List of prominent residents of the city of Leipzig
This alphabetical overview names important personalities who lived and worked in Leipzig , but were not born here. They helped shape the genius loci of this city.
A.
- Hermann Abendroth (1883–1956), conductor, Gewandhaus Kapellmeister.
- Max Abraham (1831–1900), music publisher (CF Peters).
- Kurt Ackermann (1934–2013), civil engineer and transport scientist
- Oskar Ackermann (1836–1913), Protestant theologian.
- Albin Ackermann-Teubner (1826–1903), publisher, bookseller and owner of the publishing house and book printer BG Teubner .
- Abraham Adler (1850–1922), economist, pioneer in commercial science, scientific business administration and business education.
- Cliff Eros (1889–1952), circus entrepreneur.
- Georgius Agricola (1494–1555), humanist and scientist, "father of mineralogy".
- Alexander Alesius (1500–1565), theologian and reformer.
- Albrecht Alt (1883–1956), theologian.
- Paul Ammann (1634–1691), physician and botanist.
- Wilhelm Andreas (1882–1951), sculptor, porcelain designer, interior designer.
- Andreas Dietrich Apel (1662–1718), merchant and silk manufacturer.
- Heinrich Friedrich Innocentius Apel (1732–1802), lawyer and mayor.
- Aurelius Arkenau (1900–1991), Father, Righteous Among the Nations .
- Elsa Asenijeff (1867–1941), writer and partner of Max Klinger
B.
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), worked in Leipzig from 1723 to 1750 as Thomas Cantor .
- Fritz Baedeker (1844–1925), publisher.
- Johannes Baensch-Drugulin (1858–1945), book printer owner.
- Carl Bartuzat (1882–1959), solo flutist in the Gewandhaus Orchestra .
- Tilo Baumgärtel (* 1972), painter of the " New Leipzig School ".
- Fritz Baumgarten (1883–1966), illustrator.
- Wladimir Michailowitsch Bechterew (1857–1927), Russian neurologist and psychiatrist, sat in 1884 and 1885 at the University of Leipzig
- Felix Becker (1864–1928), art historian (" Thieme-Becker ") .
- Paul Beckers (1878-1965), comedian.
- Karl-Heinz Bernhardt (* 1935), meteorologist
- Ernst Beyer (1855–1927), city school councilor.
- Felix Victor Birch-Hirschfeld (1842–1899), physician.
- Adolf Bleichert (1845–1901), entrepreneur, German pioneer of cable car construction .
- Ernst Bloch (1885–1977), philosopher.
- Robert Blum (1807–1848), in Leipzig since 1832, revolutionary and vice-president of the Frankfurt National Assembly .
- Julius Blüthner (1824–1910), piano maker and founder of the Blüthner piano factory .
- Dietrich III. von Bocksdorf († 1466), Rector of the University of Leipzig and Bishop of Naumburg
- Johann Gottlob Böhme (1717–1780), historian.
- Christian Friedrich Börner also: Boerner (1683–1753), German Lutheran theologian.
- Georg Bötticher (1849–1918), graphic artist, writer and literary scholar, father of Joachim Ringelnatz .
- Caspar Borner (1492–1547), Lutheran theologian, humanist, philologist, lawyer, mathematician and lawyer.
- Heinrich Christoph Friedrich Bosse (1848–1909), writer, politician, playwright and publicist.
- Otto Richard Bossert (1874–1919), German, graphic artist, wood cutter, art teacher, lithographer, painter, etcher and draftsman.
- Ferdinand Braun (1850–1918), Nobel laureate in physics, worked in Leipzig from 1874 to 1876 and discovered the semiconductor diode during this time
- Friedrich Braun (1862–1942), Germanist.
- Hans Adolf von Brause (1847–1928), reform pedagogue and politician.
- Heinrich Bretthorst (1883–1962), politician (SPD / SED).
- Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus (1772–1823), publisher in Leipzig since 1817.
- Johann Karl Immanuel Buddeus (1780–1844), political scientist, chairman of the city council in Leipzig
- Carl James Bühring (1871–1936), architect and city planner.
- Hedwig Burgheim (1887–1943), teacher.
C.
- Sethus Calvisius (1594–1615), composer, Thomaskantor , astronomer and mathematician.
- Ulrich Rülein von Calw (1465–1523), humanist , doctor , mining scientist , mathematician , geodesist , astrologer .
- Joachim Camerarius the Elder (1500–1574), humanist, polymath and poet.
- Reinhold Carl (1864–1929), sculptor.
- Ephraim Carlebach (1879–1936), rabbi , founder of the first Jewish school in Saxony.
- Friedrich August Carus (1770–1807), psychologist, philosopher and historian of philosophy.
- Johann Friedrich Christ (1701–1756), German archaeologist and art historian.
- Lorenz Clasen (1812–1899), history painter and publicist.
- Ludolf Colditz (1847–1909), lawyer.
- Hedwig Courths-Mahler (1867–1950), writer.
- Hermann Credner (1841–1913), geologist.
- Richard Croke (1489–1558), English philologist and professor of the Greek language.
- Heinrich Curschmann (1846–1910), internist.
- Heinz Czechowski (1935–2009), writer.
- Karl Czok (1926–2013), historian.
D.
- Klaus Dannegger (* 1943), cabaret artist, dramaturge, cabaret author (including in-house author of the Leipziger Pfeffermühle cabaret ).
- Ferdinand David (1810–1873), violinist, conductor at the Gewandhaus and professor at the conservatory.
- Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890), theologian.
- Fred Delmare (1922–2009), actor.
- Georg Dertinger (1902–1968), politician.
- Anton Dietrich (1833–1904), painter.
- Rudolf Dittrich (1855–1929), Lord Mayor.
- Wilhelm Ditzen (1852–1937), lawyer at the Reichsgericht, father of Hans Fallada .
- Emil Döll (1850–1924), economist and supporter of Eugen Dühring .
- Kurt Dornis (* 1930), painter and graphic artist, represents part of his city's visual memory with his work.
- Matthäus Dresser (1536–1607), humanist, educator, philologist and historian.
- Hans Driesch (1867–1941), natural philosopher, one of the pioneers of molecular biology, from 1921 until his early retirement in 1933, professor of philosophy in Leipzig, forced by the Nazis.
- Wiglaf Droste (1961–2019), writer.
E.
- Volker Ebersbach (* 1942), German writer , has lived in Leipzig with interruptions since 1967, and has worked here as a freelance writer, translator and editor since 1976.
- Werner Ehrenforth (1939–2002), German aphorist, lived in Leipzig since the 1970s.
- Chaim Eitingon (1857–1932), tobacco merchant and benefactor.
- Frank Emmrich (* 1949), immunologist, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology , the Institute for Clinical Immunology and the Translational Center for Regenerative Medicine Leipzig .
- Wilhelm Engelmann (1808–1878), publisher and bookseller
- Heinz Erhardt (1909–1979), comedian, musician, entertainer, actor and poet, studied piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1926 to 1928.
- Ruprecht Eser (* 1943), television journalist, spent his school days in Leipzig, and has been an honorary professor at the University of Leipzig since 2013 .
F.
- Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801–1887), physicist and philosopher, first director of a physics institute in Germany (Leipzig University).
- Conrad Fiedler (1841–1895), art theorist.
- Wilhelm Fink (bookseller) (1833–1890), typesetter, bookseller and social democrat.
- Paul Flechsig (1847–1929), brain anatomist and director of the University's Psychiatric and Nervous Clinic from 1882 to 1920. First writer of the spinal cord pathway named after him. (Flechsig tract or tractus spinocerebellaris posterior). During his tenure, made Leipzig a center for brain anatomy and research.
- Paul Fleming (1609–1640), German baroque poet, spent 10 years in Leipzig from 1623 to 1633.
- Theodor Fontane (1819–1898), poet and important novelist, was training as a pharmacist (at that time still an apprenticeship) in 1841/42 in the Leipzig Adler pharmacy in Hainstrasse and took part in the city's literary life.
- Ludwig Frankenthal (1881–1944), surgeon, chief physician at the Israelite Hospital in Leipzig from 1928 to 1938.
- Christian Gottlob Frege (1715–1781), banker and merchant.
- Livia Frege (1818-1891), singer and patroness.
- Gustav Freytag (1816–1895), cultural historian and writer. From 1848–61 and 1867–70 he directed the weekly “Die Grenzboten” in Leipzig with Julian Schmidt , which he made the most influential organ of the national liberal German bourgeoisie.
- Theodor Frings (1886–1968), medievalist and linguist. From 1946 to 1965 President of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig.
- Sebastian Fröschel (1497–1570), Lutheran theologian.
- Emil Fuchs (1874–1971), Protestant theologian. In his work he emphasized the social responsibility of the church, whereby as a theologian he positively received elements of Marxist social analysis. Professor of systematic theology and sociology of religion in Leipzig from 1949.
- Johann Gregor Fuchs (1650–1715), Baroque architect and builder, builder of the Romanushaus .
- Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954), conductor and composer, Gewandhaus Kapellmeister from 1922 to 1928.
G
- Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002), professor of philosophy since 1939, dean from 1945, most recently rector of the university until 1947.
- Hugo Gaudig (1860–1923), important teacher, director of the Gaudig School and the Leipzig Teachers' Seminar.
- Oscar von Gebhardt (1844–1906), Protestant theologian and librarian.
- Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715–1769), poet. Studied theology at Leipzig University from 1734–38. Lived permanently in Leipzig from 1741, was professor of philosophy at the university from 1751.
- Otto Georgi (1831–1918), lawyer and first Lord Mayor of Leipzig.
- Friedrich Gerstäcker (1816–1872), writer, student at the Nikolaischule. Reports on America, ethnographic studies.
- Albert Geutebrück (1801–1868), master builder of classicism in Leipzig.
- Peter Glasses (Caesar) (1949–2008), German rock legend (Renft, Karussell, Caesar's rock band, Caesar & the players).
- Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (1884–1945), politician and resistance fighter, 1930 Lord Mayor of Leipzig.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), poet, studied in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768.
- Johann David Goldhorn (1774–1836), Protestant theologian and university professor, pastor of the Nikolaikirche and professor in Leipzig
- Felix Goldmann (1882–1934), rabbi of the Leipzig community synagogue from 1917 to 1934.
- Wilhelm Goldmann (1897–1974), publisher, founded Goldmann Verlag in Leipzig in 1922 .
- Henriette Goldschmidt (1825–1920), educator and women's rights activist, founded the General German Women's Association (ADF) in Leipzig in 1871 together with Louise Otto-Peters and Auguste Schmidt and in 1911 the first German university for women in Leipzig, which later became the socio-educational women's seminar.
- Eugen Gollomb (1917–1988), chairman of the Israelite religious community in Leipzig from 1967 to 1988.
- Georg Joachim Göschen (1752–1828), publisher, founded the publishing bookstore named after him in Leipzig in 1785, one of the most important publishers of German classics.
- Johann Christoph Gottsched (1700–1766), writer and literary historian, in Leipzig since 1724.
- Anton Graff (1736–1813), painter, pioneer of bourgeois male and female portraits in Germany. From 1766 court painter in Dresden, portrayed numerous members of the upper class of Leipzig.
- Kurt Grahl (* 1947), composer and church musician.
- Richard Graul (1862–1944), art historian, director of the Kunstgewerbemuseum .
- Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), Norwegian composer, studied piano and composition at the Conservatory in Leipzig from 1858 to 1862.
- Ernst Johann Groth (1859–1936), writer, pedagogue, director of the Goethe School.
- Karl Friedrich Gerhard Gruner (1768–1837), businessman and politician
- Christian Grunert (1900–1975), gardener and author, resident in what is now Leipzig's Holzhausen district from around 1930 until his death.
- Ralph Grüneberger (* 1951), writer, poet, editor and long-time chairman of the Society for Contemporary Poetry
- Hans Grüß (1929–2001), musicologist, founder and director of the Capella Fidicinia.
- Lazar Gulkowitsch (1898–1941), Jewish philologist, taught from 1924 to 1933 at the University of Leipzig.
- Doris Günther (1919–2009), entrepreneur and patron.
- Rigobert Günther (1928–2000), German ancient historian, in Leipzig since 1955.
H
- Reinhard Haberlandt (1936–2019), physicist
- Samuel Hahnemann (1775–1843), physician in Leipzig from 1789 to 1821, founder of homeopathy
- Wilhelm Haller (1884–1956), architect in Leipzig from 1911 to 1932; Master builder of the consecration hall on the New Israelite Cemetery, which was destroyed in 1938/39, for the Israelite religious community in Leipzig
- Wilhelm Ritter von Hamm (1820–1880), editor, entrepreneur and politician, city councilor in Leipzig, member of the Second Saxon Chamber
- Emil Franz Hänsel (1870–1943), architect
- August Harder (1775–1813), musician, composer and writer
- Gustav Harkort (1795–1865), entrepreneur, banker and railway pioneer
- Marcus Harmelin (1796–1873), tobacco merchant
- Otto Harrassowitz (1845–1920), antiquarian and publisher
- Anton Hartmann (1860–1912), actor and theater director
- Johann Christoph Heilbronner (1706–1745), mathematician and mathematics historian, private scholar in Leipzig
- Samuel Heinicke (1727–1790), inventor of the German method of deaf education , worked as a teacher in Leipzig from 1778 until his death
- Max Heinze (1835–1909), philosopher
- Richard Heinze (1867–1929), classical philologist
- Ulla Heise (* 1946), author , publicist and editor
- Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976), physicist, professor at the University of Leipzig at the age of 26 in 1927, Nobel Prize winner
- Bernhard Heisig (1925–2011), painter, worked in Leipzig from 1954 to 1992
- Georg Helt (1485–1545), humanist, classical philologist, theologian and polymath
- Gustav Hertz (1887–1975), physicist, Nobel Prize laureate in 1925 (together with J. Franck) for the excitation of atoms by electron impact ( Franck-Hertz experiment ), head of the Physics Institute at the University of Leipzig from 1954 to 1961
- Joachim Herz (1924–2010), opera director
- Karl Wilhelm Hiersemann (1854–1928), antiquarian and publisher
- Henri Hinrichsen (1868–1942), publisher between the turn of the century and 1939 in Leipzig. Founder of the Musical Instrument Museum
- Christoph Heinrich Hirzel (1828–1908), author, inventor, university lecturer and entrepreneur
- Salomon Hirzel (1804–1877), Swiss-German publisher and bookseller. Founded the publishing bookstore named after him in Leipzig in 1853 (today S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH Co.) for specialist books, a. a. Edition of the Grimm dictionary
- Wolfgang Hocquél (* 1947), art historian and monument conservator
- ETA Hoffmann (1776–1822), writer, composer and draftsman, from 1813 to February 1814 music director of Joseph Seconda's theater troupe in Dresden and Leipzig
- Ludwig Hoffmann (1852–1932), architect, builder of the imperial court building (1887–1895)
- Wolfgang Hofmann (1928–2019), cantor, organist and composer
- Peter Hohmann (1663–1732), merchant and councilor, progenitor of the noble von Hohenthal family
- Johannes Hommel (1518–1562), Protestant theologian, mathematician and astronomer
- August Horch (1868–1951), automobile manufacturer
- David Hoyer (1667–1720), portrait painter of the Baroque era, received Leipzig citizenship in 1703 and died there in 1720
- Ludwig Hupfeld (1864–1949), industrialist and founder of Ludwig Hupfeld AG
I.
- Ludwig Heinrich Ihmels (1858–1933), Evangelical Lutheran theologian, professor, from 1922 to 1933 first regional bishop of Saxony .
- Werner Ihmels (1926–1949), dissident, victim of Stalinism.
- Johannes Ilberg (1860–1930), classical philologist, educator.
- Waldemar Ilberg (1901–1967), physicist.
J
- Johannes Jahn (1892–1976), art historian.
- Christa Jahr (* 1941), German illustrator and graphic artist.
- Johannes Job (1664–1736), German civil servant, Protestant theologian and hymn poet.
- Uwe Johnson (1934–1984), writer. Lived in Leipzig from 1953 to 1959 and studied German with Hans Mayer . During this time he wrote his first novel "Ingrid Babendererde", which was published in 1985.
- Hermann Joseph (1811–1869), German lawyer and liberal politician.
- Ernst Jünger (1895–1998), writer.
K
- Erich Kästner (1899–1974), writer and cabaret artist. Studied 1919-25 in Leipzig (German, history, philosophy, theater history), employed as a student trainee at the “Neue Leipziger Zeitung”.
- Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877–1933), composer.
- Küf Kaufmann (* 1947), author, director and cabaret artist.
- Rolf Kauka (1917–2000), comic producer and publisher, born and raised in Markranstädt near Leipzig, from 1927 attended the Friedrich-List-Realschule in Leipzig, cartoonist for the “ Leipzig Latest News ”.
- Christian Gottlob Kayser (1782–1857), bibliographer, bookseller and publisher.
- Oskar Kellner (1851–1911), animal nutritionist.
- Kessler twins (* 1936), singers, dancers, actresses and entertainers, grew up in Taucha near Leipzig, 1947 admitted to the children's ballet of the Leipzig Opera , 1950–1952 attended the opera dance school
- Gustav Kirstein (1870–1934), publisher, art collector, bibliophile and patron.
- Rudolf Kittel (1853–1929), theologian.
- Christa Susanne Dorothea Kleinert (1925–2004), economist, lived and worked in Leipzig from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s.
- Julius Klengel (1859–1933), cellist and composer.
- Sebastian Knüpfer (1633–1676), composer and Thomaskantor.
- Carl Theodor Körner (1791–1813), writer.
- Theodor Kösser (1854–1929), architect (main work: construction of the Mädlerpassage).
- Rudolf Kötzschke (1867–1949), historian.
- Alois Kolb (1875–1942), etcher and painter.
- Franz Konwitschny (1901–1962), conductor, Gewandhaus Kapellmeister.
- Hermann August Korff (1882–1963), Germanist and Goethe researcher.
- Henner Kotte (* 1963), author.
- Rolf Kralovitz (1925–2015), actor, cabaret artist and radio play author.
- Karl Krause (1823–1902), entrepreneur (graphic industry).
- Angela Krauss (* 1950), writer and Bachmann Prize winner.
- Julius Kreutzbach (1845–1913), piano manufacturer.
- Werner Kriesel (* 1941), engineer, professor for automation and pioneer of industrial communication, has lived in Leipzig since 1979.
- Ernst Kroker (1859–1927), historian, librarian, director of the Leipzig City Library and the Council Archives.
- Karl Krug (1900–1983), painter.
- Manfred Krug (1937–2016), actor and singer; spent part of his childhood in Leipzig and calls in his autobiography "My beautiful life" (2003), remembering these years, the Saxons "fine and generous people"
- Joachim Kupsch (1926–2006), writer, screenwriter
- Spyro Kyropoulos (1887–1967), Greek-German physicist and crystal grower.
L.
- Télémaque Lambrino (1878–1930), pianist and piano teacher, lived and worked in Leipzig from 1909 until his death.
- Karl Lamprecht (1856–1915), historian, founder of the Institute for Universal History at the University of Leipzig.
- Gordian Landwehr (1912–1998), German Catholic religious priest, Dominican. OP , in Leipzig since 1951.
- Bernd-Lutz Lange (* 1944), cabaret artist, writer.
- Juraj Láni (1646–1701), Slovak Lutheran theologian and author.
- Michael Lantzenberger (1552–1612), printer.
- Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864), writer, philosopher and politician, co-founder and first chairman of the General German Workers' Association founded in Leipzig in 1863.
- Friedrich Leibnütz (1597–1652), professor of moral philosophy and father of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- Wolfgang Lenk (* 1966), musician " Die Prinzen ".
- August Leskien (1840–1916), Slavist.
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), playwright and literary historian. Studied theology, medicine and philosophy in Leipzig from 1746–1748. Here he came into contact with Caroline Neuber's group of actors , who in 1748 also performed his play “The Young Scholar”.
- Polykarp Leyser II (1586–1633), Lutheran theologian and general superintendent in Leipzig.
- Hugo Licht (1841–1923), architect and city planner in Leipzig (1879–1906).
- Alfred Liebig (1878–1952), architect (main work at the "Petershof" exhibition center).
- Renate Lieckfeldt (1965–2013), pharmacist, university professor and rector of the HTWK (2011–2013).
- Richard Lipinski (1867–1936), German trade unionist, politician and writer.
- Hans Lissmann (1885–1964), concert singer and singing teacher.
- Johann Christian Lobe (1797–1881), German composer, was music professor in Leipzig from 1846 to 1881.
- Erich Loest (1926–2013), writer.
- Marie Lomnitz-Klamroth (1863–1946), librarian, expert on the blind and for many years director of the German Central Library for the Blind in Leipzig (DZB).
- Albert Lortzing (1801–1851) actor, singer and composer (best known was his opera “Zar und Zimmermann”, premiered on December 22, 1837 in Leipzig), 1833–1844 singer and 1844/45 and 1848/49 Kapellmeister at the Leipzig City Theater .
- Enrico Lübbe (* 1975) general manager, director
- Paul Luther (1533–1593), physician, personal physician to Electors August and Christian I of Saxony, son of the reformer Martin Luther .
M.
- Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), composer. July 1886 - May 1888 as Opera Kapellmeister. Represented Arthur Nikisch from February to May 1887 .
- Fred Malige (1895–1985), violinist and composer.
- Heinrich Marschner (1795–1861), composer. 1827–31 head of the orchestra at the Stadttheater.
- Walter Markov (1909–1993), historian and resistance fighter.
- Rudolf Marx (1899–1990), publisher.
- Kurt Masur (1927–2015), Gewandhaus Kapellmeister from 1970 to 1996.
- Wolfgang Mattheuer (1927–2004), painter, graphic artist and sculptor.
- Erhard Mauersberger (1903–1982), organist, from 1961 to 1972 Thomaskantor .
- Rudolf Mauersberger (1889–1971), composer, from 1930 to 1971 Kreuzkantor .
- Wilhelm Maurenbrecher (1838–1892), Reformation historian.
- Kurt-Ulrich Mayer (* 1950), politician ( CDU ), professor and president of the Saxon State Agency for Private Broadcasting and New Media (SLM).
- Hans Mayer (1907–2001), literary scholar. 1948–63 professor of literary history at the University of Leipzig.
- Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847), composer, Gewandhaus Kapellmeister , “rediscoverer” of Bach .
- Alfred Menzel (1883–1959), educator , author and opponent of the Nazi regime .
- Wolfgang Meurer (1513–1585), educator, meteorologist and doctor.
- Clemens Meyer (* 1977), writer.
- Hans Meyer (1858–1929), publisher, geographer, colonial politician, explorer and one of the first to climb Kilimanjaro , son of the publisher Herrmann Julius Meyer.
- Hermann Meyer (1871–1932), publisher, geographer and explorer, son of the publisher Herrmann Julius Meyer.
- Herrmann Julius Meyer (1826–1909), publisher in Leipzig ( Bibliographical Institute ).
- Reinhard Minkewitz (* 1957), painter and graphic artist.
- Robert Mittelbach (1855–1916), topographer and publisher ( Mittelbach's Verlag ).
- August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), astronomer and mathematician at the university. Leipzig (1816-1868).
- Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903), ancient historian and lawyer. 1848–50 associate professor of law in Leipzig. In 1902 he was the first German to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature for his “Roman History”.
- Gustav Morgenstern (1867–1947), Scandinavianist, journalist and translator
- Heinrich von Morungen († around 1220), Middle High German minstrel .
- Petrus Mosellanus (1493–1524), humanist, philologist and Roman Catholic theologian.
- Egbert-Hans Müller (* 1929), (pseudonym: Reinhard Gröper), writer, lived in Dölitz from 1933 to 1935.
- Hans Amandus Münster (1901–1963), communication scientist, author and publicist
N
- Elias Nathusius (1628–1676), cantor of the Nikolaikirche since 1650.
- Andris Nelsons (* 1978), Gewandhaus Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
- Friederike Caroline Neuber (1697–1760), b. Weißenborn, called "the Neuberin", actress and theater principal. In 1727 he took over the management of a theater group and was granted the Saxon privilege to run a permanent theater in Leipzig. Dramas realized in high German.
- Nikolaus Weigel (around 1396–1444), theologian, indulgence commissioner, participant in the Council of Basel
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philologist and philosopher, studied with Ritschl in Leipzig from 1865 to 1869 . Met Richard Wagner in Leipzig and stayed repeatedly in Leipzig.
- Arthur Nikisch (1855–1922), Kapellmeister of the Leipzig City Theater from 1878 to 1889, conducted the world premiere of Bruckner's 7th Symphony in 1884.
- Novalis (1772–1801), writer, student at the University of Leipzig .
O
- Adam Friedrich Oeser (1717–1799), painter and sculptor, in Leipzig since 1759, director of the academy from 1764 (forerunner of the art academy ). Influenced the development of early classicism ( Winckelmann , Goethe , Mengs, etc.).
- Georg Emanuel Opiz (1775–1841), painter and graphic artist, active in Leipzig since 1805, since 1820 professor at the Leipzig Art Academy .
- Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932), physical chemist and philosopher, 1887–1906 holder of the first German chair for physical chemistry at Leipzig University. Received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his research into catalysis.
- Lothar Otto (1932–2019), cartoonist and book illustrator
- Johannes Overbeck (1826–1895), classical archaeologist, 1863–1895 professor of archeology and head of the archaeological collection at the University of Leipzig.
P
- Jean Paul (1763–1825), writer, student at the University of Leipzig .
- Louise Otto-Peters (1819–1895), women's rights activist.
- Albrecht Peiper (1889–1968), pediatrician, professor of paediatrics.
- Martin Petzoldt (1946–2015), theologian and Bach researcher.
- Richard Petzoldt (1907–1974), musicologist.
- Caspar Peucer (1525–1602), humanist and church reformer, 1576–1586 in solitary confinement at the Pleißenburg.
- Wilhelm Pfeffer (1845–1920), botanist and pharmacologist, founder of modern plant physiology, discoverer of osmosis, professor in Leipzig.
- Johann Pfeffinger (1493–1573), theologian and first Protestant superintendent of Leipzig.
- Johann Caspar Pflaume (1644–1689), councilor and city judge of Leipzig
- Kai Pflaume (* 1967), television presenter (including only love counts ).
- Ferdinand Pfohl (1862–1949), until 1892 music critic for the Leipziger Tageblatt and the Königl. Leipziger Zeitung, music writer and composer.
- Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (1798–1868), biologist and explorer, professor from 1834 to 1868 at the University of Leipzig.
- Christian August Pohlenz (1790–1843), composer, Gewandhaus Kapellmeister (1827–1835).
- Max Pommer (1847–1915), architect, building contractor and pioneer of reinforced concrete construction in Germany.
- Nathan Porges (1848–1924), rabbi of the Leipzig community synagogue from 1888 to 1917.
- Karl Wilhelm August Porsche (1786–1840), German lawyer and local politician.
- Paul Preil (1879–1951), composer.
- Victor von Prendel (1766–1852), 1813/14 Russian city commander of Leipzig.
Q
- Walter Queck (1871–1906), painter.
R.
- Günther Ramin (1898–1956), organist, 1939–1956 Thomaskantor .
- Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904), geographer, professor of geography at the University of Leipzig.
- Neo Rauch (* 1960), painter and pioneer of the New Leipzig School .
- Hildegard Maria Rauchfuß (1918–2000), writer.
- Alois Reckendorf (1841–1911), pianist, music teacher, composer
- Rolf Recknagel (1918–2006), literary scholar
- Max Reger (1873–1916), late Romantic composer
- Philipp Erasmus Reich (1717–1787), bookseller and publisher
- Carl Reinecke (1824–1910), composer, pianist and from 1860 to 1895 conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra .
- Klaus Renft (1942–2006), legendary musician
- Christian Gottlob Richter (1745–1791), lawyer, university professor and philologist
- Helmut Richter (1933–2019), poet, writer and lyricist
- Fritz Riemann (1881–1955), architect
- Hugo Riemann (1849–1919), music theorist, worked in Leipzig from 1895 until his death in 1919.
- Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), poet, lived temporarily between 1910 and 1914 with the befriended Kippenberg publishing family.
- Joachim Ringelnatz (1883–1934), writer, cabaret artist and painter
- Arno Rink (1940–2017), painter
- Friedrich Ritschl (1806–1876), philologist, taught in Leipzig from 1865 to 1875 and died there.
- Christian Romstet (1640–1721), Baroque engraver.
- Wilhelm Roscher (1817–1894), historian and economist, has taught at the University of Leipzig since 1848.
- Ernst Friedrich Karl Rosenmüller (1768–1835), Protestant theologian and orientalist, taught Arabic studies at the University of Leipzig from 1796 to 1835.
- Johann Christian Rosenmüller (1771–1820), physician, garrison doctor, professor of anatomy and surgery
- Johann Georg Rosenmüller (1736–1815), Protestant theologian, since 1785 full professor at the University of Leipzig and president of the Upper Consistory in Leipzig.
- Wolfgang Rosenthal (1882–1971), concert singer and oral surgeon
- Arwed Roßbach (1844–1902), architect, worked primarily in Leipzig, died there in 1902.
- Theophilus Friedrich Rothe (1785–1837), lawyer
- Ludwig Caesar Roux (1843–1913), fencing master
- Ernst Rowohlt (1887–1960) founded the publishing house named after him in Leipzig in 1908.
- Cornelius von Rüxleben (around 1525–1590), Saxon forest and land hunter master, from 1577 to 1590 a state prisoner in the Pleißenburg.
S.
- Rudolph Sack (1824–1900), entrepreneur.
- Hugo Saupe (1883–1957) was a German politician (SPD, SED).
- Clara Caroline Schachne (1858–1942), writer.
- David Schatz (1667 / 68–1750), Baroque architect and horticultural architect.
- Johann Hermann Schein (1586–1630), Baroque composer, Thomas Cantor .
- Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854), philosopher, student at Leipzig University .
- Johann Adam Schertzer (1628–1683), German Lutheran theologian and university professor.
- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), poet, philosopher a. Historian. Spent the summer of 1785 in Leipzig and lived in the "Schillerhaus" named after him.
- Auguste Schmidt (1833–1902), teacher, writer, women's rights activist. Worked in Leipzig from 1851.
- Henri Schmidt (* 1967), singer " Die Prinzen ".
- Karl Schneider-Carius , formerly Karl Schneider (1896–1959) was a meteorologist , climatologist and professor , director of the Geophysical Institute of the University of Leipzig .
- Uwe Scholz (1958–2004), choreographer of international standing and director of the Leipzig Ballet from 1991 until his death.
- Johann George Schreiber (1676–1750), Saxon cartographer, engraver and publisher.
- Robert Schröder (1884–1959), gynecologist, worked from 1936 to 1956 at the University Women's Clinic in Leipzig.
- Robert Schumann (1810–1856), composer, worked in Leipzig from 1828 to 1844, among other things as a teacher at the Conservatory.
- Willmar Schwabe (1839–1917), pharmacist, promoter of homeopathy, founder of a pharmaceutical company.
- Friedrich Seltendorff (1700–1778), master builder of the Leipzig Baroque and Rococo.
- Johann Gottfried Seume (1763–1810), writer and publicist. Student at the Nikolaischule, studied theology at Leipzig University until 1781. From 1787 private teacher in Leipzig and proofreader at the Göschenschen publishing house in Grimma. His travelogue “Walk to Syracuse” became famous.
- Cheryl Shepard (born 1966), actress.
- Hans Siegert (1868–1941), folklorist and local poet.
- Douglas Sirk (1897–1987), 1929–1935 director of the Old Theater .
- Wolfgang Sobek (* 1945), chemist.
- Ernst Staberoh (1879–1943), last fencing master at the University of Leipzig.
- Hugo Steiner-Prag (1880–1945), book illustrator.
- Volker Stelzmann (* 1940), painter and graphic artist. 1963–68 studied at the University of Graphics and Book Art in Leipzig, 1982–86 professor there.
- Eduard Stephani (1817–1885), politician and Vice Mayor of Leipzig.
- Karl Stratil (1894–1963), painter, graphic artist, wood cutter, book illustrator
- Karl Straube (1873–1950), organist, since 1903 in Leipzig, 1918–1939 Thomaskantor .
- Heinrich Stromer von Auerbach (1476–1542), doctor, founder of “ Auerbachs Keller ”.
T
- Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), composer, worked in Leipzig from 1701 to 1705, founder of a student amateur orchestra Collegium musicum , which was later directed by Johann Sebastian Bach , director of performances at the opera house, music director of the university church.
- Johann Tetzel (1465–1519), monk in the Dominican monastery of St. Pauli in Leipzig , preacher of indulgence and the cause of Luther's 95 theses. From 1518 theologian in the Pauline monastery in Leipzig.
- Benedictus Gotthelf Teubner (1784–1856), printer and company founder of the publishing house B.G. Teubner , City Councilor (1831) in Leipzig.
- Erich Thiele (1884–1929), German engineer and aviation pioneer, co-founder and technical director of the Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke (DFW) in Lindenthal (now part of Leipzig).
- Kurt Thomas (1904–1973), composer, 1956–1960 Thomaskantor .
- Louis Thomas (1815–1878), teacher and school director of the Ratsfreischule
- Johann Friedrich August Tischbein (1750–1812), portrait painter (the "Leipziger Tischbein"), director of the Leipzig Art Academy.
- Konstantin von Tischendorf (1815–1874), Bible palaeontologist, researcher of the text history of the New Testament, discoverer of the Codex Sinaiticus, professor at the University of Leipzig.
- Franciszek Trąbalski (1870–1964), Polish socialist politician.
- Mathias Tretter (* 1972 in Würzburg ), German cabaret artist
- Thilo von Trotha (1443–1514), Bishop of Merseburg, since 1509 rector of the University of Leipzig.
- Richard Tschammer (1860–1929), architect, architectural office "Weidenbach und Tschammer" (Reformed Church, Russian Memorial Church, Handelshof trade fair building and others).
- Werner Tübke (1929–2004), painter.
U
- Oswald Ufer (1828–1883), painter, engraver and photographer.
V
- Georg Voigt (1827–1891), historian, co-founder of modern Renaissance research .
- Gottfried Vopelius (1645–1715), church musician, since 1677 cantor of the Nikolaikirche.
- Johann Vopelius (1572 / 73–1633), fortress commander on the Pleißenburg.
W.
- Ernst L. Wagner (1829-1888), pathologist.
- Marcus von Weida (1450–1516), Dominican, ecclesiastical writer.
- Georg Weidenbach (1853–1928), architect, architectural office "Weidenbach und Tschammer" (Reformed Church, Russian Memorial Church, Handelshof trade fair building and others).
- Christian Theodor Weinlig (1780–1842), composer, Thomas Cantor since 1823 , composition teacher of Richard Wagner.
- Wilhelm Weismann (1900–1980), composer and musicologist.
- Volkmar Weiss (* 1944), controversial social historian, genealogist and geneticist, 1990–1995 / 2008 head of the German Central Office for Genealogy .
- Carl Friedrich Ernst Weisse (1781–1836), insurance entrepreneur, founder of the "Alte Leipziger" .
- Christian Felix Weisse (1726–1804), studied in Leipzig and lived here from 1761 to 1804, representative of the Enlightenment and founder of German children's and youth literature.
- Johann Wendler (1713–1799), bookseller, publisher and benefactor
- Joachim Wenzel (1927–1958), journalist.
- George Werner (1682–1758), architect and builder of the Leipzig Baroque and Rococo.
- Johannes Weyrauch (1897–1977), composer and cantor.
- Paul Widemann († 1568), stonemason, sculptor and master builder of the late Gothic and early Renaissance.
- Johannes Widmann (1460–1500), German mathematician of the Middle Ages and lecturer at the University of Leipzig.
- Bernhard Wildenhain (1873–1957), Leipzig theater and film actor.
- Manfred Wittich (1851–1902), writer, journalist and literary historian.
- Kurt Wolff (1887–1963), central publisher of the 20th century. The publishing house named after him was located in Leipzig from 1912 to 1919.
- Christoph Wonneberger (* 1944), pastor, has coordinated the Monday prayers for peace in the Nikolaikirche since 1986.
- Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), philosopher and psychologist. Founded the first institute for experimental psychology at the University of Leipzig in 1879.
- Wilhelm Bruchmüller (1872–1935), student historian, journalist, editor
Z
- Fritz Zalisz (1893–1971), painter, graphic artist and sculptor.
- Johann Heinrich Zedler (1706–1751), bookseller and publisher.
- Juli Zeh (* 1974), writer and European lawyer.
- Julius Zeißig (1855–1930), architect.
- Tuiskon Ziller (1817–1882), philosopher and educator ( Herbartian ).
- Georg Joachim Zollikofer (1730–1788), Reformed pastor and hymn poet, 1730–1788.
- Carl Friedrich Zöllner (1800–1860), composer (“Wandering is the miller's pleasure”).
- Georg Zöphel (1869–1953), lawyer, politician and President of Creditreform .
- Melchior zur Straßen (1832–1896), sculptor, worked in Leipzig from 1875.