The Most Famous
ENGINEERS from Romania
Top 4
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Romanian Engineers of all time. This list of famous Romanian Engineers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Hermann Oberth (1894 - 1989)
With an HPI of 64.81, Hermann Oberth is the most famous Romanian Engineer. His biography has been translated into 51 different languages on wikipedia.
Hermann Julius Oberth (German: [ˈhɛrman ˈjuːli̯ʊs ˈoːbɛrt]; 25 June 1894 – 28 December 1989) was an Austro-Hungarian-born German physicist and rocket pioneer of Transylvanian Saxon descent. He is considered one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics, along with Robert Esnault-Pelterie, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert H. Goddard and Herman Potočnik (also known under the pseudonym Hermann Noordung). Oberth supported Nazi Germany's war effort and received the War Merit Cross (1st Class) in 1943.
2. Joseph M. Juran (1904 - 2008)
With an HPI of 56.97, Joseph M. Juran is the 2nd most famous Romanian Engineer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Joseph Moses Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) was a Romanian-born American engineer, management consultant and author. He was an advocate for quality and quality management and wrote several books on the topics. He was the brother of Academy Award winner Nathan Juran.
3. Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (1887 - 1973)
With an HPI of 50.74, Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu is the 3rd most famous Romanian Engineer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (10 November 1887 – 25 November 1973) was a Romanian engineer who was one of the first woman to obtain a degree in engineering. She was born in the Romanian town of Galați but qualified in Berlin. During World War I she managed a hospital in Romania.
4. Otmar Szafnauer (1964 - )
With an HPI of 45.04, Otmar Szafnauer is the 4th most famous Romanian Engineer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Otmar Marin Szafnauer (born 13 August 1964) is a Romanian and American engineer. He served as Team Principal of the Alpine F1 Team until the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.
Pantheon has 4 people classified as engineers born between 1887 and 1964. Of these 4, 1 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living engineers include Otmar Szafnauer. The most famous deceased engineers include Hermann Oberth, Joseph M. Juran, and Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu. As of April 2022, 1 new engineers have been added to Pantheon including Otmar Szafnauer.
Living Engineers
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Hermann Oberth
1894 - 1989
HPI: 64.81
Joseph M. Juran
1904 - 2008
HPI: 56.97
Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu
1887 - 1973
HPI: 50.74
Newly Added Engineers (2022)
Go to all RankingsWhich Engineers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Engineers since 1700.
