Discover the notable alumni of Humboldt University Of Berlin. The list includes people like Max Weber, Heinrich Heine, Kurt Lewin, Felix Mendelssohn & Daniel Funke. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as intellectuals & academics, miscellaneous, leaders, writers and scientists etc.
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Karl Marx(Philosopher & Economist - Famous for His Theory of 'Marxism' )
Birthdate: May 5, 1818
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Trier, Germany
Died: March 14, 1883
Karl Marx, the philosopher, economist, political theorist and socialist revolutionary, is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. His theories, called Marxism, maintained that class conflict leads to the development of human societies and that internal tension were inherent in capitalism, which would ultimately be replaced by the socialist mode of production.
Birthdate: April 1, 1815
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Schönhausen, Germany
Died: July 30, 1898
Otto von Bismarck was a German statesman. Bismarck is credited with masterminding the unification of Germany and served as its first chancellor. He is also credited with creating the first modern welfare state in the world. Regarded as a hero by German nationalists, Otto von Bismarck's life has inspired a couple of TV series.
Birthdate: April 21, 1864
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Erfurt, Germany
Died: June 14, 1920
Max Weber was a German historian, political economist, jurist, and sociologist. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and important theorists, Weber's ideas had a profound influence on social research and social theory. Although he did not see himself as a sociologist, Weber is often counted among the fathers of sociology alongside Émile Durkheim, Auguste Comte, and Karl Marx.
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Max Planck(German Theoretical Physicist and Originator of 'Quantum Theory')
Birthdate: April 23, 1858
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kiel, Germany
Died: October 4, 1947
German theoretical physicist Max Planck is remembered for originating the quantum theory of physics, which earned him the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. He laid down concepts such as the Planck constant and the Planck postulate. The Kaiser Wilhelm Society was later renamed Max Planck Society in his honor.
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Felix Mendelssohn(Best Known for His Solo Piano Composition 'Songs Without Words' and Founder of 'Leipzig Conservatory')
Birthdate: February 3, 1809
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: November 4, 1847
Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer of the early Romantic period. He was also a skilled organist, pianist, and conductor. He composed symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and organ music. His collection of lyrical piano songs Songs Without Words is among his best-known works. He was the founder of the public university The Leipzig Conservatory. He died aged just 38.
Birthdate: July 15, 1892
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: September 26, 1940
Walter Benjamin was a German Jewish essayist, philosopher, and cultural critic. An eclectic thinker, Benjamin made significant contributions to literary criticism, aesthetic theory, and historical materialism. Although Benjamin's work did not earn much recognition during his lifetime, it continues to be revered by academics several years after his death.
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Karen Horney(German Psychoanalyst Best Known for Founding Feminist Psychology in Response to Freud’s Theory of Penis Envy)
Birthdate: September 16, 1885
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Blankenese, Hamburg, Germany
Died: December 4, 1952
Remembered for her pioneering work on feminist psychology, Karen Horney studied medicine at a time when women weren’t allowed in universities. Going against Sigmund Freud’s concept of penis envy, she suggested the idea of womb envy. She believed psychological differences weren’t rooted in gender but rather depended on the socio-cultural influences.
Birthdate: September 9, 1890
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Mogilno, Poland
Died: February 12, 1947
Legendary social psychologist Kurt Lewin is remembered for his field theory of behavior. He was a pioneer in the research on group dynamics. While he had served in the army in World War I, an injury made him get back to university to complete his PhD.
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Max Stirner(German Philosopher Best Known for His Work ‘The Ego and Its Own’)
Birthdate: October 25, 1806
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bayreuth, Germany
Died: June 26, 1856
German philosopher Max Stirner had humble beginnings as a girls’ preparatory school teacher and translator. Remembered for his most ground-breaking work, The Ego and His Own, he explored the ego and Hegel’s concepts of social alienation. Unfortunately, he died of a poisonous insect bite at 49.
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Emil Cioran(One of the Finest Philosophers and Critical Writers from Romania)
Birthdate: April 8, 1911
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Rasinari, Romania
Died: July 20, 1995
Born to a priest father, Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran grew up to include religious and melancholic themes in his works. His award-winning bestseller A Short History of Decay was followed by books such as The Trouble with Being Born, all of which spoke of illness and suicide.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: December 10, 1804
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Potsdam, Germany
Died: February 18, 1851
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi was a German mathematician best remembered for his contributions to differential equations, dynamics, number theory, determinants, and elliptic functions. He is the first Jewish mathematician to work as a professor at a German university. Jacobi has a crater on the Moon named after him in recognition of his contribution to science.
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Georg Simmel(One of the First Generation of German Sociologists and Neo-Kantian Philosopher)
Birthdate: March 1, 1858
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: September 26, 1918
Georg Simmel was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic considered a forerunner to structuralist styles of reasoning in the social sciences. He was neo-Kantian in his approach and laid the foundations for sociological antipositivism. He broadly rejected academic standards and wrote extensively on the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. He was married to philosopher Gertrud Kinel and had one son.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: January 22, 1877
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tinglev, Denmark
Died: June 3, 1970
German banker Hjalmar Schacht was appreciated for his role in saving the Weimar Republic from inflation and later served as the Reichsminister of Economics under Adolf Hitler. Following as assassination attempt on Hitler, her was imprisoned, but was later freed and then set up his own bank in Düsseldorf.
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Mihai Eminescu(The National Poet of Romania and a Major Figure of Romanticism)
Birthdate: January 15, 1850
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Botoșani, Romania
Died: June 15, 1889
Considered the national poet of Romania, Mihai Eminescu was a major figure of Romanticism in Romanian literature. Starting as an editor for the paper Timpul, he later penned iconic poems such as Luceafărul, or The Evening Star, and stories such as Sărmanul Dionis and Cezara. He, unfortunately, died in a mental asylum.
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Ram Manohar Lohia(Indian Politician and Independence Movement Activist)
Birthdate: March 23, 1910
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Akbarpur, India
Died: October 12, 1967
Born to an Indian freedom fighter, Ram Manohar Lohia grew up to follow in his father’s footsteps and joined the Indian National Congress to oust the British. He was also associated with Gandhiji’s Quit India movement. He had also co-established the Congress Socialist Party and written extensively on the caste system.
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Sophie, Princess of Prussia(Princess)
Birthdate: March 7, 1978
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany
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Richard Dedekind(German Mathematician Known for His Important Contributions to Number Theory, Abstract Algebra and Modern Set Theory)
Birthdate: October 6, 1831
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Brunswick, Germany
Died: February 12, 1916
German mathematician Richard Dedekind is best remembered for his ideas on the real number and infinity. Initially interested in subjects such as physics and chemistry, he later deviated to math. He taught at various institutes and was awarded honorary doctorates from universities of Zurich, Oslo, and Braunschweig.
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Eugen Goldstein(Physicist)
Birthdate: September 5, 1850
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Gliwice, Poland
Died: December 25, 1930
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Rudolf Carnap(Philosopher)
Birthdate: May 18, 1891
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Ronsdorf, Wuppertal, Germany
Died: September 14, 1970
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Daniel Funke(German Journalist)
Birthdate: July 23, 1981
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Germany
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György Lukács(Hungarian Marxist Philosopher, Literary Historian and One of the Founders of Western Marxism)
Birthdate: April 13, 1885
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary
Died: June 4, 1971
One of the pioneers of Western Marxism, Hungarian philosopher and literary critic György Lukács also taught at the University of Budapest and later became a major pillar of the Hungarian uprising. His best-known written works include Soul and Form and The Historical Novel, apart from his books on Goethe, Lenin, and Marx.
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Gustav Ludwig Hertz(German Experimental Physicist Who Won the Nobel Prize for His Work on Inelastic Electron Collisions in Gases)
Birthdate: July 22, 1887
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: October 30, 1975
Gustav Ludwig Hertz was a German experimental physicist best known for his work on inelastic electron collisions in gasses, in collaboration with James Franck. They received the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics. Hertz worked at the University of Berlin and served in the military during World War I. He was a Member of the German Academy of Sciences.
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Robert Schuman(Politician)
Birthdate: June 29, 1886
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Clausen, Luxembourg
Died: September 4, 1963
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Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg(Princess)
Birthdate: February 18, 1984
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ronse, East Flanders, Belgium
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Lion Feuchtwanger(Novelist)
Birthdate: July 7, 1884
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Munich, Germany
Died: December 21, 1958
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Robert Musil(Austrian Novelist Known for His Monumental Unfinished Novel 'Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften')
Birthdate: November 6, 1880
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Klagenfurt, Austria
Died: April 15, 1942
Best remembered for his incomplete novel The Man Without Qualities, Austrian-German novelist Robert Musil had worked as a librarian, editor, and journalist and was also a qualified mechanical engineer. He had also served in the army during World War I but mostly gained fame as a modernist writer.
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Walter Hallstein(German Diplomat, Academic, and Statesman)
Birthdate: November 17, 1901
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Mainz, Germany
Died: March 29, 1982
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Werner Sombart(German Economist and Sociologist Known for Coining the Term ‘Late Capitalism')
Birthdate: January 19, 1863
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Ermsleben, Falkenstein, Germany
Died: May 18, 1941
Werner Sombart was a German sociologist and economist. He was one of the 20th century's most important Continental European social scientists who served as the leader of the Youngest Historical School. Werner Sombart is credited with coining the phrase late capitalism. He is also remembered for his magnum opus, Der moderne Kapitalismus.
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Gotthold Eisenstein(Mathematician)
Birthdate: April 16, 1823
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: October 11, 1852
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Gregor Gysi(German Attorney and Political Leader)
Birthdate: January 16, 1948
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
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Joachim Sauer(German Quantum Chemist and Professor Emeritus of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry)
Birthdate: April 19, 1949
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Hosena, Senftenberg, Germany
Joachim Sauer is a German professor emeritus of theoretical and physical chemistry at the prestigious Humboldt University of Berlin. Sauer is an active research scientist in computational and quantum chemistry. His work has helped understand the structures and activities of catalysts like zeolites. Joachim Sauer has won several prestigious awards such as the Schrödinger Medal and Liebig Medal.
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Karl Heinrich Ulrichs(German Lawyer and Jurist Who is Regarded as a Pioneer of Sexology and the Modern Gay Rights Movement)
Birthdate: August 28, 1825
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Aurich, Germany
Died: July 14, 1895
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was a German lawyer, journalist, jurist, and writer. Today, he is widely regarded as a pioneer of the modern gay rights movement and sexology. Ulrichs is considered the first openly gay man in the history of mankind. In August 1867, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs urged the goverment to revoke anti-homosexual laws, becoming the first homosexual to do so.
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Sabine Bergmann-Pohl(Former German Minister for Special Affairs (1990 - 1991))
Birthdate: April 20, 1946
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Eisenach, Germany
A qualified doctor and a lung diseases specialist, Sabine Bergmann-Pohl had been the head of state of East Germany before the German reunification. She has also led the Volkskammer as its president and was the Federal Minister for Special Affairs under Helmut Kohl. The mother of two is a Protestant.
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Fritz Fischer(Historian)
Birthdate: March 5, 1908
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Ludwigsstadt, Germany
Died: December 1, 1999
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Palina Rojinski(Television Presenter)
Birthdate: April 21, 1985
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Leningrad, Soviet Union
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
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Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge(German Analytical Chemist)
Birthdate: February 8, 1794
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: March 25, 1867
Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was a German analytical chemist best remembered for identifying caffeine. He is also credited with identifying the mydriatic effects of belladonna extract and discovering the first coal tar dye. Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was also the first person to observe the phenomenon of Liesegang rings in 1855.
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Franziska Giffey(Politician)
Birthdate: May 3, 1978
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany
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Kurt Schumacher(Politician)
Birthdate: October 13, 1895
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chełmno, Poland
Died: August 20, 1952
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Hans Modrow(German Politician)
Birthdate: January 27, 1928
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Jasienica, Poland
Hans Modrow is a German politician best known as East Germany's last communist premier. In 1995, Modrow was convicted of perjury and electoral fraud by the Dresden District Court after the conclusion of Communist rule in Germany. Since German reunification, Hans Modrow has been writing several books on his political experiences.
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Gustav Heinemann(President of West Germany (1969 - 1974))
Birthdate: July 23, 1899
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Schwelm, Germany
Died: July 7, 1976
Gustav Heinemann was the first Social Democrat to serve as the head of state in West Germany following World War II. Known widely as the ordinary man's President, he was knighted, too. A lecturer of law, too, his reluctance to support the Nazis probably ended his teaching career.
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Dieter Hallervorden(German Actor, Comedian, Singer, and Cabaret Artist)
Birthdate: September 5, 1935
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Dessau, Dessau-Roßlau, Germany
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
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Erich Neumann(Psychologist)
Birthdate: January 23, 1905
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: November 5, 1960
Erich Neumann was a psychologist, philosopher, and writer. He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and studied medicine at the University of Berlin. He was a student of Carl Jung and regularly gave lectures at the C. G. Jung Institute. He was a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology as well.
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Hermann Grassmann(German Polymath Best Known for His Work as a Mathematician)
Birthdate: April 15, 1809
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Szczecin, Poland
Died: September 26, 1877
Hermann Grassmann was a German polymath remembered for his work in linear algebra, although he wasn’t acknowledged as a mathematician for most part of his life. His work Die lineale Ausdehnungslehre, ein neuer Zweig der Mathematik was revolutionary in the field of mathematics and was far ahead of its time. During his lifetime, he was only known as a linguist.
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Karl Liebknecht(German Socialist and One of the Founders of the 'Communist Party of Germany')
Birthdate: August 13, 1871
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Leipzig, Germany
Died: January 15, 1919
German socialist radical Karl Liebknecht is best remembered for co-founding the Spartacus League, an underground group that was declared illegal but later led to the formation of the Communist Party of Germany. He was shot to death on the orders of German commander Waldemar Pabst in the 1919 Spartacus Revolt.
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Wolf Biermann(Singer-songwriter)
Birthdate: November 15, 1936
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
German singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann caused massive protests among the German public after his 1976 expatriation from the German Democratic Republic. His communist ideals and political theater caused him to be banned in East Germany. His East German citizenship, too, was revoked. His song Ermutigung talks about his struggles.
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Ernst Zermelo(Former Mathematician, Logician known for his role in developing Zermelo–Fraenkel axiomatic set theory and his proof of the well-ordering theorem)
Birthdate: July 27, 1871
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: May 21, 1953
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Konstantin von Neurath(German Diplomat and Political Leader)
Birthdate: February 2, 1873
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Vaihingen an der Enz, Germany
Died: August 14, 1956
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Alfred Doblin(German Writer and Doctor Best Known for His Novels: ‘Berlin Alexanderplatz’ and ‘The Three Leaps of Wang Lun’)
Birthdate: August 10, 1878
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Szczecin, Poland
Died: June 26, 1957
Alfred Doblin was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor. He is considered one of the most important figures of German literary modernism. A prolific writer with a career spanning more than half a century, he wrote novels, dramas, screenplays, and radio plays across a range of genres. Despite the popularity he once enjoyed, he is believed to be under-recognized.
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Aron Nimzowitsch(Danish Chess Player)
Birthdate: November 7, 1886
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Riga, Latvia
Died: March 16, 1935
Latvian-born Aron Nimzowitsch escaped to Berlin and then to Copenhagen to avoid being drafted into the army during the Russian Revolution. He is best known for his cult classic book My System, which promotes the Hypermodern school of chess. In spite of repeated attempts, he failed to secure a world title.
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Tsitsi Dangarembga(Novelist)
Birthdate: February 4, 1959
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Mutoko, Zimbabwe
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