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 264 of 2,294 notable people

0014 GUITAR

Uli Jon Roth

Born 1954

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0023 FOOTBALL

Klaus Allofs

Born 1956

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0061 SCREENWRITER

Philip Gröning

Born 1959

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0071 FOOTBALL

Thomas Allofs

Born 1959

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0076 OPERA

Peter Seiffert

Born 1954

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0083 MUSIC

Zeno Roth

1956 - 2018

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0085 POLITICIAN

Heinz Faßmann

Born 1955

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0087 PRELATE

Heiner Koch

Born 1954

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0140 ACTOR

Hans-Georg Panczak

Born 1952

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0143 MUSIC

Alexander, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

Born 1958

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0147 HISTORIAN

Ulrich Herbert

Born 1951

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0158 BUSINESS

Thomas Middelhoff

Born 1953

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0174 POLITICIAN

Klaus-Heiner Lehne

Born 1957

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0188 ARTIST

Ulrike Arnold

Born 1950

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0190 SCULPTOR

Abraham David Christian

Born 1952

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0228 VIOLIN

Petra Müllejans

Born 1959

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0238 PLAYER

Rolf Gehring

Born 1955

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0253 PRESENTER

Bettina Böttinger

Born 1956

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0264 DIPLOMAT

Christoph Heusgen

Born 1955

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0265 HISTORIAN

Rüdiger Overmans

Born 1954

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0266 ACTOR

Axel Pape

Born 1956

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0270 ACTOR

Marina Langner

Born 1954

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0272 POLITICIAN

Michaela Noll

Born 1959

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0325 PHYSICIAN

Norbert Vollertsen

Born 1958

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0328 POLITICIAN

Dirk Elbers

Born 1959

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0330 MUSIC

Tommi Stumpff

Born 1958

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0332 WRITER

Norbert Mappes-Niediek

Born 1953

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0353 WRITER

Michael Kühntopf

Born 1957

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0369 SWIMMER

Gudrun Beckmann

Born 1955

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0384 ARTIST

Reinhard Mucha

Born 1950

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0390 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Daniel Karrenberg

Born 1959

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0397 MUSIC

Bettina Hoffmann (Musikerin)

Born 1959

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0408 FOOTBALL

Hans-Joachim Abel

Born 1952

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0412 ECONOMIST

Joachim Weimann

Born 1956

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0421 ENGINEER

Willy Rampf

Born 1953

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0437 ACADEMIC

Lorenz Engell

Born 1959

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0440 PAINTER

Michael Jäger (artist)

Born 1956

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0450 HISTORIAN

Gregor Schöllgen

Born 1952

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0454 MUSIC

Thomas Beckmann

Born 1957

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0457 POLITICIAN

Ulrike Höfken

Born 1955

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0461 ACTOR

Andreas Thiel (Filmschaffender)

1957 - 2006

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0466 FILM

Andreas Coerper

Born 1955

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0467 ACADEMIC

Hilde Léon

Born 1953

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0473 POLITICIAN

Birgitt Bender

Born 1956

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0498 CRIMINAL

Thomas Wolf (criminal)

Born 1953

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0500 POLITICIAN

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann

Born 1958

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0518 ENTREPRENEUR

Jost Stollmann

Born 1955

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0522 JOURNALIST

Matthias Horx

Born 1955

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0530 ACTOR

Corinna Kirchhoff

Born 1958

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0534 ACTOR

Kerstin Gähte

1958 - 2017

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0536 ACTOR

Ulrike Bliefert

Born 1951

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0568 ACADEMIC

Mischa Kuball

Born 1959

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0573 PRIEST

Manfred Deselaers

Born 1955

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0580 WRITER

Daniela Thiele

Born 1959

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0581 SOCIOLOGIST

Jost Reinecke

Born 1957

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0582 ACADEMIC

Wolfgang Hünnekens

Born 1958

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0585 WRITER

Carmen Korn

Born 1952

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0594 CURATOR

Martin Leyer-Pritzkow

Born 1957

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0604 SINGER

Peter Hein

Born 1957

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0615 POLITICIAN

Roman Reusch

Born 1954

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0626 SWIMMER

Andreas Schmidt (swimmer)

Born 1959

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0633 COMPOSER

Manos Tsangaris

Born 1956

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0637 ACTOR

Crock Krumbiegel

Born 1955

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0639 PRESENTER

Viktor Worms

Born 1959

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0641 ACTOR

Dieter Brandecker

Born 1956

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0661 PHILOSOPHER

Ralf Konersmann

Born 1955

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0662 FILM

Georg Quander

Born 1950

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0675 PHILOSOPHER

Andreas Speer

Born 1957

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0678 PSYCHOLOGIST

Joachim Funke

Born 1953

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0703 WRITER

Sabine Hänsgen

Born 1955

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0711 CURATOR

Udo Kittelmann

Born 1958

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0713 ACTOR

Thomas Schendel

Born 1956

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0715 HISTORIAN

Winfried Speitkamp

Born 1958

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0732 POET

Gabriele Wolff

Born 1955

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0743 WRITER

Hans Peter Riegel

Born 1959

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0752 AUTHOR

Stefan Bollmann

Born 1958

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0760 DRUMMER

Frank Köllges

1952 - 2012

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0775 MEDIEVALIST

Bea Lundt

Born 1950

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0777 ROMANIST

Wolfgang Dahmen (Romanist)

Born 1950

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0780 DIPLOMAT

Lutz Görgens

Born 1951

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0785 SCULPTOR

Thomas Schönauer

Born 1953

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0794 LAWYER

Michael Frege

Born 1959

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0809 PHYSICIST

Michael Schreckenberg (Physiker)

Born 1956

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0810 AUTHOR

Heinz-Norbert Jocks

Born 1955

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0815 ACADEMIC

Stephan Breidenbach

Born 1955

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0820 ACADEMIC

Haimo Schack

Born 1952

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0822 HISTORIAN

Gangolf Hübinger

Born 1950

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0825 ACADEMIC

Katharina Gräfin von Schlieffen

Born 1956

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0844 EDUCATION

Stefan Vesper

Born 1956

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0845 FILM

Friedemann Beyer

Born 1955

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0846 ACADEMIC

Eve-Marie Engels

Born 1951

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0852 ART HISTORIAN

Hubertus Kohle

Born 1959

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0855 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Karl-Peter Fritzsche

Born 1950

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0860 FILM

Hubertus Siegert

Born 1959

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0865 AUTHOR

Manuela Reichart

Born 1950

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0870 PHYSICIAN

Michael Spitzbart

Born 1957

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0876 HISTORIAN

Irene Franken

Born 1952

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0877 AUTHOR

Jörg Bremer

Born 1952

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0887 FILM

Rolf Berg

Born 1957

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0888 WRITER

Dirk van Gunsteren

Born 1953

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0892 PHILOSOPHER

Rafael Hüntelmann

Born 1958

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0893 PHYSICIAN

Wolfgang Schareck

Born 1953

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0900 ART HISTORIAN

Bernd Wolfgang Lindemann

Born 1951

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0906 WRITER

Christa Holtei

Born 1953

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0911 ACTOR

Michael Marwitz

Born 1956

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0925 CHOIR DIRECTOR

Franz Lamprecht (Dirigent)

Born 1951

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0927 GUITAR

Markus Wienstroer

Born 1959

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0928 SPORT

Ralf Stambula

Born 1954

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0940 SAXOPHONIST

Wolfgang Engstfeld

Born 1950

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0944 ACADEMIC

Reinhard Mehring

Born 1959

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0958 AUTHOR

Ingrid Schmitz

Born 1955

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0963 CORRESPONDENT

Martin Gehlen

Born 1956

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0980 SWIMMER

Marion Platten

Born 1958

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0982 SOCIOLOGIST

Wolfgang Knabe (Kulturwissenschaftler)

Born 1950

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0987 KONSUL

Heribert Heckschen

Born 1959

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0998 MATHEMATICIAN

Volker Peckhaus

Born 1955

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0999 COMPOSER

Tom Lorenz

Born 1959

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1009 GERMANIST

Angelika Redder

Born 1951

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1016 THEOLOGIAN

Ulrich Dehn

Born 1954

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1022 KUNST

Hans Paffrath

Born 1959

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1025 SOCIOLOGIST

Michael Bommes

1954 - 2010

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1040 SCREENWRITER

Heiko Schier

Born 1954

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1041 GENETICIST

Michael Reth

Born 1950

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1042 THEOLOGIAN

Jürgen van Oorschot

Born 1957

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1043 BUSINESS

Christoph Henkel

Born 1958

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1044 ACADEMIC

Dieter Hein

Born 1951

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1053 WRITER

Doris Mendlewitsch

Born 1957

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1059 COMPOSER

Sebastian Gottschick

Born 1959

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1076 PHOTOGRAPHER

Ansgar Maria van Treeck

Born 1957

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1086 POLITICIAN

Gisela Manderla

Born 1958

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1087 PSYCHIATRIST

Michael Osterheider

Born 1956

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1091 HISTORIAN

Georg Schöllgen

Born 1951

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1095 AUTHOR

Rainer Bartel (Autor)

Born 1952

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1106 VORSITZENDER

Jan Stefan Roell

Born 1954

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1122 POLITICIAN

Uta-Maria Kuder

Born 1957

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1126 JOURNALIST

Hans Hoff (Journalist)

Born 1955

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1132 DIPLOMAT

Peter Schoof

Born 1955

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1133 PAINTER

Bettina Semmer

Born 1955

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1134 AUTHOR

Angelika Janz

Born 1952

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1137 ARTIST

Astrid Karuna Feuser

Born 1951

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1138 MANAGER

Bernhard Reutersberg

Born 1954

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1145 WRITER

Georg Heinzen

Born 1953

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1158 POLITICIAN

Thomas Hendele

Born 1953

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1164 CINEMA

Sven Kierst

Born 1958

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1165 JUDGE

Peter Meier-Beck

Born 1955

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1166 FOOTBALL

Hans-Werner Moors

Born 1950

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1172 MEDIEVALIST

Verena Epp

Born 1959

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1178 PAINTER

Michael Burges

Born 1954

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1179 LÄUFER

Cornelia Bullig

Born 1959

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1182 WRITER

Hildegard Burri-Bayer

Born 1958

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1183 AUTHOR

Susanne Gerdom

Born 1958

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1184 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Rolf-Josef Eibicht

Born 1951

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1186 WRITER

Annegret Hoberg

Born 1955

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1188 PAINTER

Ute Langanky

Born 1957

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1201 WRITER

Karl-Ludwig Wetzig

Born 1956

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1205 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Nikolaus von und zu Sandizell

Born 1959

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1218 GERMANIST

Hans Wißkirchen

Born 1955

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1238 SWIMMER

Karin Bormann

Born 1954

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1244 HISTORIAN

Helga Schnabel-Schüle

Born 1954

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1247 WRITER

Alisha Bionda

Born 1958

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1249 ACTOR

Manuela Miebach

Born 1950

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1251 DIPLOMAT

Gudrun Steinacker

Born 1951

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1255 DRIVER

Pierre Ehret

Born 1956

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1265 SONGWRITER

Thomas Battenstein

Born 1951

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1269 SINGER

Claus Fabian

Born 1956

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1271 RADIOLOGIST

Norbert Hosten

Born 1957

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1273 FILM

Axel Engstfeld

Born 1953

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1287 ACADEMIC

Georg Bier

Born 1959

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1290 SPORT

Peter Frymuth

Born 1956

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1295 ACTOR

Leonhard Mader

Born 1954

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1296 DIPLOMAT

Cyrill Nunn

Born 1958

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1302 THEOLOGIAN

Norbert Lüdecke

Born 1959

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1303 MANAGER

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt

Born 1954

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1318 HISTORIAN

Jost Auler

Born 1958

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1324 SCREENWRITER

Stefan Lichter

Born 1957

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1330 SAXOPHONIST

Joachim Zoepf

Born 1955

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1332 ACTOR

Josef Baum

Born 1955

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1337 ARTIST

Till Verclas

Born 1953

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1343 JOURNALIST

Andreas Landwehr

Born 1959

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1348 HISTORIAN

Eberhard Illner

Born 1954

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1357 ART HISTORIAN

Bettina Ruhrberg

Born 1958

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1363 AUTHOR

Klaus De Rottwinkel

Born 1958

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1379 POLITICIAN

Sylvia Groß

Born 1953

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1380 SKATER

Petra Ruhrmann

Born 1950

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1381 EDUCATION

Rolf Balgo

Born 1958

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1393 PHYSICIAN

Jürgen Braun (Rheumatologe)

Born 1953

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1395 ACADEMIC

Marie-Agnes Dittrich

Born 1954

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1404 JOURNALIST

Gregor Schell

1957 - 2019

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1405 LAWYER

Uwe Koch (Schriftsteller)

Born 1954

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1408 ACADEMIC

Thomas Hartmann-Wendels

Born 1957

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1427 PAINTER

Paul Schwietzke

Born 1952

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1449 ART HISTORIAN

W. P. Fahrenberg

Born 1957

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1455 AUTHOR

Jörg Metes

Born 1959

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1458 EDITOR

Hajo F. Breuer

1954 - 2014

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1460 PRIEST

Christoph Stender

Born 1957

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1461 PHILOLOGE

Michael Hillen (Philologe)

Born 1958

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1491 JOCKEY

DJ der guten Laune

Born 1955

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1501 PHYSICIST

Wolfgang Viöl

Born 1959

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1513 WRITER

Ralf Meutgens

Born 1959

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1524 DRAMA

Hanns-Dietrich Schmidt

Born 1955

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1532 MISSING

Ernst Axel Knauf

Born 1953

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1546 MANAGER

Reinhard Uppenkamp

Born 1950

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1553 WRITER

Martin Strauß

Born 1959

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1560 MANAGER

Martin Salm

1955 - 2015

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1571 PAINTER

Daniela Flörsheim

Born 1953

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1586 ACADEMIC

Thomas Birkmann

Born 1955

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1588 HISTORIAN

Norbert Schloßmacher

Born 1956

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1601 WRITER

Klaus Sebastian

Born 1952

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1620 LAWYER

Ulrike Tašić

Born 1959

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1621 ENGINEER

Walter Pelka

Born 1953

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1639 MUSIC

Claus Unzen

Born 1957

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1647 LAWYER

Ulrich Lepper

Born 1950

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1654 HISTORIAN

Michael Fessner

Born 1957

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1685 DESIGNER

Norbert Küpper (Grafikdesigner)

Born 1950

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1698 METALLURGIST

Peter Dahlmann

Born 1955

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1704 SCULPTOR

Heike Roesner

Born 1959

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1706 WRITER

Pierre Nierhaus

Born 1957

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1722 PHOTOGRAPHER

Rüdiger Schrader

Born 1957

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1739 ACADEMIC

Andreas Bockisch

Born 1950

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1742 TRANSLATOR

Angela Wicharz-Lindner

Born 1954

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1754 AUTHOR

Hen Hermanns

Born 1953

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1765 WRITER

Karin Scholten

Born 1952

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1766 ARTIST

Wolf Tekook

Born 1951

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1784 ACADEMIC

Tyyne Claudia Pollmann

Born 1959

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1790 HISTORIAN

Rainer Berndt

Born 1951

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1818 TYPOGRAPHER

Irmgard Sonnen

Born 1954

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1851 DESIGNER

Wilfried Korfmacher

Born 1957

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1853 GUITAR

Christoph Kirschbaum

Born 1958

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1874 JUDGE

Lutz Strohn

Born 1951

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1890 ARCHITECT

Peter Ruge (Architekt)

Born 1959

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1901 POLITICIAN

Peter Preuß

Born 1953

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1930 ARTIST

Peter Clouth

Born 1958

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1934 ACTOR

Gudrun Mende

Born 1955

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1936 WRITER

Dieter Gruner

Born 1953

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1941 POLITICIAN

Eva Lux

Born 1958

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2000 MANAGER

Stefan Kürten

Born 1959

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2012 ACTOR

Dirk Triebel

Born 1957

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2023 THEATRE

Antje Lenkeit

Born 1953

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2035 ACADEMIC

Wolfgang Liebert

Born 1957

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2051 ROWER

Anne Dickmann

Born 1958

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2086 SPORT

Astrid Krombach

Born 1959

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2089 JOURNALIST

Christian Gramsch

Born 1959

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2097 ARTIST

Norbert Höveler

Born 1958

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2099 SCULPTOR

Rainer Lagemann

Born 1959

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2104 POLITICIAN

Bernd Flessenkemper

Born 1950

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2111 POLITICIAN

Klaus Eberhardt (Politiker)

Born 1956

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2116 POLITICIAN

Peter Rehaag

Born 1959

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2119 THEATRE

Philipp Kohlen-Priebe

Born 1956

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2132 DIPLOMAT

Detlef Lingemann

Born 1954

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2133 LAWYER

Rolf Welberts

Born 1955

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2156 POLITICIAN

Klaus Schumacher (Bürgermeister)

Born 1957

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2161 PAINTER

Cora Fisch

Born 1952

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2167 POLITICIAN

Marion Warden

Born 1958

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2168 PASTOR

Regina Claas

Born 1955

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2170 POLITICIAN

Walburga Benninghaus

Born 1955

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2183 POLITICIAN

Franz-Josef Moormann

Born 1952

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2184 VIROLOGIST

Uwe Gerd Liebert

Born 1954

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2185 DIPLOMAT

Christoph Sander (Diplomat)

Born 1953

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2196 LAWYER

Alexander Beckmann

Born 1955

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2200 ARTIST

Raymond Thelen

Born 1955

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2206 PAINTER

Detlef Krebs

Born 1956

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2234 POLITICIAN

Hans-Peter Milles

Born 1951

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2248 ATHLETIC

Annabel Holtkamp

Born 1955

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2281 POLITICIAN

Thomas Fiedler (Politiker)

Born 1951

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