List of personalities of the city of Giessen
This list contains personalities born in Giessen as well as personalities who had their sphere of activity in Giessen, as well as those who taught or studied at the University of Giessen . All sections are sorted chronologically according to the year of birth. The list does not claim to be complete.
Personalities born in Giessen
Until 17th century
- Kaspar Ebel (1595–1664), educator, logician and metaphysician
- Johann Philipp Rosenbach (1606–1669), pastor in Grone
- Johann Balthasar Schupp (1610–1661), satirical writer and spiritual poet
- Balthasar Mentzer the Younger (1614–1679), Lutheran theologian
- Elisabeth Amalie of Hessen-Darmstadt (1635–1709), Princess of Hessen-Darmstadt, Duchess of Pfalz-Neuburg, Jülich and Berg and Electress of the Palatinate
- Marie Hedwig of Hessen-Darmstadt (1647–1680), Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt and Duchess of Saxony-Meiningen
- Michael Bernhard Valentini (1657–1729), doctor and naturalist
- Christian Wilhelm von Eyben (1663–1727), lawyer and diplomat
- Balthasar Mentzer IV (1679–1741), Lutheran theologian
- Heinrich Bernhard Rupp (1688–1719), botanist
- Franz Ernst of Hessen-Darmstadt (1695–1716), nobleman
- Ludwig Conrad Smalcalder (1696–1774), lawyer
18th century
- Johann Christoph Balser (1710–1750), legal scholar
- Ernst Ludwig Christoph von Spiegel (1711–1785), manor owner and canon
- Ernst Thom (1713–1773), literary scholar, rhetorician, ethnologist and economist
- Friedrich Wilhelm Hensing (1719–1745), doctor, anatomist and professor of medicine
- Sophie Eleonore Walther (1723–1754), writer
- Johann Wilhelm Christian Gustav Casparson (1729–1802), writer, historian and university professor
- Georg Ludwig Alefeld (1732–1774), medic and physicist
- Johann Ludwig Ferdinand Arnoldi (1737–1783), educator and Protestant theologian
- Ludwig Julius Friedrich Höpfner (1743–1797), lawyer
- Johann Friedrich Hahn (1753–1779), poet
- Georg Christian Carl Henschel (1759–1835), industrialist, technician and entrepreneur
- Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen (1760–1806), natural scientist
- Johann Conrad Felsing (1766–1819), engraver and copperplate printer
- Friedrich Heinrich Christian Schwarz (1766–1837), theologian and educator
- Karl Ludwig Wilhelm von Grolman (1775–1829), lawyer and politician
- Johann Friedrich Lobstein (1777–1835), pathologist and anatomist
- Georg Höpfner (1780–1845), German judge and member of parliament
- Heinrich Karl Jaup (1781–1860), Prime Minister
- Karl Ferdinand Schulz (1782–1871), Hessian judge and politician
- Georg Leopold von Zangen (1792–1851), Secret Chief Finance Councilor
- Friedrich Christian Diez (1794–1876), Romanist
- Adolf Ludwig Follen (1794–1855), writer and publisher
- Heinrich Christian Michael Rettig (1795–1836), classical philologist and Protestant theologian
- Paul Follen (1799–1844), lawyer, writer and farmer
- Konrad Georgi (1799–1857), Hessian judge and member of parliament
19th century
1801 to 1820
- Georg Krug (1801–1878), judge and politician
- Rudolf Oeser (1807–1859), pastor and folk writer
- Karl Bücking (1809–1866), member of the Hessian state parliament
- Kasimir von Dewall (1811–1895), Prussian lieutenant general
- Ernst Dieffenbach (1811–1855), physician and geologist
- Eduard von Grolman (1812–1890), Grand Ducal Hessian Lieutenant General and Minister of War
- Johann August Konrad Freiherr von Hofmann (1776–1841), administrative officer and politician
- Carl Vogt (1817–1895), German-Swiss natural scientist
- August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818-1892), chemist
1821 to 1840
- Martin Faustmann (1822–1876), forest scientist and forester
- Hermann Welcker (1822–1897), anatomist and university professor
- Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), father of Theodor, Otto and Karl Liebknecht and one of the founding fathers of the SPD
- Gustav Heyer (1826–1883), forest scientist
- Georg von Liebig (1827–1903), physician and climatologist
- Friedrich Heyer von Rosenfeld (1828–1896), officer and heraldist
- August Bramm (1829–1889), Lord Mayor of Giessen
- Karl Hillebrand (1829–1884), essayist, publicist, cultural scientist and literary historian
- Arthur Osann senior (1829–1908), lawyer and member of the German Reichstag
- Ludwig Euler (1830–1908), bricklayer, stone mason and city architect for the city of Worms (1866–1886)
- Hermann von Liebig (1831–1894), agricultural scientist
- Karl Umpfenbach (1832–1907), economist and university professor
- Wilhelm Lindeck (1833–1911), director
- Ernst Vix (1834–1902), medic
- Ludwig Schwabe (1835–1908), philologist and archaeologist
- Franz Umpfenbach (1835–1885), classical philologist
- Carl Clemm (1836–1899), entrepreneur and politician
- August von Clemm (1837–1910), entrepreneur and politician
- Hermann Levi (1839–1900), orchestra conductor and composer
- Julius Wilbrand (1839–1906), chemist
1841 to 1860
- Georg Friedrich Knapp (1842–1926), professor and rector
- Karl Spamer (1842-1892), psychiatrist
- Wilhelm Clemm (1843–1883), classical philologist
- Ernst Eckstein (1845–1900), writer
- Karl Sell (1845–1914), theologian
- Heinrich Curschmann (1846–1910), internist
- August Laubenheimer (1848–1904), industrialist
- Karl von Bardeleben (1849–1918), anatomist and university professor
- F. Rudolf Vogel (1849–1926), architect and architectural writer
- Hermann Keller (1851–1924), hydrologist
- Hermann Wilbrand (1851–1935), neuro-ophthalmologist
- Rudolf Leuckart (1854–1889), chemist
- Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner (1854–1925), politician
- August Nies (1854–1931), mineralogist and teacher
- Wilhelm Will (1854–1919), chemist
- Friedrich Noack (1858–1930), cultural historian and writer
- Alfred Bock (1859–1932), manufacturer and writer
- Friedrich Maurer (1859–1936), physician
- Friedrich Weidig (1859–1933), artist
1861 to 1880
- Henriette Fürth (1861–1938), Jewish women's rights activist, publicist, sociologist and politician
- Karl Buff (1862–1907), opera singer (tenor)
- Ludwig Lange (1863–1936), physicist
- Ferdinand Küchler (1867–1937), violinist and composer
- Hans Meyer (1867–1949), architect
- Georg Röder (1867–1958), painter of the German landscape
- Simon Katzenstein (1868–1945), politician
- Karl Klingspor (1868–1950), type designer and typographer
- Carl Ottens (1868–1937), manager of the textile industry
- Rudolf Mueller (1869–1954), politician and Lord Mayor of Darmstadt
- Adolf Klingspor (1870–1955), cigarette manufacturer and member of the state parliament
- Maria Birnbaum (1872–1959), politician and teacher
- Felix Blumenfeld (1873–1942), pediatrician and first chief physician of what later became the Park Schönfeld Children's Hospital
- Gustav Böß (1873–1946), lawyer and politician
- Ernst Friedberger (1875–1932), immunologist and hygienist
- Hugo Kehrer (1876–1967), art historian
- Emil Rausch (1877–1914), officer and district manager
- Hermann Haas (1878–1935), ceramist, painter and architect
- Paul Jungblut (1878–1926), politician
- Bernhard Skull (1878–1926), Romanist, Hispanic, Italian and Catalanist
- Ernst Venus (1880–1971), lawyer
1881 to 1900
- Albert Fromme (1881–1966), general surgeon
- Friedrich Schürer (1881–1948), submarine designer
- Curt Emmelius (1882–1968), railway clerk
- Julius Reiber (1883–1960), politician
- Georg Gail (1884–1950), cigar manufacturer
- Agnes von Zahn-Harnack (1884–1950), teacher, writer and women's rights activist
- August Bostroem (1886–1944), neurologist and psychiatrist
- Hermann Braune (1886–1977), chemist
- Eduard Dingeldey (1886–1942), lawyer and politician
- Franz Dornseiff (1888–1960), classical philologist
- Erich-Heinrich Clößner (1888–1976), officer
- Gustav Petri (1888–1945), Colonel of the Wehrmacht, known as the "Savior of Wernigerode"
- Fritz Pfeffer (1889–1944), dentist and victim of National Socialism
- Wilhelmine Schirmer-Pröscher (1889–1992), politician
- Karl Retzlaff (1890–1967), police and SS officer
- Kurt Steinbach (1890–1974), dentist and specialist in ear, nose and throat medicine and oral surgery
- Hellmuth Mueller-Leutert (1892–1973), painter, graphic artist and sculptor
- Rudolf Attig (1893–1981), medical officer
- Ludwig Clemm (1893–1975), archivist
- Alfred Dingeldey (1894–1949), politician
- Erwin Schliephake (1894–1995), physician
- Walter Dornberger (1895–1980), major general in the German Wehrmacht
- Hedwig Runowski (1895–1958), politician
- Curt Reinhard Dietz (1896–1949), writer
- Martin Wagenschein (1896–1988), educator
- Waldemar Winther (1897–1983), naval officer
- Karl Engisch (1899–1990), legal scholar
20th century
1901 to 1920
- Hein Heckroth (1901–1970), painter, set designer and production designer, Oscar winner 1948
- Fritz Moritz Heichelheim (1901–1968), ancient historian
- Karl Pfeiffer (1901–1976), construction industry manager and association politician
- Franz Theophil Becker (1902–1996), physician and university professor
- Ernst Holtzmann (1902–1996), politician (CDU)
- Ludwig Linkmann (1902–1963), actor
- Gustav Adolf Schlemm (1902–1987), composer and conductor
- Hartley Shawcross (1902–2003), British Labor Party MP, Minister of Justice and British chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials
- Paul L. Strack (1904–1941), ancient historian and numismatist
- Otto Rahn (1904–1939), writer, Medievalist and Ariosoph
- Hans Jakob Haller (1906–1991), church musician and choir director
- Hans Müller (1906 - after 1947), lawyer, personal assistant to the head of the party chancellery of the NSDAP and judge at the People's Court
- Emmy Diemer-Nicolaus (1910–2008), politician (FDP / DVP)
- Erwin Essl (1910-2001), trade unionist and politician (SPD)
- Karl Kling (1910–2003), automobile racing driver
- Wilhelm Conrad (1911–1971), economist and politician
- Robert Fischer (1911–1983), President of the Federal Court of Justice
- Werner Raykowski (1911-2006), diplomat
- Theo Schuster (1911–1998), chess player and chess journalist
- Hermann Stork (1911–1962), water diver, won the bronze medal in diving at the 1936 Olympic Games
- Hans Georg Gundel (1912–1999), ancient historian
- Helmut Roloff (1912–2001), pianist, professor and university director
- Karl Otto Watzinger (1913–2006), administrative lawyer and associate mayor of Mannheim
- Günther Leitz (1914–1969), entrepreneur
- Hermann Molter (1914–1978), engineer, entrepreneur and politician
- Kurt Reinhard (1914–1979), ethnomusicologist and composer
- Stephan Skalweit (1914–2003), historian
- Hans-Karl Stepp (1914–2006), “Stuka” pilot in the German Air Force
- Richard Münch (1916–1987), actor and radio play speaker
- Albert Osswald (1919–1996), politician (SPD) and Prime Minister of Hesse (1969–76)
- Ursula Köllner (1920–1995), actress
- Gottfried North (1920–2003), postal worker, philatelist and postal historian
1921 to 1940
- Edith Dietz (1921–2015), Jewish writer
- Doris Wetterhahn (1921–1983), educator
- Günther Kern (1923–1995), gynecologist and author
- Kurt A. Jung (1923–1990), actor, radio play and voice actor
- Hilde Nocker (1924–1996), television announcer and presenter
- Günther Rühle (* 1924), critic and director
- Hermann Heussner (1926–1996), lawyer, judge at the Federal Constitutional Court
- Margret Fürer (1927–2012), singer and cabaret artist
- Paul Martin (* 1927), jazz and entertainment musician
- Rudolf Spengler (1928–2019), handball player and handball trainer
- Benno Walldorf (1928–1985), painter and graphic artist
- Helmut Ringsdorf (* 1929), chemist
- Wolfgang Hilberg (1932–2015), engineer and professor
- Robert Rosenthal (* 1933), professor of psychology
- Heinrich Dittmar (1934–2014), historian and educator
- Hans-Georg Lotz (1934–2001), composer
- Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1934–2017), entrepreneur
- Arnold Spruck (1934–2013), politician
- Lore Bert (* 1936), artist
- Hans Georg Bertram (1936–2013), composer and organist
- Gerhard Dann (1936–2014), politician
- Klaus Haller (1936–2020), politician (CDU)
- Gerhard O. Pfeffermann (1936–2019), politician
- Claus Seibel (* 1936), television journalist
- Jochem Jourdan (* 1937), architect and landscape planner
- Cornelia Kühn-Leitz (1937–2016), actress and reciter
- Adolf Roth (* 1937), politician
- Hansgerd Göckenjan (1938–2005), Eastern European historian and Central Asian scholar
- Günter Wächtershäuser (* 1938), honorary professor
- Heinz Friedrich Benner (* 1939), State Secretary
- Erhard Domay (1940–2012), Protestant theologian
- Wolfgang Luh (* 1940), university professor
- Günter Simon (* 1940), politician
1941 to 1960
- Sabine Fehlemann (1941–2008), art historian
- Jürgen Flimm (* 1941), director, director and university professor
- Ernst Theodor Rietschel (* 1941), chemist
- Erhard van Straaten (* 1943), media manager
- Jan Leidel (* 1944), virologist and social medicine specialist
- Wolfgang Rübsam (* 1946), organist, pianist, composer and music teacher
- Hans Joachim Suchan (* 1946), lawyer, administrative officer and politician
- Georg Meier (* 1947), writer and cook
- Volker Paulus (* 1947), volleyball player and trainer
- Ulla Berkéwicz (* 1948), actress, writer and publisher
- Christa Blanke (* 1948), animal rights activist
- Jürgen Borchert (* 1949), social judge and political advisor
- Christiane Conrad (* 1949), painter
- Vincent Klink (* 1949), master chef, author, editor, publisher and TV chef
- Ulrich Nicolai (* 1949), conductor and professor
- Clemens Reif (* 1949), entrepreneur and politician
- Volker Zimmer (* 1949), officer with the rank of major general
- Joachim Faber (* 1950), Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse and former Chairman of the Board of Management of Allianz Asset Management
- Hans-Jürgen Hackenberg (* 1950), table tennis player
- Horst Spengler (* 1950), handball player and handball trainer
- Erika Baum (* 1951), scientist and general practitioner
- Volker Bouffier (* 1951), politician
- Werner Damm (* 1951), sports reporter and radio and television presenter
- Peter Reichel (* 1951), soccer player
- Anton Friedrich Koch (* 1952), philosopher
- Helga Lopez (* 1952), politician
- Robin Moritz (* 1952), biologist and ecologist
- Monika Schäfer-Korting (* 1952), pharmacologist and toxicologist
- Susanna Gilbert-Sättele (* 1953), editor, freelance journalist, cultural journalist and reviewer
- Heiko Becker (* 1954), communication designer and graphic artist
- Wolfgang Greilich (* 1954), lawyer, notary and politician
- Michael North (born 1954), historian
- Willi Rösel (* 1954), autocross driver
- Hans-Rudolf Bork (* 1955), geographer with a focus on ecosystem research
- Harald Danne (* 1955), fully qualified lawyer and labor lawyer
- Udo Bullmann (* 1956), politician
- Günther Hermann (* 1956), painter and graphic artist
- Werner Krumholz (* 1956), medical doctor, specialist in anesthesia and professor at the Justus Liebig University
- Stefan Bellof (1957–1985), racing car driver
- Ingo Froese (* 1957), basketball player
- Caro (* 1958), singer
- Michael Walter (* 1958), musicologist and university professor
- Holger Senzel (* 1959), radio journalist
- Friedrich Avemarie (1960–2012), Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar
- Heike Groos (1960–2017), physician, senior consultant and author
- Harald Lesch (* 1960), physicist, astronomer, natural philosopher, author, science journalist, television presenter and professor
- Volker Münn (* 1960), soccer player and coach
- Andreas Orosz (* 1960), painter
- Carsten Wilke (* 1960), forester
1961 to 1980
- Roger Erb (* 1961), physicist and university professor
- Lucia Puttrich (* 1961), politician (CDU)
- Uwe Schulz (* 1961), politician, Member of the Bundestag (AfD)
- Oliver Buslau (* 1962), music journalist, author of crime novels and editor
- Gunnar Geisse (* 1962), musician
- Heike Knortz (* 1962), social scientist, economic historian and university lecturer
- Daniel Grolle (* 1963), writer and Tai Chi trainer
- Jan Schüler (* 1963), painter and graphic artist
- Yacin Hehrlein (* 1964), television journalist
- Ralf Willershäuser (* 1964), singer
- Stephan Bender (1965–2019), archaeologist
- Birgit Clarius (* 1965), track and field athlete
- Andreas Karczewski (* 1965), radio presenter, disc jockey and music journalist
- Stefanie Menzinger (* 1965), writer
- Stefan Pucher (* 1965), theater director
- Alexander EL Schulin (* 1965), theater director
- Andreas Eikenroth (* 1966), comic artist and musician
- Justus Köhncke (* 1966), techno producer and pop musician
- Klaus Peter Möller (* 1966), politician
- Veronika Peters (* 1966), writer
- Marcus Reuter (* 1966), Provincial Roman archaeologist and director of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier
- Andreas Czerney (* 1967), song and oratorio singer
- Ralf Inderthal (* 1967), handball player
- Uwe Inderthal (* 1967), handball trainer and handball player
- Michael Kegler (* 1967), translator and literary critic
- Kai-Uwe Schnell (* 1967), soccer player
- Ruth Kaps (* 1968), rower
- Henning Kober (* 1968), actor
- Chris Liebing (* 1968), techno DJ, producer, label operator and radio host
- Björn Pistauer (* 1968), soccer player
- Andreas Türck (* 1968), journalist, musician, producer and television presenter
- Philip Tiedemann (* 1969), director
- Sabine Trinkaus (* 1969), author
- Henner Winckler (* 1969), film director and screenwriter
- Olaf Amblank (* 1970), doctor, entrepreneur and co-founder of a university
- Louis Pahlow (* 1970), legal historian and university professor
- Jochen Retter (* 1970), film editor
- Sascha Feuchert (* 1971), literary scholar and didactic specialist as well as publicist
- Charles Friedek (* 1971), athlete
- Mirjam Kubescha (* 1971), director
- Thomas Ramge (* 1971), non-fiction author and business journalist
- Oliver Schepp (* 1971), photographer and photo journalist
- Helge Braun (* 1972), politician
- Christine Ishaque (* 1972), basketball player
- Nkechi Madubuko (* 1972), athlete, presenter, journalist, sociologist and actress
- Owi Mahn (* 1972), filmmaker and video artist
- Michael Schäfer (* 1972), politician
- Stefan Gärtner (* 1973), satirist and author
- Daniel Krauss (* 1973), actor, screenwriter and director
- Kim Nekarda (* 1973), artist, painting style
- Demis Nikolaidis (* 1973), football player and President of AEK Athens
- Katharina Schmalenberg (* 1973), actress
- Jesko Friedrich (* 1974), actor, editor and author
- Astrid Geisler (* 1974), journalist
- Matthias Hagner (* 1974), soccer player
- Oliver Hinz (* 1974), economist and university professor
- Verena Araghi (* 1975), journalist and actress
- Christian Balser (* 1975), radio presenter, editor and speaker
- Jan Hax Halama (* 1975), graphic artist, stage and costume designer and head of equipment
- Frank Lorber (* 1975), techno DJ
- Rafaela Hillerbrand (* 1976), physicist and philosopher
- Christoph Schuck (* 1976), political scientist
- Christian Ditter (* 1977), film director and screenwriter
- Jan Gorr (* 1978), handball trainer
- Jörn Happel (* 1978), historian
- Anne Köhler (* 1978), writer
- Jochen Schropp (* 1978), actor and presenter
- Konstantin Wolff (* 1978), singer
- Anne Lück (* 1979), illustrator
- Paul Dienstbach (* 1980), rower
- Omar El-Saeidi (* 1980), actor
- Jan Hoffrichter (* 1980), fistball player
- Kai Harald and Uwe Harald Krieger (* 1980), members of the artist collective 3Steps
- Joachim Pitt (* 1980), member of the artist collective 3Steps
1981 to 2000
- Hicran Özen (* 1981), basketball player
- Luk Pfaff (* 1981), actor
- Christoph Preuss (* 1981), soccer player
- Jan Benzien (* 1982), canoeist
- Bastian Kordyaka (* 1982), basketball player
- Thaddäus Meilinger (* 1982), actor and voice actor
- Giovanni Speranza (* 1982), football player
- Maurice Engelhardt (* 1983), e-athlete
- Marcel Hagmann (* 1983), football player
- Jan Köppen (* 1983), TV presenter and DJ
- Jakob Kühnemann (* 1984), jazz musician
- Florian Laudt (* 1984), handball player
- Lars Pörschke (* 1984), tennis player
- Julian Theobald (* 1984), racing driver
- Franziska Herrmann (* 1985), actress
- Jonathan Koch (* 1985), lightweight rower
- Kurosch Abbasi (* 1986), actor and singer
- Christian Rompf (* 1986), handball player
- Sebastian Weber (* 1986), handball player
- Johannes Lischka (* 1987), basketball player
- Marlena Schön (* 1987), basketball player
- Julia Sude (* 1987), beach volleyball player
- Daniel Davari (* 1988), soccer goalkeeper
- Per Günther (1988), basketball player
- Yannick Schall (* 1988), skateboarder
- Kevin Schmidt (* 1988), handball player
- Timm Schneider (* 1988), handball player
- Anne Spitzner (* 1988), author
- Deniz Vural (* 1988), football player
- Leonie Pankratz (* 1990), soccer player
- Julia Wenzl (* 1990), handball player
- Julia Gaudermann (* 1992), basketball player
- Okan Derici (* 1993), football player
- Sonny Kittel (* 1993), soccer player
- Julian Lenz (* 1993), tennis player
- Annika Beck (* 1994), tennis player
- Lisa Mayer (* 1996), track and field athlete, sprinter
- Jonas Müller (* 1996), handball player
- Tabea Waßmuth (* 1996), soccer player
- Nico Rinderknecht (* 1997), soccer player
Personalities who have worked in the city
- Johann Wilhelm Baumer (1719–1788), was professor of medicine at the University of Giessen from 1764, where he was both mountain ridge and rural physicist. In 1777 he became a full professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the Faculty of Economics in Giessen.
- Renatus Karl von Senckenberg (1751–1800), private scholar, donor of an important foundation for the Giessen University
- August Friedrich Wilhelm Crome (1753-1833), camera scientist and statistician at the University of Giessen (1787-1830)
- Wilhelm Balser (1780–1846), doctor
- Ludwig Wilhelm Zimmermann (1780–1825), chemist, mineralogist and university professor
- Johann Christian Hundeshagen (1783–1834), forest scientist
- Ferdinand von Ritgen (1787–1867), medical professor, gynecologist and founder of one of the first nine German obstetric schools
- Carl Justus Heyer (1797-1856), forest scientist
- Friedrich Münch (1799–1881), founded the Giessen Emigration Society in 1833 with Paul Follen
- Wilhelm Curtmann (1802–1871), educator, went to school and university in Giessen, was a teacher there and died in Giessen
- Justus Liebig (1803–1873), chemist and namesake of the University of Giessen
- Heinrich Buff (1805–1878), physicist and chemist at the University of Giessen
- Hugo von Ritgen (1811–1889), professor of architecture and restorer of the Wartburg and the Gleiberg
- Georg Büchner (1813–1837), German revolutionary, writer and scientist, lived and studied for several years in Giessen, author of the Hessischer Landbote
- Emil Erlenmeyer (1825–1909), chemist, from 1845 to 1850 (with interruption) in Giessen
- Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923), physicist and first Nobel Prize winner, was buried in the old cemetery in Giessen at his own request
- Wilhelm Sievers (1860–1921), geographer, professor and rector at the University of Giessen
- Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939), 1895–1905 editor at the social democratic newspaper in Giessen
- Alfred Kaufmann (1868–1946), German pastor and orientalist, founder of the Kaufmann-Will circle
- Albert Jesionek (1870–1935), dermatologist and university professor, director of the Gießen Dermatology Clinic
- Albin Mann (1883–1960), Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of Giessen
- Robert Feulgen (1884–1955), medical doctor, pioneer of DNA research
- Friedrich Kellner (1885–1970), manager at the Laubach district court and district auditor at the Giessen regional court. The Justus Liebig University Giessen wants to publish Kellner's diaries.
- Georg Haas (1886–1971), physician, performed the first hemodialysis in humans
- Heinrich Backhaus (1888–1943), NSDAP district leader of Wetterau since 1937
- Lotte Bingmann-Droese (1902–1963), German painter
- Illa Andreae (1902–1992), German writer
- Ria Deeg (1907-2000), resistance fighter against National Socialism and City Councilor of Giessen (KPD)
- Karl Zeiß (1912–1994), theologian; became known as the "Olympic minister"
- Dietrich von Denffer (1914–2007), director and designer of the Botanical Garden from 1951 to 1976, builder of the Botanical Institute (today the Hermann Hoffmann Academy)
- Horst-Eberhard Richter (1923–2011), professor of psychosomatics, psychoanalyst and co-founder of the IPPNW
- Gideon Schüler (1925–2017), bookseller, publisher, gallery owner and poet
- Hans Müller-Braunschweig (1926–2014), professor of psychosomatics, psychoanalyst
- Joachim Werner Dudeck (1932–2010), doctor and medical IT specialist , founder of HL7 user group Germany
- Herbert Kaufmann (* 1941), ophthalmologist and strabologist, director of the University Eye Clinic at the Justus Liebig University
- Brun-Otto Bryde (* 1943), judge at the Federal Constitutional Court since 2001, professor of public law at the Justus Liebig University
- Nando Belardi (* 1946), em. University Professor of Social Pedagogy; studied and obtained his doctorate in Gießen in 1973
- Hans Michalski (* 1948), track and field athlete, started for LAZ Giessen
- Charly Weller (* 1951), film director and author; numerous national and international awards
- Kevin Nash (born 1959), American wrestler and actor. Before and during his army time in the Gießen barracks, Nash played basketball for what was then MTV 1846 Gießen.