List of personalities of the city of Leverkusen

The following list contains personalities born in Leverkusen , listed chronologically according to the year of birth. The list does not claim to be complete.

This is followed by the list of honorary citizens as well as the personalities who worked in the city without being born here.

Personalities born in today's Leverkusen

Vinzenz Jakob von Zuccalmaglio, writer, born in Schlebusch

To 1900

Bertram Pfeiffer (1797–1872), German politician and mayor of Essen
Vinzenz Jakob von Zuccalmaglio (1806–1876), writer of local history, economics and religious literature
Wilhelm Heinrich Breidenbach (1833–1923), farmer, community leader of Wiesdorf and member of the district council
Heinrich Sürder (1871–1951), Mayor of Schlebusch
Heinrich Kautz (1892–1978), educator and writer
Hertha Bucher (1898–1960), German-Austrian ceramist at the Wiener Werkstätte
August Theodor Wuppermann (1898–1966), German steel entrepreneur

1901 to 1950

Wilhelm Fucks (1902–1990), physicist
Johanna Herzog-Dürck (1902–1991), psychotherapist
Hein Wimmer (1902–1986), goldsmith and silversmith and sculptor
Lothar Rohde (1906–1985), scientist and founder of Rohde & Schwarz Messtechnik
Franz Esser (1908–1966), bishop
Erich Liese (1910-2010), radiologist
Bastian Müller (1912–1988), writer
Paul Janes (1912–1987), national soccer player
Kurt Lorenz (1914–1987), artist and caricaturist
Arno Pagel (1914–2002), theologian
Hans Heisel (1922–2012), resistance fighter
Paul Weigmann (1923–2009), glass painter and draftsman
Günter Böhme (1925–2006), politician and manager
Jean Pierre Picon (1926–2005), painter, graphic artist and sculptor
Heinrich Roggendorf (1926–1988), writer
Rolf Umbach (1926–2018), theologian and writer
Astrid Gehlhoff-Claes (1928–2011), writer
Günter Ferdinand Ris (1928–2005), sculptor
Wolfgang Hilger (1929–2020), chemist and company manager
Gertraud Middelhauve (1929–2004), publisher
Wolf Isselhard (1930–1998), university professor, physician and rector of the University of Cologne
Ingeborg Knipper (* 1932), politician
Wolf Vostell (1932–1998), sculptor, painter and happening artist
Walter Laufenberg (* 1935), writer and blogger
Johannes Brosseder (1937–2014), Roman Catholic theologian
Heinz Höher (1938–2019), soccer player and coach
Herbert Bönnen (* 1942), soccer player
Günter Thelen (* 1943), bronze and stone sculptor
York Höller (* 1944), composer and professor of composition
Werner Wenning (* 1946), CEO of Bayer AG
Paul Hebbel (* 1947), politician
Bernd Schaumann (* 1947), composer, arranger, orchestra conductor, musician and music teacher
Peter Slodowy (1948–2002), mathematician
Bärbel Dieckmann (* 1949), politician (SPD), honorary president of Welthungerhilfe
Christel Hausding (* 1949), teacher, educational scientist and author
Hans-Dieter Clauser (* 1950), politician
Reinhard Jahn (* 1950), cell and neurobiologist

1951 to 1960

Hans Schneider (* 1951), bass player
Karl-Heinz Dellwo (* 1952), member of the Red Army Faction (RAF)
Eckhard Jaschinski (* 1952), Catholic theologian
Ulrich Eller (* 1953), artist
Alice Greyer-Wieninger (* 1953), lawyer
Siegfried Jaschinski (* 1954), bank manager
Wilfried Schmickler (* 1954), cabaret artist
Thomas Steinfeld (* 1954), journalist and writer
Michael Maerker (1955–2005), sculptor
Thomas Grünfeld (* 1956), sculptor and university professor
Friederike Kretzen (* 1956), writer
Monika Schmitz-Emans (* 1956), comparativeist and literary scholar
Aloys Winterling (* 1956), ancient historian
Ute Bönnen (* 1957), journalist and documentary film director
Thomas Gesterkamp (* 1957), social and political scientist, journalist and author
Ulrich Giesekus (* 1957), psychologist, professor of psychology and counseling
Klaus Heuser (* 1957), musician
Henning Krautmacher (* 1957), musician, front man of the Höhner
Edgar Noske (1957–2013), author of historical and detective novels
Uta Schorn (* 1957), gymnast
Michael Gustorff (* 1958), jazz violinist
Hans-Gerd Klein (* 1958), entrepreneur, athlete and Olympic participant
Hans-André Stamm (* 1958), composer
Jo Thönes (* 1958), percussionist, jazz drummer and composer
Heike Göbel (* 1959), business journalist
Martin Kusch (* 1959), philosopher and sociologist
Bernhard Schütz (* 1959), theater and film actor
Margit Hähner (* 1960), writer
Corinna Margarete Lingnau (* 1960), field hockey player and Olympic participant
Harald Pinger (* 1960), manager
Wolfgang Wiechert (* 1960), Professor of Systems Biology

1961 to 1970

Dietmar Mögenburg (* 1961), Olympic high jump champion from 1984
Odo Rumpf (* 1961), artist
Uli T. Swidler (* 1961), novelist and screenwriter
Maren Gottschalk (* 1962), author, historian and journalist
Isabel Hund (* 1962), chess master
Sabine Kämper (* 1962), actress and presenter
Andreas Külzer (* 1962), historian
Doris Prilop (born 1962), actress
Michael Rische (* 1962), classical pianist and university professor
Christian Schliemann (* 1962), field hockey goalkeeper
Bernd Hoffmann (* 1963), football functionary
Andreas Rettig (* 1963), football official
Gunther Behnke (* 1963), basketball player
Detlef Schrempf (* 1963), basketball player in the NBA
Christoph Nonn (* 1964), historian
Ina Beyermann (* 1965), swimmer
Claus Fischer (* 1965), band musician with Anke Engelke and Harald Schmidt
Dirk Heinrichs (* 1965), actor
Christoph Kugelmeier (* 1965), classical philologist
Bernd Dreher (* 1966), soccer player and goalkeeping coach
Michael Hoppe (* 1966), cathedral organist and university professor
Bernd Lichtenberg (* 1966), screenwriter
Peter Liehr (1966–2016), author and translator
Britta Siegers (* 1966), disabled athlete
Bernhard Günther (* 1967), manager
Sonja Hegasy (* 1967), Islamic scholar
Annette Langen (* 1967), children's book author
Clauß Peter Sajak (* 1967), Roman Catholic theologian and university professor
Linda Budinger (* 1968), writer
Oliver Grajewski (* 1968), comic artist, visual artist and illustrator
Roland Jankowsky (* 1968), actor
Michael Gudo (* 1969), geologist and paleontologist
Frank Baum (* 1970), basketball player and coach

1971 to 1980

Boris Pietsch (* 1971), actor
Christian Reimering (* 1971), pool player
Frank Überall (* 1971), political scientist, journalist and author
Florian Kunz (* 1972), field hockey player
Silke Lichtenhagen (* 1973), track and field athlete
Matthias Benner (* 1974), filmmaker and author
Ralf Schmitz (* 1974), comedian
Oliver Ligneth-Dahm (* 1974), writer
Matthias Benner (* 1974), filmmaker
Christian Linker (* 1975), author of children's books
Thorsten Leibenath (* 1975), basketball player and trainer
Lars Rehmann (* 1975), tennis player
Tim Stegemann (* 1975), actor and theater educator
Jörg Bergmeister (* 1976), racing driver
Daniel Ischdonat (* 1976), soccer goalkeeper
Lale Nalbant (* 1976), film director, screenwriter and acting and casting agent
Danny Ecker (* 1977), pole vaulter, son of two-time Olympic champion Heide Ecker-Rosendahl
Serkan Kaya (* 1977), Turkish actor and musical performer
Jadran Malkovich (born 1977), actor
David Rott (born 1977), actor
Cemile Giousouf (* 1978), politician (CDU)
Uwe Heidschötter (* 1978), illustrator, animator, film director and comic author
Katharina Lorenz (* 1978), actress
Goran Kovacev (born 1979), basketball player
Boris Schommers (* 1979), football coach
Felix Sturm (* 1979), professional boxer
Markus Esser (* 1980), hammer thrower
Sebastian Prüßmann , (1980 *) Cooking with a star in the Michelin guide awarded

From 1981

Moritz Thimm (* 1981), basketball player
Maurice Weber (* 1981), professional boxer
Maarten Lammen (* 1982), volleyball and beach volleyball player
André Maczkowiak (* 1983), football goalkeeper
Ioannis Masmanidis (* 1983), football player
David Müller (* 1984), soccer player
Dominik Reinhardt (* 1984), soccer player
Tobias M. Walter (* 1984), actor and reciter
Alexander Holzhammer (* 1985), e-athlete
Sascha Dum (* 1986), soccer player
Lilli Hollunder (* 1986), actress
Michael Hrstka (* 1986), ice hockey player
Nadine Thal (* 1987), soccer player
Birte Thimm (* 1987), national basketball player
Sven Hartmann (* 1988), basketball player
David Hohs (* 1988), soccer goalkeeper
Bahadir Incilli (* 1989), football player
Volker Heuken (* 1990), jazz musician
Marius Theobald (* 1990), actor
Julia Lambertz (* 1994), volleyball player
Okan Aydın (* 1994), football player

Honorary citizen of Leverkusen

Julius Schnitzler, manufacturer and honorary citizen of Opladen

The city of Leverkusen and its predecessor communities have granted the following people honorary citizenship:

1923: Carl Duisberg , privy councilor (awarded by Wiesdorf)
1933: Robert Ley , Reich Labor Leader (but revoked in 1945)
1999: Menachem Ariav , Mayor of Nazareth Illit and initiator of the town twinning

Honorary citizen of Opladen

1872: Julius Schnitzler , manufacturer
1952: Franz Esser , Bishop of Springbok (South Africa)

Honorary citizen of Bergisch Neukirchen

1912: Carl Albrecht Römer, Councilor of Commerce
1933: Friedrich Karl Florian , Gauleiter (but revoked again in 1946)

Personalities who have worked in the city

Vinzenz Joseph Deycks (1768–1850), counselor and notary, from 1811 to 1815 mayor of Opladen; The Rat-Deycks-Strasse and the Rat-Deycks-Schule are named after him
Stephan Josef Krey (1803–1873), dean of St. Remigius in Opladen; Dechant-Krey-Strasse was dedicated to him in 1975
Gerhard Hund (* 1932), mathematician and computer scientist; lived in Leverkusen from 1961 to 2007
Kurt Arentz (1934–2014), sculptor and portraitist of leading politicians, scientists and artists in Europe and the USA