51.2310° N, 6.7725° E

DUSSELDORF

Most Famous People Born in Dusseldorf, Germany

Notable people
2,294
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1936
Most distinctive
Painter 3.9×

A Rhenish art academy city whose bench is thick with painters — more than ten per cent of all notables, a share matched by very few cities in the dataset. Düsseldorf's distinctive shelves beyond that are authors, academics, sculptors, economists, and historians, and its most famous son is Heinrich Heine. The Kunstakademie is the engine that produced Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter (who taught there), and a generation of photographers; Jürgen Habermas and Wim Wenders grew up here too.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Dusseldorf during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 303 notable births.

What Dusseldorf Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Painter is Dusseldorf's biggest profession — 10% of all notables (234).

Dusseldorf over-indexes on painter3.9× the global rate.

Dusseldorf under-produces football — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Painter234
  2. Actor189
  3. Politician176
  4. Football110
  5. Writer98
  6. Academic81
  7. Author74
  8. Lawyer51
  1. Painter2343.9×
  2. Author743.7×
  3. Academic813.5×
  4. Sculptor453.0×
  5. Economist242.5×
  6. Historian502.1×
  7. Architect402.0×
  8. Artist431.8×
  1. Football1100.4×
  2. Singer290.6×
  3. Politician1760.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Art & Design
  • Writing
  • Politics & Law
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Science
  • Other
All2,294
Sort By

Showing 126 of 2,294 notable people

0095 COMPOSER

Willy Berking

1910 - 1979

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0100 ACTOR

Norman Wooland

1910 - 1989

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0110 FILM

Wolf C. Hartwig

1919 - 2017

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0120 ARCHITECT

Paul Schneider-Esleben

1915 - 2005

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0137 OFFICER

Kurt Franz

1914 - 1998

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0138 FOOTBALL

Stanislaus Kobierski

1910 - 1972

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0170 COMPOSER

Jürg Baur

1918 - 2010

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0179 COMPOSER

Otto Joachim (composer)

1910 - 2010

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0214 FLYING ACE

Ludwig Franzisket

1917 - 1988

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0226 PAINTER

Bele Bachem

1916 - 2005

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0255 MATHEMATICIAN

Johanna Weber

1910 - 2014

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0259 ACTOR

Elfriede Florin

1912 - 2006

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0274 CONDUCTOR

Otto Matzerath

1914 - 1963

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0280 AUTHOR

Anja Lundholm

1918 - 2007

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0286 PSYCHOANALYST

Gisela Pankow

1914 - 1998

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0316 HISTORIAN

Leni Yahil

1912 - 2007

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0331 HOCKEY

Günther Sabetzki

1915 - 2000

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0345 FOOTBALL

Josef Rasselnberg

1912 - 2005

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0351 FOOTBALL

Jakob Bender

1910 - 1981

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0357 PHYSICIAN

Kurt Lingens

1912 - 1966

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0360 WRITER

Alexander Spoerl

1917 - 1978

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0379 WRITER

Herbert Wendt

1914 - 1979

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0410 PHYSICIAN

Hans Müller (physician)

1915 - 1994

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0422 SCULPTOR

Adolf Bierbrauer

1915 - 2012

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0436 MILITANT

Johann Burianek

1913 - 1952

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0445 FOOTBALL

Kurt Borkenhagen

1919 - 2012

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0481 EDITOR

Jean-Pierre Wilhelm

1912 - 1968

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0486 ARCHITECT

Aloys Odenthal

1912 - 2003

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0495 DRIVER

Josef Peters (racing driver)

1914 - 2001

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0528 FOOTBALL

Hans Heibach

1918 - 1970

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0538 FOOTBALL

Felix Zwolanowski

1912 - 1998

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0572 ATHLETIC

Helma Notte

1911 - 1997

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0602 PLAYER

Hilde Bussmann

1914 - 1988

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0620 FOOTBALL

Jakob Balzert

1918 - 1997

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0657 PHYSIOTHERAPIST

Erich Deuser

1910 - 1993

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0665 DERMATOLOGIST

Günter Stüttgen

1919 - 2003

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0671 ARTIST

Ingeborg ten Haeff

1915 - 2011

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0689 CHEMIST

Konrad Henkel

1915 - 1999

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0741 PAINTER

Carl Lambertz

1910 - 1996

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0751 ARCHITECT

Fritz G. Winter

1910 - 1986

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0766 AUTHOR

Karl Emerich Krämer

1918 - 1987

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0821 JOURNALIST

Bernd Ruland

1914 - 1976

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0843 ACTOR

Hilde Kneip

1912 - 1985

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0880 LAWYER

Johanne Walhorn

1911 - 1995

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0890 POLITICIAN

Raban Adelmann (Politiker)

1912 - 1992

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0901 ACADEMIC

Kajetan Eßer

1913 - 1978

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0902 WRITER

Elisabeth Trube-Becker

1919 - 2012

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0917 JOURNALIST

Alfons Gerz

1913 - 1995

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0932 SCENOGRAPHER

Carl Johan Ström

1914 - 1992

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0942 PAINTER

Ursula Benser

1915 - 2001

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0946 HISTORIAN

Rainer Gruenter

1918 - 1993

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0953 MEDIEVALIST

Paul Egon Hübinger

1911 - 1987

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0992 ARCHITECT

Josef Lehmbrock

1918 - 1999

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1008 PHYSICIAN

Karl Kremer

1915 - 2009

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1010 WEIGHTLIFTER

Georg Liebsch

1911 - 1998

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1028 PHYSICIAN

Josef Nöcker

1919 - 1989

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1094 PAINTER

Anita Blum-Paulmichl

1911 - 1981

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1162 PHARMACOLOGIST

Hans Herken

1912 - 2003

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1194 MATHEMATICIAN

Josef Heinhold

1912 - 2000

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1214 ACTOR

Peter Lehmbrock

1919 - 1990

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1250 ACTOR

Walter Bison

1913 - 1985

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1259 SURGEON

Josef Kastert

1910 - 1993

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1262 WRITER

Hans Meyers

1912 - 2013

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1289 LAWYER

Hermann Wilhelm Thywissen

1917 - 2008

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1309 ROMANIST

Hans Flasche

1911 - 1994

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1311 ART HISTORIAN

Franz Willemsen

1910 - 1999

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1317 JOURNALIST

Arthur Westrup

1913 - 2009

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1325 POLITICIAN

Josef Rick

1912 - 2001

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1334 CELLIST

Walter Joachim

1912 - 2001

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1361 ACTOR

Ilse-Nore Tromm

1912 - 1994

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1366 ACADEMIC

Bernhard Aubin

1913 - 2005

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1368 COMPOSER

Herbert Beuerle

1911 - 1994

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1376 MATHEMATICIAN

Joachim Otto Fleckenstein

1914 - 1980

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1389 MUSIC

Hanns Reinartz

1911 - 1988

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1394 POLITICIAN

Maria Wachter

1910 - 2010

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1418 REAL ESTATE

Willi Aengevelt

1911 - 2006

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1429 PHOTOGRAPHER

Georg Hülsse

1914 - 1996

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1447 THEOLOGIAN

Horst Thurmann

1911 - 1999

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1472 SCULPTOR

Kurt Zimmermann (Bildhauer)

1910 - 1961

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1488 ENTREPRENEUR

Friedrich Conzen

1913 - 2006

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1494 AUTHOR

Wilhelm Dittgen

1912 - 1997

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1500 WRITER

Irma Petzold-Heinz

1913 - 1991

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1503 AUTHOR

Helmut Apffel

1911 - 2007

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1505 PAINTER

Walter Gondolf

1912 - 1989

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1531 JOURNALIST

Hildegard Damrow

1918 - 1975

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1554 PAINTER

Remigius Netzer

1916 - 1985

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1576 INTERNIST

Rudolf Baumann (Mediziner)

1911 - 1988

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1593 MANAGER

Heinz Schmöle

1913 - 1982

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1600 POLITICIAN

Max Schulze-Vorberg

1919 - 2006

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1638 PRIEST

Heinz Werner Ketzer

1914 - 1984

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1651 ACTOR

Raymond Joob

1916 - 1983

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1653 PHILOLOGE

Gerd Schimansky

1912 - 2010

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1700 INTERNIST

Hans-Dieter Ellenbeck

1912 - 1992

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1707 OFFICER

Andreas Coerdt

1916 - 2006

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1715 PARSON

Hans Meyer (Pfarrer)

1910 - 1971

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1752 POLITICIAN

Julius Saxler

1916 - 1996

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1758 CHEMIST

Alfred Roedig

1910 - 1983

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1769 PAINTER

Willy E. Nocken

1919 - 1995

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1785 ACTOR

Lisa Stammer

1916 - 1985

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1823 POLITICIAN

Elfriede Seppi

1910 - 1976

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1847 ACTOR

Werner Nippen

1911 - 1979

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1855 LANDRAT

Hermann Nellen

1910 - 1982

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1879 ARTIST

Hella Bailin

1915 - 2006

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1885 POLITICIAN

Peter Müller (Politiker, 1916)

1916 - 2005

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1944 DIPLOMAT

Otto Heipertz (Diplomat)

1913 - 1985

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1953 WIDERSTAND

Hermann Smeets

1910 - 1997

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1999 PHYSICIAN

Peter Sachse

1910 - 1997

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2002 POLITICIAN

Maria Hölters

1910 - 1995

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2087 COMPOSER

Hermann Schäfer (Komponist, 1911)

1911 - 1977

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2090 DESIGNER

Walther Bergmann

1914 - 1979

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2092 PILOTO

Johannes Lutter

1912 - 2004

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2109 PLAYER

Peter Maaßen

1913 - 1988

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2110 COMMANDER

Horst Hamm

1916 - 1943

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2114 WORLD WAR

Herbert Fritz

1916 - 1996

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2136 POLITICIAN

Hilde Fiedler

1919 - 2011

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2144 ENGINEER

Georg Lücking

1912 - 1992

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2154 SWIMMER

Anni Stolte

1915 - 1994

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2214 SOLDIER

Friedrich Bürgel

Born 1916

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2216 POLITICIAN

Lieselotte Wicke

1914 - 1989

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2237 POLITICIAN

Albert Schlangen

1918 - 1966

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2239 JOURNALIST

Hans Körfer

1910 - 1972

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2242 PLAYER

Helmut Ulrich (Tischtennisspieler)

1913 - 1970

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2256 ARTIST

Lillanna Söderberg

1916 - 2019

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2267 POLITICIAN

Joseph Dünnwald

1912 - 1994

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2274 SPORT

Hubert Brohl

1913 - 2006

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2278 POLITICIAN

Hans Jennes

1910 - 1990

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