52.2300° N, 21.0111° E

WARSAW

Most Famous People Born in Warsaw, Poland

Notable people
2,811
Peak decade
1900s
Median birth year
1926
Most distinctive
Chess 7.5×

A city that keeps having to rebuild its memory. Warsaw's distinctive professions are chess masters, fencers, mathematicians, physicists, and rowers — a combination that maps almost exactly onto the Jewish and intellectual life that the city lost in the 1940s and never fully recovered. The dataset's most famous Varsovian was born in 1867 and left at twenty-four; many of the rest of the brightest names share some version of that biography.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1900s with 256 notable births.

What Warsaw Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Warsaw's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (254).

Warsaw over-indexes on chess7.5× the global rate.

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

  1. Actor254
  2. Politician159
  3. Painter143
  4. Writer119
  5. Football90
  6. Composer86
  7. Journalist76
  8. Sport72
  1. Chess437.5×
  2. Fencer387.0×
  3. Mathematician523.7×
  4. Physicist433.7×
  5. Rower292.8×
  6. Historian692.3×
  7. Composer862.3×
  8. Poet642.2×
  1. Football900.3×
  2. Politician1590.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Science
  • Music
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All2,811
Sort By

Showing 184 of 2,811 notable people

0004 FILM

Krzysztof Kieślowski

1941 - 1996

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0010 POLITICIAN

Lech Kaczyński

1949 - 2010

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0015 FILM

Agnieszka Holland

Born 1948

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0020 WRITER

Adam Michnik

Born 1946

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0024 POLITICIAN

Jarosław Kaczyński

Born 1949

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0055 POLITICIAN

Janusz Korwin-Mikke

Born 1942

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0058 HISTORIAN

Jan T. Gross

Born 1947

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0109 COMPOSER

Michał Urbaniak

Born 1943

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0111 SCREENWRITER

Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Born 1945

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0112 ARTIST

Krzysztof Wodiczko

Born 1943

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0119 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Adam Przeworski

Born 1940

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0137 ACTOR

Jan Englert

Born 1943

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0146 POLITICIAN

Antoni Macierewicz

Born 1948

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0162 SPRINT

Ewa Kłobukowska

Born 1946

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0181 SCENOGRAPHER

Allan Starski

Born 1943

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0182 ACTOR

Stanisława Celińska

Born 1947

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0209 SINGER

Anna Prucnal

Born 1940

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0226 ACTOR

Janusz Zaorski

Born 1947

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0249 FILM

Ryszard Bugajski

1943 - 2019

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0252 PHYSICIST

Kornel Morawiecki

1941 - 2019

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0259 HISTORIAN

Anita Shapira

Born 1940

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0263 ACTOR

Magda Konopka

Born 1943

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0271 SINGER

Wojciech Młynarski

1941 - 2017

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0280 ACTOR

Marek Perepeczko

1942 - 2005

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0282 WRITER

Waldemar Łysiak

Born 1944

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0285 COSTUME DESIGNER

Anna B. Sheppard

Born 1946

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0293 CONSERVATIVE

Zbigniew Romaszewski

1940 - 2014

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0325 HANDBALL

Andrzej Strejlau

Born 1940

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0340 FILM

Antoni Krauze

1940 - 2018

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0348 ACTOR

Ewa Szykulska

Born 1949

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0357 HISTORIAN

Franciszek Piper

Born 1941

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0360 SPRINT

Andrzej Badeński

1943 - 2008

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0362 ACTOR

Ewa Wiśniewska

Born 1942

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0399 COMPOSER

Joanna Bruzdowicz

Born 1943

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0401 SCREENWRITER

Edward Kłosiński

1943 - 2008

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0403 POLITICIAN

Marek Borowski

Born 1946

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0418 WRITER

Antoni Libera

Born 1949

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0451 ENGINEER

Hartmut Mehdorn

Born 1942

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0461 MOUNTAINEER

Anna Czerwińska

Born 1949

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0505 SOCIOLOGIST

Piotr Sztompka

Born 1944

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0506 MATHEMATICIAN

Grzegorz Rozenberg

Born 1942

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0522 CRIMINOLOGIST

Jerzy Sarnecki

Born 1947

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0534 OFFICER

Sławomir Petelicki

1946 - 2012

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0547 ECONOMIST

Wojciech Roszkowski

Born 1947

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0549 COMPOSER

Cezary Skubiszewski

Born 1949

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0552 SAXOPHONIST

Tomasz Szukalski

1947 - 2012

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0558 POLITICIAN

Marcin Święcicki

Born 1947

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0566 COMPOSER

Andrzej Korzyński

Born 1940

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0571 ACTOR

Krystian Martinek

Born 1948

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0579 ACTOR

Anita Dymszówna

1944 - 1999

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0580 LITERARY

Wojciech Karpiński

1943 - 2020

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0581 AUTHOR

Irena Klepfisz

Born 1941

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0591 MUSIC

Wacław Kisielewski

1943 - 1986

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0624 ARCHITECT

Stefan Kuryłowicz

1949 - 2011

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0651 COMPOSER

Marta Ptaszynska

Born 1943

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0661 THEOLOGIAN

Ryszard Rumianek

1947 - 2010

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0665 FILM

Maciej Wojtyszko

Born 1946

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0674 PRIEST

Henryk Hoser

Born 1942

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0677 ATHLETIC

Zenon Nowosz

Born 1944

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0685 COMPOSER

Maciej Małecki

Born 1940

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0706 PHILOSOPHER

Krzysztof Michalski

1948 - 2013

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0724 COMPOSER

Krzysztof Knittel

Born 1947

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0736 POLITICIAN

Maciej Nowicki

Born 1941

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0747 SINGER

Magda Umer

Born 1949

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0752 JOURNALIST

Alfred Znamierowski

1940 - 2019

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0785 JOURNALIST

Krzysztof Łoziński

Born 1948

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0794 MILITANT

Zofia Romaszewska

Born 1940

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0802 MATHEMATICIAN

Michał Misiurewicz

Born 1948

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0823 POLITICIAN

Michał Kleiber

Born 1946

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0874 SPORT

Janusz Pyciak-Peciak

Born 1949

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0879 ECONOMIST

Andrzej Koźmiński

Born 1941

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0893 JUDGE

Lech Garlicki

Born 1946

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0900 LITERARY

Jan Walc

1948 - 1993

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0911 FILM

Tomasz Zygadło

1947 - 2011

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0925 SINGER

Janusz Kruk

1946 - 1992

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0930 JOURNALIST

Ewa Milewicz

Born 1947

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0940 PLAYER

Zdzisław Ambroziak

1944 - 2004

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0942 FENCER

Lech Koziejowski

Born 1949

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0950 JOURNALIST

Stefan Melak

1946 - 2010

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0964 ACTOR

Juliusz Wyrzykowski

1946 - 2002

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0973 HISTORIAN

Tomasz Szarota

Born 1940

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0979 SOCIOLOGIST

Jadwiga Staniszkis

Born 1942

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1004 SINGER

Wojciech Skowroński

1941 - 2002

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1010 ATHLETIC

Teresa Sukniewicz

Born 1948

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1016 COMPOSER

Marek Bliziński

1947 - 1989

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1035 MATHEMATICIAN

Irena Lasiecka

Born 1948

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1084 ACTOR

Agnieszka Perepeczko

Born 1942

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1090 ACTOR

Andrzej Precigs

Born 1949

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1095 FENCER

Adam Lisewski

Born 1944

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1119 ATHLETIC

Leszek Wodzyński

1946 - 1999

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1125 ACTOR

Marian Glinka

1943 - 2008

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1129 EMPLOYEE

Jerzy Żyżyński

Born 1949

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1130 LAWYER

Marek Safjan

Born 1949

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1168 ECONOMIST

Halina Wasilewska-Trenkner

1942 - 2017

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1185 SINGER

Jan Krzysztof Kelus

Born 1942

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1208 PLAYER

Krystyna Jakubowska

Born 1942

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1210 ATHLETIC

Elżbieta Katolik

1949 - 1983

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1226 PHILOSOPHER

Wlodek Rabinowicz

Born 1947

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1227 WORKER

Marek Kotański

1942 - 2002

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1254 POLITICIAN

Mirosław Sawicki

1946 - 2016

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1259 ACTOR

Małgorzata Pritulak

Born 1947

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1271 JOURNALIST

Piotr Kamiński

Born 1949

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1274 COMPOSER

Jerzy Satanowski

Born 1947

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1284 CANOE

Jerzy Opara

Born 1948

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1289 PUBLISHER

Mirosław Chojecki

Born 1949

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1292 FENCER

Michał Butkiewicz

Born 1942

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1308 ECONOMIST

Roman Frydman

Born 1948

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1314 CHESS

Jan Adamski

Born 1943

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1334 SOCIOLOGIST

Jakub Karpiński

1940 - 2003

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1335 DRIVER

Waldemar Marszałek

Born 1942

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1357 PLAYER

Tadeusz Nowicki

Born 1946

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1377 ACTOR

Maciej Rayzacher

Born 1940

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1411 MOUNTAINEER

Krystyna Palmowska

Born 1948

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1424 COMPOSER

Tadeusz Woźniak

Born 1947

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1434 PUPIL

Romek Strzałkowski

1943 - 1956

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1443 LAWYER

Andrzej Zakrzewski

1941 - 2000

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1449 WRITER

Maciej Parowski

1946 - 2019

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1456 POLITICIAN

Małgorzata Niezabitowska

Born 1948

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1462 PLAYER

Zofia Szczęśniewska

1943 - 1978

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1478 SCREENWRITER

Maciej Rybiński (journalist)

1945 - 2009

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1479 JOURNALIST

Janusz Weiss

Born 1948

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1493 JOURNALIST

Bożena Umińska-Keff

Born 1948

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1494 PHILOSOPHER

Bohdan Urbankowski

Born 1943

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1514 ATHLETIC

Elżbieta Żebrowska

Born 1945

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1515 PHYSICIST

Christopher Jargocki

Born 1944

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1529 WRITER

Dariusz Baliszewski

1946 - 2020

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1554 ACTOR

Mirosława Krajewska

Born 1940

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1563 CHEMIST

Andrzej Zimniak

Born 1946

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1564 AUTHOR

Alicia Nitecki

Born 1942

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1597 JOURNALIST

Małgorzata Bocheńska

1949 - 2018

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1619 WEIGHTLIFTER

Norbert Ozimek

Born 1945

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1623 CHEMIST

Marek Trojanowicz

Born 1944

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1710 PAINTER

Alina Biernacka

Born 1942

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1719 HISTORIAN

Bogumił Grott

Born 1940

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1726 ACTOR

Tomasz Marzecki

Born 1949

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1737 ESSAYIST

Ewa Bieńkowska

Born 1943

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1761 WRITER

Jacek Moskwa

Born 1948

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1774 BASKET

Bolesław Kwiatkowski

Born 1942

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1788 GERMANIST

Elżbieta Zimmermann

1943 - 2007

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1823 ACTOR

Michał Tarkowski

Born 1946

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1827 JUDGE

Irena Wiszniewska-Białecka

1947 - 2018

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1844 LITERARY

Małgorzata Łukasiewicz

Born 1948

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1868 BASKET

Włodzimierz Trams

Born 1944

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1883 JOURNALIST

Włodzimierz Szaranowicz

Born 1949

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1905 POLITICIAN

Mirosława Masłowska

Born 1943

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1924 POET

Piotr Matywiecki

Born 1943

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1931 LITERARY

Małgorzata Szpakowska

Born 1940

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1943 PIANIST

Andrzej Bieżan

1945 - 1983

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1969 AUDIO

Michał Żarnecki

1946 - 2016

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1995 HANDBALL

Bogdan Kowalczyk

Born 1946

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2005 BUSINESS

Wojciech Janowski

Born 1949

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2014 BASKET

Andrzej Perka

Born 1941

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2017 JOURNALIST

Anna Alter

Born 1949

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2041 DESIGNER

Mieczysław Wasilewski

Born 1942

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2064 WRITER

Élisabeth Brami

Born 1946

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2069 RESEARCH

Janusz Kacprzyk

Born 1947

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2152 CONDUCTOR

Andrzej Straszyński

Born 1944

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2191 POLITICIAN

Grzegorz Kurczuk

Born 1949

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2213 PHYSICIST

Andrzej Buras

Born 1946

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2228 HISTORIAN

Gerhard Krebs (Historiker)

Born 1943

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2232 FENCER

Kamilla Składanowska

1948 - 2010

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2284 CHESS

Elżbieta Kowalska

Born 1944

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2294 FENCER

Zygmunt Kawecki

Born 1942

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2296 ATHLETIC

Andrzej Lasocki

Born 1945

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2307 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Magdalena Borsuk-Białynicka

Born 1940

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2354 SPORT

Edward Romanowski

1944 - 2007

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2378 FILM

Andrzej Krakowski

Born 1946

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2399 ASTRONOMER

Wojciech Dziembowski

Born 1940

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2404 VIOLIN

Jerzy Milewski

1946 - 2017

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2434 CINEMA

Andrés Bukowinski

Born 1940

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2481 SPORT

Włodzimierz Lewin

Born 1947

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2498 PHOTOGRAPHER

Kazimierz Bendkowski

Born 1948

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2539 COMPOSER

Zofia Jasnota

Born 1949

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2570 SPORT

Tomasz Leżański

Born 1947

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2577 POLITICIAN

Maciej Górski (politician)

1944 - 2020

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2599 SPORT

Andrzej Sieledcow

Born 1946

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2601 OFFICER

Wiktor Szeliński

1946 - 1984

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2617 CANOE

Robert Ruszkowski

1942 - 1998

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2642 PHYSICIST

Karol Penson

Born 1946

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2662 ATHLETIC

Zdzisław Smoliński

1942 - 1993

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2682 WRITER

Claude Hampel

1943 - 2016

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2700 ACADEMIC

Jadwiga Bryła

Born 1943

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2718 BASKET

Mirosław Kalinowski

1949 - 2019

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2723 JOURNALIST

Halszka Wasilewska (journalist)

Born 1943

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