51.9225° N, 4.4793° E

ROTTERDAM

Most Famous People Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Notable people
1,222
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1938
Most distinctive
Swimmer 5.9×

The port-city blend: a theologian index of 2.7× that starts with Erasmus and never quite stops, a mathematician footprint in the Dijkstra tradition, and a painter lineage running from Willem de Kooning back through four centuries of Dutch light. The swimmer, rower, and boxer over-indexes are a different Rotterdam entirely — the concrete port city rebuilt after the 1940 Blitz, not the medieval town that didn't survive it.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 132 notable births.

What Rotterdam Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Rotterdam's biggest profession — 24% of all notables (290).

Rotterdam over-indexes on swimmer5.9× the global rate.

Rotterdam under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football290
  2. Painter90
  3. Politician89
  4. Actor41
  5. Swimmer35
  6. Singer33
  7. Writer31
  8. Sport25
  1. Swimmer355.9×
  2. Painter902.8×
  3. Theologian122.7×
  4. Rower122.7×
  5. Boxer122.5×
  6. Football2902.2×
  7. Mathematician132.1×
  8. Sculptor131.6×
  1. Politician890.6×
  2. Actor410.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Other
Politician89
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Showing 89 of 1,222 notable people

0013 POLITICIAN

Ruud Lubbers

1939 - 2018

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0017 POLITICIAN

Joseph Luns

1911 - 2002

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0022 POLITICIAN

Euclid Tsakalotos

Born 1960

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0034 POLITICIAN

Neelie Kroes

Born 1941

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0071 POLITICIAN

Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp

1762 - 1834

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0077 POLITICIAN

Hans van Baalen

Born 1960

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0107 POLITICIAN

Norbert Schmelzer

1921 - 2008

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0121 POLITICIAN

Willem Witteveen

1952 - 2014

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0122 POLITICIAN

Ivo Samkalden

1912 - 1995

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0132 POLITICIAN

Ivo Opstelten

Born 1944

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0155 POLITICIAN

Louis Bontes

Born 1956

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0162 POLITICIAN

Wil Albeda

1925 - 2014

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0163 POLITICIAN

Gijs van Aardenne

1930 - 1995

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0178 POLITICIAN

Cornelis Speelman

1628 - 1684

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0179 POLITICIAN

Kathalijne Buitenweg

Born 1970

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0189 POLITICIAN

Marja van Bijsterveldt

Born 1961

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0196 POLITICIAN

Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg

1861 - 1935

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0200 POLITICIAN

Karin Adelmund

1949 - 2005

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0211 POLITICIAN

Marcel de Graaff

Born 1962

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0264 POLITICIAN

Kees van Dijk

1931 - 2008

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0267 POLITICIAN

Tjerk Westerterp

Born 1930

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0270 POLITICIAN

Ancilla van de Leest

Born 1985

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0289 POLITICIAN

Dirk Donker Curtius

1792 - 1864

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0299 POLITICIAN

Hendrick Zwaardecroon

1667 - 1728

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0310 POLITICIAN

Benk Korthals

Born 1944

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0337 POLITICIAN

Carel Polak

1909 - 1981

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0342 POLITICIAN

Vicky Maeijer

Born 1986

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0351 POLITICIAN

Ina Brouwer

Born 1950

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0354 POLITICIAN

Gerard Helders

1905 - 2013

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0360 POLITICIAN

Astrid Oosenbrug

Born 1968

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0363 POLITICIAN

Roelf de Boer

Born 1949

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0373 POLITICIAN

Adriaan Dijxhoorn

1889 - 1953

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0378 POLITICIAN

Martin van Rijn

Born 1956

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0389 POLITICIAN

Lousewies van der Laan

Born 1966

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0397 POLITICIAN

Johan Gijsbert Verstolk van Soelen

1776 - 1845

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0403 POLITICIAN

Jacques Monasch

Born 1962

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0427 POLITICIAN

Paul Zimmerman (politician)

Born 1958

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0435 POLITICIAN

Nicolas-Jean Rouppe

1769 - 1838

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0437 POLITICIAN

Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt

1743 - 1826

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0448 POLITICIAN

Roald van der Linde

Born 1968

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0451 POLITICIAN

Til Gardeniers-Berendsen

1925 - 2019

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0453 POLITICIAN

Alexander Gillon

1741 - 1794

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0461 POLITICIAN

Frans Jozef van der Heijden

1938 - 2016

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0464 POLITICIAN

Ronald Sørensen

Born 1947

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0484 POLITICIAN

Charles van Rooy

1912 - 1996

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0485 POLITICIAN

Marnix van Rij

Born 1960

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0489 POLITICIAN

Corinne Ellemeet

Born 1976

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0510 POLITICIAN

Jo Schouwenaar-Franssen

1909 - 1995

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0517 POLITICIAN

Louis Hymans

1829 - 1884

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0523 POLITICIAN

Wassila Hachchi

Born 1980

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0545 POLITICIAN

Dirk Spierenburg

1909 - 2001

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0550 POLITICIAN

José María González Santos

Born 1975

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0556 POLITICIAN

Johann Heinrich Adolf Logemann

1892 - 1969

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0559 POLITICIAN

Hugo van Zuylen van Nijevelt

1781 - 1853

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0604 POLITICIAN

Daniël Théodore Gevers van Endegeest

1793 - 1877

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0605 POLITICIAN

Jim de Booy

1885 - 1969

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0623 POLITICIAN

René Dercksen

Born 1962

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0657 POLITICIAN

Engelbert François van Berckel

1726 - 1796

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0687 POLITICIAN

Jacob Adriaan Nicolaas Patijn

1873 - 1961

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0697 POLITICIAN

Wim Dik

Born 1939

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0699 POLITICIAN

Hugo Gevers

1765 - 1852

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0703 POLITICIAN

Ad van den Berg

Born 1944

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0710 POLITICIAN

Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaerts van Blokland

1843 - 1897

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0712 POLITICIAN

Anthoon Johan Koejemans

1903 - 1982

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0720 POLITICIAN

Nell Ginjaar-Maas

1931 - 2012

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0734 POLITICIAN

Johannes Siberg

1740 - 1817

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0753 POLITICIAN

Ivar Asjes

Born 1970

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0757 POLITICIAN

Gerard van As

Born 1944

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0764 POLITICIAN

Pieter Johan van Berckel

1725 - 1800

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0775 POLITICIAN

Khee Liang Phoa

Born 1955

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0809 POLITICIAN

Johan George Gleichman

1834 - 1906

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0825 POLITICIAN

Henricus Midderigh

1753 - 1800

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0843 POLITICIAN

Arnold Kerdijk

1846 - 1905

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0848 POLITICIAN

Geert Ruygers

1911 - 1970

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0849 POLITICIAN

Jan Adriaan van Zuylen van Nijevelt

1776 - 1840

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0859 POLITICIAN

Severinus Desiré Emanuels

1910 - 1981

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0871 POLITICIAN

Arie Heijkoop

1883 - 1929

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0889 POLITICIAN

Albertine van Vliet-Kuiper

Born 1951

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0911 POLITICIAN

Jan Zoon

1923 - 2016

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0912 POLITICIAN

Corneille Osy de Zegwaart

1757 - 1831

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0944 POLITICIAN

Marc Réville

1863 - 1920

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0965 POLITICIAN

Jan van Tilburg

1900 - 1977

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1010 POLITICIAN

Georg Jung (Politiker, 1814)

1814 - 1886

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1038 POLITICIAN

Harald Bergmann

Born 1965

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1054 POLITICIAN

Ludwig Gerstein

1928 - 1994

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1129 POLITICIAN

Jules Bijl

Born 1958

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1154 POLITICIAN

Tony Mulder

Born 1955

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1179 POLITICIAN

Craig Baumann

Born 1953

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1198 POLITICIAN

Francesco Conelli de' Prosperi

1801 - 1877

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