54.3504° N, 18.6660° E

GDANSK

Most Famous People Born in Gdansk, Poland

Notable people
1,102
Peak decade
1920s
Median birth year
1910
Most distinctive
Fencer 6.2×

German Danzig for most of its history — a Hanseatic and later Prussian seaport whose Lutheran and scientific footprint still dominates the roster. The disproportionate Theologian and Academic counts point to the Gymnasium Academicum tradition, while an outsized Fencer bench and a thick Rower count come from the interwar student corps and the Baltic rowing clubs. Most of this panel belongs to the German-speaking city that vanished in 1945.

Through the Centuries

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

What Gdansk Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Gdansk's biggest profession — 10% of all notables (114).

Gdansk over-indexes on fencer6.2× the global rate.

Gdansk under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Politician114
  2. Actor66
  3. Painter46
  4. Football37
  5. Writer35
  6. Academic32
  7. Historian32
  8. Composer28
  1. Fencer136.2×
  2. Theologian184.5×
  3. Rower174.2×
  4. Academic322.9×
  5. Officer202.8×
  6. Historian322.8×
  7. Mathematician132.4×
  8. Author222.3×
  1. Football370.3×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1500155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All1,102
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Showing 88 of 1,102 notable people

0002 LYRICIST

Günter Grass

1927 - 2015

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0032 ACTOR

Eddi Arent

1925 - 2013

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0037 POLITICIAN

Horst Ehmke

1927 - 2017

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0073 BOXER

Zygmunt Chychła

1926 - 2009

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0086 FILM

Alexander Salkind

1921 - 1997

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0088 ACTOR

Lilo Pempeit

1922 - 1993

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0092 AUTHOR

Balduin Baas

1922 - 2006

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0106 ARCHITECT

Frank Meisler

1929 - 2018

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0110 JUDGE

Meir Shamgar

1925 - 2019

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0120 POLITICIAN

Hanna-Renate Laurien

1928 - 2010

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0121 CONDUCTOR

Miltiades Caridis

1923 - 1998

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0125 ECONOMIST

Wilhelm Hankel

1929 - 2014

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0156 ACTOR

Käte Jaenicke

1923 - 2002

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0158 SWIMMER

Ursula Happe

Born 1926

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0170 AEROSPACE

Heinz-Hermann Koelle

1925 - 2011

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0184 TORTURER

Wanda Klaff

1922 - 1946

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0187 COMMUNIST

Boris Fraenkel

1921 - 2006

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0205 ACADEMIC

Zvi Hashin

1929 - 2017

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0210 SAILOR

Ike Aronowicz

1923 - 2009

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0218 RIDER

Rosemarie Springer

1920 - 2019

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0243 GUERRA

Gerda Steinhoff

1922 - 1946

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0245 HISTORIAN

Anna M. Cienciala

1929 - 2014

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0251 ECONOMIST

Ralph Anspach

Born 1926

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0252 BISHOP

Zygmunt Pawłowicz

1927 - 2010

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0269 ECONOMIST

Henry Rosovsky

Born 1927

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0300 PHYSICIST

Stephen Gasiorowicz

1928 - 2016

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0314 THEOLOGIAN

Stephan Pfürtner

1922 - 2012

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0346 PHYSICIST

Helmut Schmidt (parapsychologist)

1928 - 2011

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0352 POLITICIAN

Kurt Tiedke

1924 - 2015

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0362 ACTOR

Eva Ebner

1922 - 2006

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0409 PROFESSOR

Justus Rosenberg

Born 1921

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0410 ARTIST

Vera Klement

Born 1929

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0429 JUDGE

Shoshana Netanyahu

Born 1923

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0438 ENTREPRENEUR

Bruno Koschmider

1926 - 2000

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0445 KATHOLISCHER

Alfons Sarrach

1927 - 2013

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0461 PHILOSOPHER

Zvi H. Rosen

1925 - 2014

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0486 ART HISTORIAN

Ruth Schmitz-Ehmke

1925 - 2007

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0502 WRITER

Werner Riegel

1925 - 1956

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0504 RESTAURATEUR

Hans-Lothar Fauth

1928 - 2012

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0533 SINGER

Hanno Blaschke

1927 - 2017

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0539 ACTOR

Peter Böhlke (Schauspieler)

Born 1926

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0541 ECONOMIST

Hans Raffée

Born 1929

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0544 GEHEIMAGENT

Hans Voelkner

1928 - 2002

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0556 PATHOLOGIST

Leopold Koss

1920 - 2012

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0562 POLITICIAN

Heinz Ruhnau

1929 - 2020

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0589 MATHEMATICIAN

Wolfgang Boehm (Mathematiker)

1928 - 2018

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0590 DESIGNER

Herbert W. Kapitzki

1925 - 2005

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0594 BERATER

Eberhard Schnelle

1921 - 1997

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0596 COMMANDER

Georg Preuß

1920 - 1991

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0612 AUTHOR

Werner Sprenger

1923 - 2009

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0615 MATHEMATICIAN

Rolf Lingenberg

1929 - 1978

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0624 AUTHOR

Joachim Scholz (Autor)

Born 1924

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0635 SCREENWRITER

Heinz Kahlow

1924 - 2015

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0641 JUDGE

Gisela Niemeyer

1923 - 2012

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0649 ACTOR

Heinz Treuke

Born 1926

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0658 POLITICIAN

Helmut Kater

1927 - 2012

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0664 LITERARY

Hans Jürgen Geerdts

1922 - 1989

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0674 ACADEMIC

Ulrich Rembold

1929 - 2002

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0676 POLITICIAN

Roman Legien

1927 - 2015

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0677 ACADEMIC

Ralph Johannes

Born 1929

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0678 ARTIST

Manfred Kandt

1922 - 1992

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0688 SURGEON

Kurt Gdanietz

1928 - 2019

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0691 ENGINEER

Georges Lipietz

1922 - 2003

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0700 ATHLETIC

Gerard Mach

1926 - 2015

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0704 HISTORIAN

Walter Stark

1924 - 2009

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0710 PHYSICIST

Bernhard Ilschner

1928 - 2006

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0728 WRITER

Hildegard Krug

1927 - 2012

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0773 POLITICIAN

Max Archimowitz

1920 - 2000

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0785 ECONOMIST

Wolfgang Heinrichs

1929 - 1994

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0792 BASKET

Whitey Dienelt

1921 - 1990

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0803 SINGER

Werner Hass

Born 1927

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0804 HISTORIAN

Heinz Lingenberg

1927 - 1996

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0836 ACADEMIC

Georg Harder

1929 - 1985

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0842 ROMANIST

Wolfgang Rothe (Romanist)

1920 - 1974

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0845 POLITICIAN

Georg Sturmowski

1923 - 2017

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0846 POLITICIAN

Hans Derben

1927 - 2009

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0873 ACADEMIC

Wolfgang Kramp

1927 - 1983

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0896 ACADEMIC

Hans-Hartwig Ruthenberg

1928 - 1980

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0929 POLITICIAN

Hans-Alexander Drechsler

1923 - 2002

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0965 POLITICIAN

Klaus Weigle

1926 - 2009

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0977 SCULPTOR

Peter Weiss (Bildhauer)

1924 - 1981

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0979 POLITICIAN

Werner Fischer (Politiker, 1925)

1925 - 1998

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0985 OFFICER

Arthur Becker-Neetz

1920 - 2016

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1007 JOURNALIST

Elly Steinmann

1921 - 2009

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1062 FOOTBALL

Heinz Brauer (Fußballspieler)

1921 - 2004

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1081 PLAYER

Willi Mallon

1926 - 1995

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1087 POLITICIAN

Ernst Fleischner

1920 - 1991

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1088 JOURNALIST

Eberhard Bitzer

1927 - 1963

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