52.1311° N, 11.6394° E

MAGDEBURG

Most Famous People Born in Magdeburg, Germany

Notable people
1,379
Peak decade
1930s
Median birth year
1902
Most distinctive
Generalmajor 26.4×

A Prussian garrison town turned East German industrial city, and both halves show up in the bench. Magdeburg's distinctive professions are Generalmajoren, handball players, canoeists, teachers, entrepreneurs, authors, academics, and theologians — the trades of an officer class, a GDR sport school, and a rebuilt postwar university. Otto von Guericke was born here (he of the Magdeburg hemispheres), Telemann was kapellmeister here, and the 10th-century bench reaches back to Otto I, who used the city as his imperial base.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1930s with 110 notable births.

What Magdeburg Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Magdeburg's biggest profession — 14% of all notables (194).

Magdeburg over-indexes on generalmajor26.4× the global rate.

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

  1. Politician194
  2. Actor78
  3. Academic50
  4. Football44
  5. Author43
  6. Writer40
  7. Painter40
  8. Lawyer35
  1. Generalmajor2126.4×
  2. Handball276.3×
  3. Canoe145.6×
  4. Teacher144.3×
  5. Entrepreneur173.6×
  6. Author433.6×
  7. Academic503.6×
  8. Theologian153.0×
  1. Football440.3×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1500155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All1,379
Sort By

Showing 23 of 1,379 notable people

0056 COMPOSER

Friedrich Ernst Fesca

1789 - 1826

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0119 GYMNAST

Friedrich Friesen

1784 - 1814

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0142 ASTRONOMER

Palm Heinrich Ludwig von Boguslawski

1789 - 1851

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0318 ANATOMIST

August Karl Bock

1782 - 1833

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0366 PAINTER

Carl Sieg

1784 - 1845

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0369 POLITICIAN

Eduard von Alvensleben

1787 - 1876

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0560 ACADEMIC

Josias Neumann

1782 - 1855

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0584 OFFICER

Wilhelm von Schack

1786 - 1831

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0600 SOLDIER

Ferdinand Wilhelm Franz Bolstern von Boltenstern �

1786 - 1814

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0608 PAINTER

Johann Friedrich Helmsdorf

1783 - 1852

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0634 OFFICER

Franz Karl von Werder

1788 - 1869

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0718 ENTOMOLOGIST

Heinrich von Meyerinck

1786 - 1848

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0749 KAVALLERIE

Heinrich von Wedel

1784 - 1861

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0963 ACTOR

Elise Klingemann

1785 - 1862

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0982 MINISTERIUM

Ferdinand von Stosch (General)

1784 - 1857

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1153 DOCTOR

Friedrich August Neide

1781 - 1851

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1241 LEUTNANT

August von Legat

1781 - 1852

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1242 GENERALMAJOR

Wilhelm Ferdinand von Schack

1787 - 1846

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1268 LEUTNANT

Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand von Werder

1786 - 1854

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1276 BEAMTE

Wilhelm von Voss

1784 - 1818

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1296 GENERALMAJOR

Johann von Werder

1783 - 1854

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1303 LEUTNANT

Ferdinand von Werder

1785 - 1861

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1345 GENERALMAJOR

Wilhelm Christoph Jakob August von Haas

1785 - 1855

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