Historical figures in Berlin
The atlas holds 83 people and 155 moments here, from 1698 to 2020. The most recorded lives are Rosa Luxemburg, Adolf Hitler and Marlene Dietrich. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Educators, across the Space Age and the Interwar Period.
Notable people
Frédéric Chopin
from 1828 to 1829
2 moments here
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period. Born in Żelazowa Wola, he grew up and trained in Warsaw, travelled through Central…
Friedrich Engels
in 1841
1 moment here
German philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, businessman, and Karl Marx’s lifelong collaborator.…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
from 1862 to 1874
3 moments here
Russian novelist, journalist, essayist, and former military engineer whose life moved between Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Siberian imprisonment and…
George Eliot
in 1854
1 moment here
Mary Ann Evans, known by the pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, translator, journalist, and poet.…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
from 1818 to 1831
3 moments here
German philosopher and a central figure of German idealism. His documented movements include formative study in Stuttgart and Tübingen; tutoring…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
from 1698 to 1711
5 moments here
German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…
Hans Christian Andersen
in 1846
1 moment here
Danish writer renowned for literary fairy tales including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Snow Queen,” and “The Ugly…
Heath Ledger
in 2006
1 moment here
Australian actor and music-video director whose career began in Australian television, expanded internationally after his 1998 move to the United…
Heinrich Heine
from 1821 to 1829
2 moments here
German poet, essayist, journalist, and literary critic. Born in Düsseldorf, Heine studied in Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin, traveled widely in Germany…
Jean-Paul Sartre
in 1933
1 moment here
French philosopher, writer, and political activist associated with existentialism. His documented movements include education and teaching across…
Jimmy Carter
in 1978
1 moment here
James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…
Joan Fontaine
in 1982
1 moment here
British-American actress Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland, professionally Joan Fontaine, was an Academy Award-winning performer known especially for…
Johannes Brahms
in 1882
1 moment here
German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms developed as a performer there before touring Central Europe,…
Johann Sebastian Bach
from 1718 to 1741
2 moments here
German Baroque composer, organist, violinist, keyboard virtuoso, and musical director. Born in Eisenach, Bach was educated in Ohrdruf and Lüneburg…
John F. Kennedy
from 1939 to 1963
2 moments here
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…
John Quincy Adams
in 1797
1 moment here
John Quincy Adams was an American diplomat, secretary of state, sixth president of the United States, and Massachusetts representative.…
Jomo Kenyatta
in 1929
1 moment here
Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897–1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who became Kenya’s first prime minister in 1963 and first president…
José Eduardo dos Santos
in 1981
1 moment here
Angolan politician and military officer who served as Angola’s president from 1979 to 2017. His documented movements include exile in…
José Mujica
in 2011
1 moment here
Uruguayan guerrilla fighter, farmer and politician who was president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015.…
José Raúl Capablanca
from 1913 to 1929
3 moments here
Cuban chess player and diplomat, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. This chronology records documented physical presence at places of birth,…
José Rizal
in 1886
1 moment here
Filipino nationalist, writer, physician, and polymath whose reform advocacy, novels, exile, trial, and execution made him a central figure in…
Karl Marx
from 1836 to 1874
3 moments here
German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier, Marx studied in Bonn and Berlin, worked in Cologne, and…
Kenzaburō Ōe
in 1999
1 moment here
Japanese novelist, short-story writer, essayist, Nobel laureate, and prominent pacifist and anti-nuclear campaigner.…
Kim Il Sung
from 1956 to 1984
2 moments here
Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju) was a Korean communist guerrilla leader, North Korean political leader, and founder of the Democratic People’s…
Moments
- 1886 Visit to Berlin David Hilbert
- 1886 Residence and publication work in Berlin José Rizal
- 1888 Mathematical tour: Berlin David Hilbert
- 1889 Teaching at Friedrich Wilhelm University Max Planck
- 1891 Begins European residence in Berlin Mark Twain
- 1891 Faculty appointment in Berlin Max Weber
- 1895 Studied at the Staatsbibliothek Vladimir Lenin
- 1898 Move to Berlin Rosa Luxemburg
- 1901 Birth at Leberstraße 65 Marlene Dietrich
- 1905 Revolutionary organizing in Berlin Sun Yat-sen
- 1906 Mechanical-engineering studies Ludwig Wittgenstein
- 1907 Teaching at the SPD Central Party School Rosa Luxemburg
- 1909 Portfolio negotiations in Berlin Frank Lloyd Wright
- 1910 Berlin exhibitions Le Corbusier
- 1910 Spends a week in Berlin Franz Kafka
- 1913 Berlin exhibitions and matches José Raúl Capablanca
- 1913 Reunites with Felice in Berlin Franz Kafka
- 1913 Postcard sent from Berlin Anatole France
- 1914 Moves to Dahlem apartment Albert Einstein
- 1914 Faces the ‘tribunal’ at Askanischer Hof Franz Kafka
- 1914 Organising anti-war opposition Rosa Luxemburg
- 1915 Barnimstrasse women's prison Rosa Luxemburg
- 1916 Alexanderplatz interrogation cells Rosa Luxemburg
- 1917 Passed through Berlin Vladimir Lenin
- 1918 Class photograph at Viktoria-Luisen-Schule Marlene Dietrich
- 1918 Release and return to Berlin Rosa Luxemburg
- 1919 Arrest in Wilmersdorf Rosa Luxemburg
- 1919 Interrogation at the Eden Hotel Rosa Luxemburg
- 1919 Murder and disposal in the Landwehr Canal Rosa Luxemburg
- 1921 Visits Berlin on European tour Charlie Chaplin
- 1921 Departure to Berlin Maxim Gorky
- 1922 Appears with associates in Berlin Sigmund Freud
- 1922 First theatre roles Marlene Dietrich
- 1923 Marriage to Rudolf Sieber Marlene Dietrich
- 1923 Moves to Berlin-Steglitz Franz Kafka
- 1923 Lives on Grunewaldstraße Franz Kafka
- 1924 Moves to Berlin-Zehlendorf Franz Kafka
- 1925 Visits to Berlin cultural institutions Alfred Hitchcock
- 1925 Scientific work in Berlin Satyendra Nath Bose
- 1926 Retirement from Berlin professorship Max Planck
- 1927 Successor to Max Planck in Berlin Erwin Schrödinger
- 1928 Berlin tournament victory José Raúl Capablanca
- 1928 Arrival in Berlin Soong Ching-ling
- 1929 Journey through Berlin Jomo Kenyatta
- 1929 Berlin simultaneous display José Raúl Capablanca
- 1929 Return to Berlin Soong Ching-ling
- 1930 Berlin residence before return to Hollywood Marlene Dietrich
- 1931 Takes tea at Alexanderplatz police headquarters Charlie Chaplin
- 1931 Dinner hosted by Max von Laue Max Planck
- 1932 Speaks to students in Berlin Adolf Hitler