This is a list of notable people from Silesia.
Nobel laureates Theodor Mommsen (1902, literature) Philipp Lenard (1905, physics) Eduard Buchner (1907, chemistry) Paul Ehrlich (1908, medicine) Gerhart Hauptmann (1912, literature) Fritz Haber (1918, chemistry) Friedrich Bergius (1931, chemistry) Carl von Ossietzky (1935, peace) Gerhard Domagk (1939, medicine) Otto Stern (1943, physics) Kurt Alder (1950, chemistry) Max Born (1954, physics) Maria Goeppert-Mayer (1963, physics) Konrad Bloch (1964, medicine) Johannes Georg Bednorz (1987, physics) Hans Georg Dehmelt (1989, physics) Reinhard Selten (1994, economics) Günter Blobel (1999, medicine) Olga Tokarczuk (2018, literature)
Alphabetical order
A Erich Abraham, officer Andreas Acoluthus, theologian and orientalist Melchior Adam, literary historian bishop Stanisław Adamski Joy Adamson (born Friederike Victoria Gessner), naturalist and writer Eufemia von Adlersfeld-Ballestrem, novelist Kurt Alder, chemist Henryk Alszer, soccer player Johann Baptist Alzog, theologian and historian Zygmunt Anczok, soccer player Adolf Anderssen, chess grandmaster Georg Graf von Arco, physicist, radio pioneer Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, general Iris von Arnim, fashion designer Hans Erasmus Aßmann, statesman and poet Andreas von Aulock, colonel , general Walter Arndt, zoologist and physician
B Paul Baender, politician and chess player Adolf Aron Baginsky, pediatrician John Baildon, Scottish pioneer in metallurgy in Silesia Michael Ballack, soccer player the House of Ballestrem, de, pl Hans Baluschek, painter Jan Banaś, soccer player Franz Bardon, occultist Walter Bathe, swimmer bishop Herbert Bednorz Johannes Georg Bednorz, physicist Hans Bellmer, painter and sculptor Benedict of Poland, explorer Henryk Bereska; pl, de, translator and poet Max Berg, architect Friedrich Bergius, chemist Saul Berlin, scholar Gottfried Bermann, publisher cardinal Adolf Bertram Petr Bezruč, poet von Bibran-Modlau family Albert Bielschowsky, literary historian Max Bielschowsky, neuropathologist Horst Bienek, writer Stanisław Bieniasz, writer; pl Elżbieta Bieńkowska, politician, deputy prime minister of Poland Iva Bittová, violinist, singer, and composer rev. Franciszek Blachnicki William Blandowski, zoologist and mining engineer Leszek Blanik, gymnast Barbara Blida, politician Konrad Emil Bloch, biochemist Josef Block, painter Günter Blobel, biologist Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, pianist Maurice Bloomfield, philologist Friedrich Blühmel; de Krystyna Bochenek, politician Hermann Boehm, admiral Sebastian Boenisch, soccer player Bishop Lothar Bolz, politician Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian Karl Bonhoeffer, psychiatrist Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer, chemist Klaus Bonhoeffer, lawyer Ernst Borinski, sociologist Max Born, physicist Willibald Borowietz, general Arka Bożek, politician; pl Josef Božek, engineer and inventor Ernst-Joachim Bradel, colonel Walter Brom, soccer player Lucjan Brychczy, soccer player Ignatz Bubis, politician Andrzej Buncol, soccer player Agata Buzek, actress Jan Buzek, physician and politician Jerzy Buzek, engineer and politician, prime minister of Poland Józef Buzek, economist and politician Jan Bystroń, linguist Jan Stanisław Bystroń, sociologist
C Ernst Cassirer, philosopher Ewald Cebula, soccer player Blessed Ceslaus; (bł. Czesław Odrowąż), Dominican friar Dietrich von Choltitz, general Jerzy Chromik, long-distance runner rev. Jan Piotr Chrząszcz; pl, de, historian Claudia Ciesla, female model Gerard Cieślik, soccer player Ferdinand Cohn (1828–1898), biologist Maria Cunitia (Cunitz) (1610–1664), astronomer Richard Courant, mathematician Johannes Crato von Krafftheim (1519–1585), imperial physician bishop Andrzej Czaja; pl Herbert Czaja, politician Richard Czaya; de, chess master
D Kurt Daluege, SS-general, Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia Frank Damrosch, music conductor and educator Ernst Degner, motorcycle road racer Hans Georg Dehmelt, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate Hans Karl Graf von Diebitsch-Sabalkanski (Graf Ivan Ivanovich Dibich-Zabalkansky), Russian field marshal cardinal Melchior von Diepenbrock, Prince-Bishop of Breslau Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz, general the House of Henckel von Donnersmarck Hans-Jürgen Dörner, soccer player and coach Bernard Drzyzga; pl, colonel Ireneusz Dudek; pl, blues vocalist Jerzy Dudek, soccer player Rafał Dutkiewicz, politician Ewald Dytko, soccer player Wojciech Dzieduszycki; pl, count Johann Dzierzon, apiarist
E Katja Ebstein, singer Franz Eckert, musician who composed the national anthem of Japan Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), physiologist Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, poet Bernd Eistert, chemist Norbert Elias (1897–1990), sociologist Józef Elsner, composer, music teacher and theoretician Emin Pasha (Isaak Eduard Schnitzer), physician Leszek Engelking, writer, poet, translator, scholar Berthold Englisch, chess master Anzelm Ephorinus; pl, physician Johann Samuel Ersch, bibliographer
F Eugeniusz Faber, soccer player Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, general Gottfried Bermann Fischer, publisher Grzegorz Fitelberg, conductor, violinist and composer Walenty Fojkis; pl, politician Jan Foltys, chess master Emanuel Aloys Förster, composer Friedrich Heinrich Ferdinand Leopold von Forcade de Biaix (1747–1808), Royal Prussian lieutenant colonel, Knight of the Order of Pour le Mérite Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Ernst Heinrich von Forcade de Biaix (1787–1835), Royal Prussian major and Knight of the Iron Cross 2nd Class Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Konstantin Quirin, Baron von Forcade de Biaix (1784–1840), Royal Prussian major, Knight of the Iron Cross, Knight of the Order of St. John Bailiwick of Brandenburg (1817), Royal Prussian Chamberlain, and Castellan of Neuenrade in the County of Mark Rudolf Fränkel, architect Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, biochemist Egon Franke, fencer Zecharias Frankel, historian Gustav Freytag, writer Fritz von Friedlaender-Fuld; de (1858–1917), industrialist Johnny Friedlaender (1912–1992), painter Max Friedlaender (1852–1934), musicologist Carl Friedländer (1847–1887), bacteriologist Max Friedländer (1829–1872), journalist Max Jakob Friedländer (1867–1958), art historian Walter Friedländer (1873–1966), art historian Anni Friesinger-Postma, speed skater Willy Fritsch, actor rev. August Froehlich Radek Fukala, historian Jan Furtok, soccer player
G Hubert Gad, soccer player Christian Ganczarski, terrorist archbishop Józef Gawlina Dan Gawrecki, historian Adam Gdacjusz, writer Adam Abraham von Gaffron und Oberstradam, Danish general Gunther Gebel-Williams, circus performer, animal trainer Oscar Gelbfuhs, chess master Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, general Eugeniusz Get-Stankiewicz; pl, sculptor Edmund Giemsa, soccer player Georg von Giesche; de, merchant and manufacturer Karl Gilg, chess master Krzysztof Globisz, actor rev. Joseph Glowatzki; de, politician Karl Godulla, industrialist Maria Goeppert-Mayer, physicist Eugen Goldstein, physicist Kurt Goldstein, neurologist Robert Gonera, actor Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, composer, musician Jerzy Gorgoń, soccer player Emil Görlitz; de, soccer player Jerzy Gorzelik, politician Rudolf von Gottschall, poet, dramatist, chess master Wilhelm Góra, soccer player Halina Górecka, athlete (sprinter) Henryk Górecki, composer Joachim Grallert, watchmaker and jeweler Heinrich Graetz, historian Jerzy Grotowski, theatre director Friedrich Grundmann; pl, businessman, co-founder of Katowice Ignatz Grünfeld; pl, architect Andreas Gryphius, poet Joanna Gryzik von Schomberg-Godula; pl, (Johanna Gräfin von Schaffgotsch); de, industrialist Karol Grzesik; pl, politician Bernhard Grzimek, zoologist cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz Torsten Gütschow, soccer player
H the House of Habsburg; Branch of Toscania/Teschen Fritz Haber, chemist Stanisław Hadyna; pl, composer Richard Hanke, soccer player Daniel Harrwitz, chess master Alfred Hauptmann; de, neurologist Gerhart Hauptmann, dramatist Felix Hausdorff, mathematician Saint Hedwig of Andechs; (św. Jadwiga Śląska), Duchess of Silesia (1174–1243) Johann Heermann, poet and hymnwriter Sigfried Held, soccer player and coach Henry the Bearded, duke Henry II the Pious, duke Henry III the White, duke Henry IV Probus, duke Lothar Herbst; pl, poet Max Herrmann-Neisse; pl, de, writer Richard Herrmann, soccer player Arno Herzig; de, historian Dieter Hildebrandt, kabarettist Moses Hirschel, writer and chess master Ludwik Hirszfeld, microbiologist cardinal August Hlond; Primate of Poland Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg, prince Karl Höfer, general Otto Höhne, general Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, poet and municipal politician Prince Adolf of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, nobleman, soldier, and politician Prince Kraft of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, nobleman and general August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen, general, industrialist, landowner and mining business people Karl Eduard von Holtei; poet and actor Richard Holtze; szl, politician, co-founder of Katowice Walther von Holzhausen, chess master Bernhard von Hülsen, general Herbert Hupka, politician Saint Hyacinth; (św. Jacek Odrowąż), Dominican friar, called the Apostle of the North
I Salomon Isaac; pl, merchant
J Anton Jadasch; de, politician Lech Janerka, composer Janosch, children's writer Michael Jary, composer Grzegorz Jarzyna; pl, theatre director Otylia Jędrzejczak, swimmer Jens Jeremies, soccer player Moritz Jursitzky, writer
K Ryszard Kaczmarek; pl, historian Zbigniew Kadłubek; pl, classical philologist Helmut Kajzar; pl, playwright, theatre director Theodor Kalide, sculptor David Kalisch, writer and humorist bishop Maximilian Kaller Theodor Kaluza, mathematician and physicist Tomasz Kamusella, linguist Manfred Kanther, politician Anna Louisa Karsch, poet Adolf Kaschny; pl, politician Georg Katzer, composer Lars Kaufmann, handball player Bernhard Kempa; de, handball player Alfred Kerr, art critic Jan Kidawa-Błoński; pl, film director Leon Kieres, historian Wojciech Kilar, composer Gustav Kirchhoff, physicist Martin Kirschner, surgeon August Kiss, sculptor Eckart Klein; de, social scientist Norbert Klein, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (1923–1933) Otto Klemperer, conductor and composer Karl Ludwig Klose; de, historian Miroslav Klose, soccer player Samuel Benjamin Klose; de, historian Baladine Klossowska, painter Bernhard Adalbert Emil Koehne, botanist Alexander Kohut, orientalist Józef Kokot; pl, soccer player Heinz Kokott, general Jan Jakub Kolski, film director and writer cardinal Bolesław Kominek Jerzy Konikowski, chess master Richard Konwiarz; architect Kopaynski or Kopanski family cardinal Georg von Kopp Rudolf Koppitz, photographer Wojciech Korfanty, politician Julian Kornhauser, poet and literary critic Hubert Kostka, soccer player Jan Kotrč, chess master Viktor de Kowa, actor and singer Józef Kożdoń, Silesian autonomist Marek Krajewski, classical philologist and crime-story writer Adolf Kramer, chess master Paul Krause; de (December 27, 1905, † October 19, 1950), politician Emil Krebs, polyglot and sinologist Otto Kretschmer, commodore Rodolphe Kreutzer (father was born in Silesia), violinist and composer Henryk Kroll, politician Jan Kropidło, Duke of Opole, bishop of Chełmno, Kamień Pomorski, Kuyavia, Poznań, archbishop of Gniezno, Primate of Poland Rafał Kubacki, judo fighter and politician bishop Teodor Kubina; pl Richard Kubus, soccer player Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (1414–1422) Wojciech Kuczok, writer Hans Kudlich, politician and physician Quirinus Kuhlmann, poet and mystic Walter Kuhn, historian Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert, painter Jerzy Kukuczka; alpine and high-altitude climber Ernst Kunik; sv, historian and archeologist Theofil Kupka, politician Jan Kustos, politician Martin Kutta, mathematician Kazimierz Kutz, film director and politician
L Fritz Laband, soccer player Ferdinand Lassalle, politician Maciej Łagiewski; pl, historian Hans Lammers, politician Georg Landsberg, mathematician