49.0159° N, 8.4031° E

KARLSRUHE

Most Famous People Born in Karlsruhe, Germany

Notable people
1,427
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1920
Most distinctive
Author 4.6×

A baroque grand-ducal city founded in 1715 around the fan-shaped palace of the Margraves of Baden-Durlach. Karlsruhe's distinctive professions are academic authors, chemists, engineers, judges, and architects — the trades of a Residenzstadt that grew into a 19th-century technical university town and never lost the official-document register. Karl Benz built the first automobile here in 1885, and Oliver Kahn and a deep column of other Bundesliga footballers came out of the local Karlsruher SC academy.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 165 notable births.

What Karlsruhe Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Karlsruhe's biggest profession — 10% of all notables (136).

Karlsruhe over-indexes on author — 4.6× the global rate.

Karlsruhe under-produces singer — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Politician136
  2. Football98
  3. Actor69
  4. Painter63
  5. Author56
  6. Academic56
  7. Writer44
  8. Lawyer38
  1. Author564.6×
  2. Academic563.9×
  3. Chemist173.4×
  4. Judge233.4×
  5. Engineer232.6×
  6. Historian372.5×
  7. Architect312.5×
  8. Officer212.2×
  1. Singer170.6×
  2. Football980.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Other
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All1,427
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Showing 33 of 1,427 notable people

0019 REGENT

Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden

1826 - 1907

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0030 POET

Joseph Victor von Scheffel

1826 - 1886

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0048 ARISTOCRAT

Princess Alexandrine of Baden

1820 - 1904

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0069 SOVEREIGN

Louis II, Grand Duke of Baden

1824 - 1858

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0089 PRINCE

Prince William of Baden (1829–1897)

1829 - 1897

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0092 POET

Ludwig Eichrodt

1827 - 1892

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0134 ENGINEER

Robert Gerwig

1820 - 1885

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0142 COMPOSER

Alexander Fesca

1820 - 1849

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0151 WRITER

Emil Frommel

1828 - 1896

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0221 PHYSICIAN

Theodor von Dusch

1824 - 1890

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0238 OFFICER

Leopold von Edelsheim-Gyulai

1826 - 1893

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0310 ART HISTORIAN

Julius Braun

1825 - 1869

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0379 ARCHITECT

Charles Bartberger

1824 - 1896

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0384 PAINTER

Wilhelm Frey (Maler)

1826 - 1911

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0441 HERTIG

Ludwig von Edelsheim

1823 - 1872

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0444 PHOTOGRAPHER

Émile Reutlinger

1825 - 1907

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0474 ACADEMIC

Karl Schuberg

1827 - 1899

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0630 THEOLOGIAN

Carl Scholl

1820 - 1907

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0689 REGIERUNG

Friedrich von Preen

1823 - 1894

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0717 BUSINESS

Heinrich Witzenmann

1829 - 1906

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0774 LITHOGRAPHER

Christian Pfann

1824 - 1885

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0842 OFFICER

Wilhelm Pleikard Ludwig von Gemmingen

1823 - 1903

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0873 POLITICIAN

Moritz Ellstätter

1827 - 1905

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0880 ARCHITECT

Jacob Haish

1826 - 1926

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0993 POLITICIAN

Gottfried von Dusch

1821 - 1891

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1010 REVOLUTIONÄR

Hermann Hug

1825 - 1888

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1068 ACTOR

Adolfine Neumann

1822 - 1844

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1127 GENERALMAJOR

Ludwig Dürr (General)

1822 - 1891

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1183 LAWYER

Eugen von Regenauer

1824 - 1897

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1185 JUDGE

Karl Wielandt (Oberamtmann)

1820 - 1884

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1350 MILITAR

Robert von Unger

1828 - 1887

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1402 ENGINEER

Carl Göler von Ravensburg

1827 - 1889

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1403 JUDGE

Wilhelm Ludwig Friedrich Lang

1821 - 1884

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