Third oldest university in Germany. Operated as Karl Marx University from 1953-91.
| Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
| Ralph Abercromby |
Military |
7-Oct-1734 |
28-Mar-1801 |
British general |
| John Anderson |
Politician |
8-Jul-1882 |
4-Jan-1958 |
Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1943-45 |
| Svante Arrhenius |
Chemist |
19-Feb-1859 |
2-Oct-1927 |
Explored electrolytic conductivity |
| Augustus I |
Royalty |
31-Jul-1526 |
21-Jan-1586 |
Elector of Saxony, 1553-86 |
| Friedrich Bergius |
Chemist |
11-Oct-1884 |
30-Mar-1949 |
Hydrogenation of coal |
| Felix Bloch |
Physicist |
23-Oct-1905 |
10-Sep-1983 |
Nuclear magnetic resonance |
| Leonard Bloomfield |
Linguist |
1-Apr-1887 |
18-Apr-1949 |
Structural linguistics of Tagalog |
| Carl Bosch |
Chemist |
27-Aug-1874 |
26-Apr-1940 |
Chairman of I. G. Farben |
| Tycho Brahe |
Astronomer |
14-Dec-1546 |
24-Oct-1601 |
Copper-nosed Danish astronomer |
| Martin Buber |
Philosopher |
8-Feb-1878 |
13-Jun-1965 |
Ich und Du |
| Hans von Bülow |
Conductor |
8-Jan-1830 |
12-Feb-1894 |
German conductor, proponent of Wagner |
| James McKeen Cattell |
Psychologist |
24-May-1860 |
20-Jan-1944 |
Academic freedom |
| Constantine I |
Royalty |
2-Aug-1868 |
11-Jan-1923 |
King of Greece, 1913-17 and 1920-22 |
| William D. Coolidge |
Physicist |
23-Oct-1873 |
4-Feb-1975 |
Tungsten filaments and Coolidge tubes |
| Frederick G. Cottrell |
Inventor |
10-Jan-1877 |
16-Nov-1948 |
Smokestack filters to fight pollution |
| William E. Dodd |
Diplomat |
27-Oct-1869 |
9-Feb-1940 |
US Ambassador to Nazi Germany |
| Paul Ehrlich |
Doctor |
14-Mar-1854 |
20-Aug-1915 |
Father of chemotherapy |
| Joseph I. France |
Politician |
11-Oct-1873 |
26-Jan-1939 |
US Senator from Maryland, 1917-23 |
| Klaus Fuchs |
Spy |
29-Dec-1911 |
28-Jan-1988 |
Manhattan Project scientist, spy for USSR |
| Walther Funk |
Government |
18-Aug-1890 |
31-May-1960 |
Reich economic minister |
| Hans-Dietrich Genscher |
Politician |
21-Mar-1927 |
31-Mar-2016 |
German Foreign Minister, 1974-92 |
| Samuel Hahnemann |
Doctor |
10-Apr-1755 |
2-Jul-1843 |
Founder of homeopathy |
| William Stewart Halsted |
Doctor |
23-Sep-1852 |
7-Sep-1922 |
Pioneer of sterile surgical technique |
| Haldan K. Hartline |
Scientist |
22-Dec-1903 |
17-Mar-1983 |
Physiology of the retina |
| Ejnar Hertzsprung |
Astronomer |
8-Oct-1873 |
21-Oct-1967 |
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram |
| Johannes Holtfreter |
Zoologist |
9-Jan-1901 |
13-Nov-1992 |
Chemotaxis |
| Edmund Husserl |
Philosopher |
8-Apr-1859 |
26-Apr-1938 |
Phenomenological philosopher |
| Bernard Katz |
Scientist |
26-Mar-1911 |
20-Apr-2003 |
Neurotransmitters and the pineal gland |
| Gottfried Leibniz |
Mathematician |
1-Jul-1646 |
14-Nov-1716 |
Co-Inventor of calculus |
| Richard Lepsius |
Historian |
23-Dec-1810 |
10-Jul-1884 |
German Egyptologist |
| Gotthold Ephraim Lessing |
Playwright |
22-Jan-1729 |
15-Feb-1781 |
Laokoon |
| John Macleod |
Scientist |
6-Sep-1876 |
16-Mar-1935 |
Helped discover insulin |
| Angela Merkel |
Head of State |
17-Jul-1954 |
|
Chancellor of Germany |
| Georg Michaelis |
Head of State |
8-Sep-1857 |
24-Jul-1936 |
German Chancellor 1917 |
| August Möbius |
Astronomer |
17-Nov-1790 |
26-Sep-1868 |
Möbius strip |
| Walther Nernst |
Chemist |
25-Jun-1864 |
18-Nov-1941 |
Third Law of Thermodynamics |
| Ivan Pavlov |
Scientist |
14-Sep-1849 |
27-Feb-1936 |
Conditioned reflexes |
| Rudolf Peierls |
Physicist |
5-Jun-1907 |
19-Sep-1995 |
Frisch-Peierls Memorandum |
| Leopold von Ranke |
Historian |
12-Dec-1795 |
23-May-1886 |
Prominent 19th century German historian |
| Gustav Stresemann |
Head of State |
10-May-1878 |
3-Oct-1929 |
German Chancellor 1923 |
| Georg Philipp Telemann |
Composer |
14-Mar-1681 |
25-Jun-1767 |
German Baroque composer |
| Edward Teller |
Physicist |
15-Jan-1908 |
9-Sep-2003 |
Father of the Hydrogen Bomb |
| Johann Tetzel |
Religion |
c. 1460 |
4-Jul-1519 |
Seller of indulgences |
| Sin-Itiro Tomonaga |
Physicist |
31-Mar-1906 |
8-Jul-1979 |
Quantum electrodynamics |
| Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg |
Head of State |
29-Nov-1856 |
1-Jan-1921 |
German Chancellor 1909-17 |
| Bernhard von Bulow |
Head of State |
3-May-1849 |
28-Oct-1929 |
German Chancellor, 1900-09 |
| Friedrich von Schlegel |
Philosopher |
10-Mar-1772 |
12-Jan-1829 |
Founder of the German Romantic movement |
| Alfred Wallenstein |
Cellist |
7-Oct-1898 |
8-Feb-1983 |
Music Director, LA Philharmonic, 1943-56 |
| Felix Weingartner |
Conductor |
2-Jun-1863 |
7-May-1942 |
Conductor, Vienna Philharmonic, 1919-27 |
| William H. Welch |
Scientist |
8-Apr-1850 |
30-Apr-1934 |
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine |
| Abraham Gottlob Werner |
Geologist |
25-Sep-1750 |
30-Jun-1817 |
Neptunist school of geology |
| Christa Wolf |
Novelist |
18-Mar-1929 |
1-Dec-2011 |
Divided Heaven |
| Christian Wolff |
Philosopher |
24-Jan-1679 |
9-Apr-1754 |
Philosopher of the Leibniz model |