Famous People 6
Austrians, Germans, German-Swiss
An alphabetical list of significant people, both living and dead, who were born in German Europe or had Germanic ancestors—handy for biographical projects or general inspiration. For some of them, you can click on the name to learn more.
A-B-C | D-E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L
M-N-O | P-Q-R | S-Z
P-Q-R (Part 6)
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) German composer and organist
Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958) Austrian physicist, one of the developers of the quantum theory, discoverer of the Pauli principle for electrons in an atom
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827) Swiss educational reformer
Wolfgang Petersen (1941- ) German film director (Das Boot, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm) WEB > Petersen
Phillip Many Germanic counts, dukes and kings have borne this name, from Phillip von Schwaben (1178-1208) to Phillip I (der Großmütige, 1504-1567)
Max Planck (1858-1947) German physicist, quantum theory, Nobel prize 1918
Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger, 1927- ) German cardinal who became pope on April 19, 2005.
Louis Prang (1824-1909) German-American printer born in Breslau, Silesia (then in Prussia, now Wroclaw, Poland) to a French Huguenot father and a German mother. Considered the "father of the American Christmas card," Prang founded a printing company (L. Prang Co.) in Boston which became famous for its "chromolithography" cards and quality art reproductions. WEB > Prang
Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) Austrian-American journalist and newspaper publisher
Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886) German historian who developed the basic tenets of modern, scientific historical research
Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI, 1927- ) German cardinal who became pope on April 19, 2005.
Johannes Rau (1931- ) German politician (SPD), president of Germany since 1999
Marcel Reich-Ranicki (ra-nitz-key, 1920- ) German writer and influential literary critic
Philipp Reis (1838-1874) German inventor of a telephone prototype (1861)
Erich Maria Remarque (Remark) (1898-1970) German writer (All Quiet on the Western Front)
Paul Julius Baron von Reuter (Israel Beer Josaphat, 1816-1899) German-British publisher, founder of the first worldwide news agency (Reuters)
Rainer Maria Rilke (René Karl Wilhelm Johann Joseph Maria Rilke, 1875-1926) Austrian poet who lived in Switzerland after 1919
John (Johann) August Roebling (1806-1869) German-American engineer, designer/builder of the Brooklyn Bridge
Erwin Rommel (Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, 1891-1944) German general known as the "Desert Fox"
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923) German physicist who discovered x-rays and whose name means "x-ray" in German, Nobel Prize 1901
Mayer Anselm Rothschild (Meyer Amschel R., 1743-1812) German-Jewish banker, founder of the Rothschild banking house in Frankfurt am Main
Heinz Rühmann (1902-1994) German film and stage actor ("Ship of Fools")
Ernst Ruska (1906-1988) German scientist and engineer who co-invented the electron microscope, Nobel Prize for physics in 1986
ACTIVITY > Graveyard Tour
Also see: Erfinder/Inventors
FILM PEOPLE > The German-Hollywood Connection
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