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 66 of 1,427 notable people

0012 PHYSICIST

Friedrich Hund

1896 - 1997

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0066 COMPOSER

Günther Ramin

1898 - 1956

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0074 PSYCHIATRIST

S. H. Foulkes

1898 - 1976

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0083 MILITAR

Maximilian Fretter-Pico

1892 - 1984

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0117 SOLDIER

Willibald von Langermann und Erlencamp

1890 - 1942

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0171 LITHOGRAPHER

Karl Hubbuch

1891 - 1979

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0183 ACADEMIC

Werner M. Moser

1896 - 1970

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0206 MILITAR

Heinz Hellmich

1890 - 1944

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0271 ART HISTORIAN

Hermann Goetz (art historian)

1898 - 1976

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0280 FOOTBALL

Emil Kutterer

1898 - 1974

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0281 MILITAR

Otto Fretter-Pico

1893 - 1966

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0297 POLITICIAN

Kurt Bürger

1894 - 1951

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0315 POLITICIAN

Erwin Kraus

1894 - 1966

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0327 ZOOLOGIST

Friedrich Kiefer

1897 - 1985

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0350 ACTOR

Helmuth Gmelin

1891 - 1959

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0359 CHEMIST

Heinrich Rheinboldt

1891 - 1955

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0360 ARCHITECT

Thekla Schild

1890 - 1991

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0370 VERBRECHER

Adolf Rübe

1896 - 1974

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0382 PAINTER

Adolf Dell

1890 - 1977

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0397 FOOTBALL

Wilhelm Gros

1892 - 1917

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0409 ACADEMIC

Heinrich Kronstein

1897 - 1972

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0442 PROFESSOR

Friedrich Metz

1890 - 1969

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0526 PAINTER

Fridel Dethleffs-Edelmann

1899 - 1982

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0533 NURSE

Olga Freiin von Lersner

1897 - 1978

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0543 THEOLOGIAN

Artur Weiser

1893 - 1978

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0560 WRITER

Oskar Höcker (Schauspieler, 1892)

1892 - 1959

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0624 LAWYER

Hermann Veit

1897 - 1973

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0625 POLITICIAN

Franz Gurk

1898 - 1984

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0657 PAINTER

Willi Müller-Hufschmid

1890 - 1966

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0691 HISTORIAN

Walther Bulst

1899 - 1986

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0696 ACTOR

Eduard Wenck

1894 - 1954

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0707 MILITAR

Hermann Habich

Born 1895

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0715 ARTIST

Werner Gothein

1890 - 1968

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0735 PAINTER

Oswald Poetzelberger

1893 - 1966

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0746 PAINTER

Oskar Fischer (Maler)

1892 - 1955

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0768 OFFICER

Heino von Rantzau

1894 - 1946

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0785 OPERA

Hans Schanzara

1897 - 1984

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0818 AUTHOR

Rudolf Goldschmit-Jentner

1890 - 1964

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0824 POLITICIAN

Karl Berckmüller

1895 - 1961

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0896 FLYING ACE

Karl Ritscherle

1898 - 1940

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0902 PAINTER

Ottohans Beier

1892 - 1979

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0936 POLITICIAN

Friedrich Maier (Politiker)

1894 - 1960

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0970 COMPOSER

Arthur Kusterer

1898 - 1967

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1002 MISSING

Fritz Schindler (Flugakrobat)

1891 - 1930

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1012 POLITICIAN

Hermann Kürz

1892 - 1941

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1031 PAINTER

Philipp Herrmann

1899 - 1968

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1067 MERCHANT

Otto Nachmann

1893 - 1961

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1095 POLITICIAN

Friedrich Töpper

1891 - 1953

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1096 PAINTER

Hermann Sehrig

1892 - 1963

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1108 DANCER

Joachim von Brüsewitz

1891 - 1966

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1134 SWIMMER

Otto Groß

1890 - 1964

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1207 POLITICIAN

Franz Xaver Schmerbeck

1894 - 1973

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1210 FOOTBALL

Wilhelm Noë

1890 - 1956

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1214 EDUCATION

Friedrich Hub

1890 - 1985

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1256 WRITER

Elisabeth Joest

1893 - 1927

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1267 COMPOSER

Max Steidel

1891 - 1957

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1270 ACADEMIC

Otto Eiselin

1896 - 1962

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1299 ENGINEER

Arthur Lämmlein

1899 - 1964

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1308 POLITICIAN

Lilly Wächter

1899 - 1985

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1310 FOOTBALL

Emil Melcher

Born 1895

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1328 POLITICIAN

Friedrich Leibbrandt

1894 - 1960

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1338 BANK

Karl Henning von Barsewisch

1895 - 1981

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1355 OFFICER

Wolfgang Weese

1890 - 1961

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1388 FOOTBALL

Hans Ruzek

1894 - 1914

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1422 MANAGER

Alfred Overhamm

1897 - 1963

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1423 POLITICIAN

Willi Rieple

1898 - 1983

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