Historical figures in Berlin
The atlas holds 36 people and 83 moments here, from 1698 to 2020. The most recorded lives are Adolf Hitler, Marlene Dietrich and Franz Kafka. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Educators, across the Space Age and the Industrial Revolution.
Notable people
Adolf Hitler
from 1932 to 1945
7 moments here
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who led the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), became German…
Marlene Dietrich
from 1901 to 1960
7 moments here
German-American actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (Marie Magdalene Dietrich) was born in Berlin and achieved international fame through stage,…
Franz Kafka
from 1910 to 1924
6 moments here
German-language Jewish Czech writer whose fiction transformed modern literature. Born and educated in Prague, Kafka trained as a lawyer and worked…
Otto von Bismarck
from 1833 to 1884
6 moments here
Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian and German statesman, diplomat, and the first chancellor of the German Empire.…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
from 1698 to 1711
5 moments here
German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…
Karl Marx
from 1836 to 1874
3 moments here
German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier, Marx studied in Bonn and Berlin, worked in Cologne, and…
Ronald Reagan
from 1982 to 1990
3 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
from 1862 to 1874
3 moments here
Russian novelist, journalist, essayist, and former military engineer whose life moved between Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Siberian imprisonment and…
Mikhail Gorbachev
from 1966 to 1989
3 moments here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
from 1818 to 1831
3 moments here
German philosopher and a central figure of German idealism. His documented movements include formative study in Stuttgart and Tübingen; tutoring…
Arthur Schopenhauer
from 1811 to 1825
3 moments here
German philosopher and writer, born in Danzig and dead in Frankfurt am Main. His documented movements included childhood residences in Hamburg and Le…
Vladimir Lenin
from 1895 to 1917
2 moments here
Russian Marxist revolutionary, Bolshevik leader, political theorist, and founding head of government of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union.…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in 1789
2 moments here
Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to…
Charlie Chaplin
from 1921 to 1931
2 moments here
English actor, comedian, director, writer, producer and composer whose screen persona, the Tramp, became an international icon.…
Johann Sebastian Bach
from 1718 to 1741
2 moments here
German Baroque composer, organist, violinist, keyboard virtuoso, and musical director. Born in Eisenach, Bach was educated in Ohrdruf and Lüneburg…
Voltaire
from 1740 to 1750
2 moments here
François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, dramatist, and philosopher.…
John F. Kennedy
from 1939 to 1963
2 moments here
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…
Frédéric Chopin
from 1828 to 1829
2 moments here
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period. Born in Żelazowa Wola, he grew up and trained in Warsaw, travelled through Central…
Leonhard Euler
from 1741 to 1753
2 moments here
Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, engineer, and polymath. Euler’s documented life moved from Basel and nearby Riehen to Saint Petersburg,…
Alexei Navalny
in 2020
2 moments here
Russian opposition leader, anti-corruption activist, politician, and political prisoner. This chronology records supported locations of his birth,…
Albert Einstein
in 1914
1 moment here
German-born theoretical physicist who transformed modern physics through special and general relativity, foundational work on quantum theory, and…
Ludwig van Beethoven
in 1796
1 moment here
German composer and pianist whose life was centered first in Bonn and, from 1792, in Vienna.…
Mark Twain
in 1891
1 moment here
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…
Sigmund Freud
in 1922
1 moment here
Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. This chronology traces documented locations from his Moravian birthplace and Viennese education…
Moments
- 1698 Extended periods in Berlin Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1702 Residence at Lützenburg and Berlin Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1704 Arrival at Lützenburg Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1706 Berlin residence Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1711 Final Berlin sojourn Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1718 Traveled to Berlin for a harpsichord Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1740 Visits Frederick in Berlin Voltaire
- 1741 Arrival in Berlin Leonhard Euler
- 1741 Stayed at the Stahl residence in Berlin Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1750 Occupies rooms at Charlottenburg Palace Voltaire
- 1753 Family home in Charlottenburg Leonhard Euler
- 1789 Arrives in Berlin Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1789 Performs at the Prussian royal palace Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1796 Improvised at the Berlin Singakademie Ludwig van Beethoven
- 1811 Enrollment at the University of Berlin Arthur Schopenhauer
- 1818 Moved to Berlin Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 1820 Berlin test lecture and teaching appointment Arthur Schopenhauer
- 1825 Return to Berlin for a second academic attempt Arthur Schopenhauer
- 1828 Berlin scientific congress Carl Friedrich Gauss
- 1828 First documented Berlin visit Frédéric Chopin
- 1829 Return visit to Berlin Frédéric Chopin
- 1831 Lodgings in Kreuzberg Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 1831 Death in Berlin Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 1833 Continued studies in Berlin Otto von Bismarck
- 1836 Begins studies in Berlin Karl Marx
- 1837 Convalesces and studies Hegel in Stralau Karl Marx
- 1841 Prussian artillery service Friedrich Engels
- 1846 Sits for portrait in Berlin Hans Christian Andersen
- 1848 Revolutionary crisis visit to Berlin Otto von Bismarck
- 1861 First foreign journey: Berlin Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1862 Visited Berlin on his first European tour Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1862 Blood and Iron speech Otto von Bismarck
- 1866 Assassination attempt in Berlin Otto von Bismarck
- 1867 Stayed in Berlin with Anna Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1874 Passed through Berlin en route to treatment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1874 Stops in Berlin after Karlsbad Karl Marx
- 1878 Hosted Congress of Berlin Otto von Bismarck
- 1884 Berlin Conference plenipotentiary Otto von Bismarck
- 1891 Begins European residence in Berlin Mark Twain
- 1895 Studied at the Staatsbibliothek Vladimir Lenin
- 1901 Birth at Leberstraße 65 Marlene Dietrich
- 1910 Berlin exhibitions Le Corbusier
- 1910 Spends a week in Berlin Franz Kafka
- 1913 Reunites with Felice in Berlin Franz Kafka
- 1914 Moves to Dahlem apartment Albert Einstein
- 1914 Faces the ‘tribunal’ at Askanischer Hof Franz Kafka
- 1917 Passed through Berlin Vladimir Lenin
- 1918 Class photograph at Viktoria-Luisen-Schule Marlene Dietrich
- 1921 Visits Berlin on European tour Charlie Chaplin
- 1922 Appears with associates in Berlin Sigmund Freud