketball player for the Orlando Magic and 2023 FIBA World Cup winner
• Katarina Witt (born 1965), figure skater and two-time Olympic champion
• Christian Ziege (born 1972), footballer

Others

• Erna Barschak (1888–1958), teacher and psychologist
• Bärbel Bohley (1945–2010), opposition figure and artist
• Harald Braem (born 1944), writer, designer and professor
• Gabriele von Bülow (1802–1887), noblewoman
• Margot Dreschel (1908–1945), Nazi concentration camp guard executed for war crimes
• Horst Fischer (1912–1966), SS concentration camp doctor executed for war crimes
• Heinz Kapelle (1913–1941), communist and resistance fighter
• Elisabeth Lupka (1902–1949), Nazi concentration camp guard executed for war crimes
• Lars Mittank (born 1986), man who went missing in Varna, Bulgaria, in 2014
• Käthe Niederkirchner (1909–1944), communist and resistance fighter
• Elisa Radziwiłł (1803–1834), German-Polish noblewoman
• Rosalie von Rauch (1829–1879), German noblewoman
• Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler (1918–2001), communist propagandist

See also

• Culture of Berlin
• Music in Berlin
• Sport in Berlin
• List of Germans

References