33.5131° N, 36.2920° E

DAMASCUS

Most Famous People Born in Damascus, Syria

Notable people
464
Peak decade
1970s
Median birth year
1943
Most distinctive
Archbishop 31.4×
Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Damascus during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1970s with 48 notable births.

What Damascus Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Damascus's biggest profession — 15% of all notables (68).

Damascus over-indexes on archbishop31.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician68
  2. Football43
  3. Writer25
  4. Actor24
  5. Priest22
  6. Diplomat15
  7. Journalist13
  8. Film11
  1. Archbishop731.4×
  2. Minister59.1×
  3. Activist77.0×
  4. Diplomat155.5×
  5. Philosopher63.6×
  6. Priest223.2×
  7. Novelist52.7×
  8. Historian102.0×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Damascus's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Other
All464
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Showing 24 of 464 notable people

0006 POET

Nizar Qabbani

1923 - 1998

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0055 FILM

Fereydoon Hoveyda

1924 - 2006

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0086 WRITER

Vahé Katcha

1928 - 2003

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0145 TRANSLATOR

Edmund Keeley

Born 1928

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0193 HISTORIAN

Ismet Cheriff Vanly

1924 - 2011

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0206 DIPLOMAT

Sabah Qabbani

1928 - 2015

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0218 ESPIONAGE

Gamliel Cohen

1922 - 2002

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0238 DIPLOMAT

Mosche Sasson

1925 - 2006

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0247 ART HISTORIAN

Afif Bahnassi

1928 - 2017

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0278 AUTHOR

George Tomeh

1922 - 2004

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0341 WRITER

Najiya Thamir

1926 - 1988

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0342 MILITAR

Haydar al-Kuzbari

1920 - 1996

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0343 PRIEST

Georges Kwaïter

1928 - 2011

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0356 POLITICIAN

Abd al-Karim al-Nahlawi

Born 1926

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0387 DIPLOMAT

Medhat Sheikh el-Ard

1920 - 2001

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0397 OFFICER

Xavier du Crest de Villeneuve

1924 - 2018

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0399 MISSING

Constantine Papastephanou

1924 - 2016

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0409 DIPLOMAT

Heissam Kelani

Born 1926

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0428 JUDGE

Abdallah Fikri El-Khani

Born 1925

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0438 PHYSICIAN

Hunein Maassab

1926 - 2014

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0442 LAWYER

Mqboola Chalak

1921 - 1986

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0454 DIPLOMAT

Mowaffak Allaf

1927 - 1996

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0461 DIPLOMAT

Akram Deiri

1925 - 1990

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0463 BISCHOF

Yeghishé Gizirian

1925 - 2016

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