Historical figures in Cologne
The atlas holds 17 people and 23 moments here, from 308 to 2014. The most recorded lives are Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Albrecht Dürer. Among them Writers, Philosophers and Political Leaders, across the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance.
Notable people
Albrecht Dürer
in 1520
2 moments here
German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the Northern Renaissance. Born and died in Nuremberg, Dürer trained there before traveling through the…
Constantine the Great
from 308 to 313
2 moments here
Roman emperor from 306 to 337. Born at Naissus, Constantine served under Diocletian and Galerius in the eastern empire, joined his father in Britain,…
Dolly Parton
in 2014
1 moment here
American singer-songwriter, actor, philanthropist, and businesswoman. Born in Pittman Center, Tennessee, Parton built a country-music career centered…
Friedrich Engels
from 1842 to 1849
3 moments here
German philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, businessman, and Karl Marx’s lifelong collaborator.…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
in 1862
1 moment here
Russian novelist, journalist, essayist, and former military engineer whose life moved between Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Siberian imprisonment and…
George Orwell
in 1945
1 moment here
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist, essayist, journalist, critic, and democratic socialist.…
Giuseppe Verdi
in 1876
1 moment here
Italian composer whose career transformed nineteenth-century opera. Born near Busseto, Verdi studied and worked in Busseto and Milan, then traveled…
Heinrich Heine
in 1843
1 moment here
German poet, essayist, journalist, and literary critic. Born in Düsseldorf, Heine studied in Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin, traveled widely in Germany…
Karl Marx
from 1842 to 1849
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 2008
1 moment here
Japanese novelist, short-story writer, essayist, Nobel laureate, and prominent pacifist and anti-nuclear campaigner.…
Ludwig van Beethoven
in 1778
1 moment here
German composer and pianist whose life was centered first in Bonn and, from 1792, in Vienna.…
Peter Paul Rubens
in 1577
1 moment here
Flemish Baroque painter, designer, humanist, collector, and diplomat. Rubens was born at Siegen, spent formative years in Cologne and Antwerp, worked…
Petrarch
in 1333
1 moment here
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) was an Italian scholar, poet, cleric, diplomat, and foundational humanist.…
Pope Benedict XVI
in 2005
1 moment here
Joseph Alois Ratzinger (1927–2022), Pope Benedict XVI, was a German Catholic theologian, archbishop, cardinal, prefect of the Congregation for the…
Thomas Aquinas
in 1248
1 moment here
Italian Dominican friar, priest, theologian, and philosopher. His documented movements connected family residences in southern Italy, Dominican and…
William Makepeace Thackeray
in 1830
1 moment here
English novelist, illustrator, journalist, lecturer, and editor, best known for Vanity Fair.…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in 1763
1 moment here
Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to…
Moments
- 308 Bridges the Rhine at Cologne Constantine the Great
- 313 Returns to Cologne Constantine the Great
- 1248 Study and teaching with Albertus Magnus in Cologne Thomas Aquinas
- 1333 Visit to Cologne Petrarch
- 1520 First stay in Cologne Albrecht Dürer
- 1520 Second stay in Cologne Albrecht Dürer
- 1577 Reported baptism in Cologne Peter Paul Rubens
- 1763 Stops in Cologne Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1778 Child-prodigy concert in Cologne Ludwig van Beethoven
- 1830 Stay in Cologne William Makepeace Thackeray
- 1842 Moves to Cologne for journalism Karl Marx
- 1842 First meeting with Marx Friedrich Engels
- 1843 Germany journey at Cologne Heinrich Heine
- 1848 Neue Rheinische Zeitung editor Friedrich Engels
- 1848 Returns to Cologne during the revolution Karl Marx
- 1849 Return to Cologne Friedrich Engels
- 1849 Stands trial in Cologne Karl Marx
- 1862 Visited Cologne on his first European tour Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1876 Conducts Requiem in Cologne Giuseppe Verdi
- 1945 War-correspondent visit to Cologne George Orwell
- 2005 World Youth Day visit Pope Benedict XVI
- 2008 Reading at the Japan Cultural Institute Kenzaburō Ōe
- 2014 Blue Smoke tour in Cologne Dolly Parton