The Most Famous

Physicians from Germany

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This page contains a list of the greatest Germans Physicians. The pantheon dataset contains 726 Physicians, 103 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 2nd most number of Physicians.

Top 10 German Physicians

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Germans Physicians of all time. This list of famous Germans Physicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Germans Physicians.

  1. #1
    Photo of Josef Mengele

    Josef Mengele

    1911 - 1979

    HPI 84.3370 langs
    Josef Mengele was a German SS officer and physician in Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. He is most famous for performing...Read moreShow less

    Josef Mengele was a German SS officer and physician in Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. He is most famous for performing human experiments on prisoners and for his role in the selection of prisoners to be sent to the gas chambers.

  2. #2
    Photo of Robert Koch

    Robert Koch

    1843 - 1910

    HPI 83.47114 langs

    Robert Koch is most famous for discovering the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.

  3. #3
    Photo of Georgius Agricola

    Georgius Agricola

    1494 - 1555

    HPI 77.3455 langs

    Georgius Agricola is most famous for his book "De Re Metallica" which is a 1556 text on mining and metallurgy.

  4. #4
    Photo of Alois Alzheimer

    Alois Alzheimer

    1864 - 1915

    HPI 76.2461 langs
    Alois Alzheimer was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist who first identified Alzheimer's disease in 1906. He published his findings...Read moreShow less

    Alois Alzheimer was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist who first identified Alzheimer's disease in 1906. He published his findings in 1907, and it is now known as Alzheimer's disease.

  5. #5
    Photo of Otto Heinrich Warburg

    Otto Heinrich Warburg

    1883 - 1970

    HPI 75.4161 langs
    Otto Heinrich Warburg was a German physiologist and Nobel laureate. He is most famous for his discovery of the respiratory enzyme cytochrome...Read moreShow less

    Otto Heinrich Warburg was a German physiologist and Nobel laureate. He is most famous for his discovery of the respiratory enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, which is the final enzyme in the electron transport chain.

  6. #6
    Photo of Otto Fritz Meyerhof

    Otto Fritz Meyerhof

    1884 - 1951

    HPI 74.4859 langs

    Otto Fritz Meyerhof was a German physiologist who is most famous for his research on the role of mitochondria in cellular respiration.

  7. #7
    Photo of Emil Kraepelin

    Emil Kraepelin

    1856 - 1926

    HPI 73.9346 langs
    Emil Kraepelin is most famous for his work in psychiatry and his contributions to the classification of mental disorders. He was one of the...Read moreShow less

    Emil Kraepelin is most famous for his work in psychiatry and his contributions to the classification of mental disorders. He was one of the first psychiatrists to distinguish between dementia praecox (schizophrenia) and manic-depressive insanity (bipolar disorder).

  8. #8
    Photo of Samuel Hahnemann

    Samuel Hahnemann

    1755 - 1843

    HPI 73.7156 langs
    Samuel Hahnemann is most famous for his theory of homeopathy, which is a system of medicine that uses substances that produce symptoms in...Read moreShow less

    Samuel Hahnemann is most famous for his theory of homeopathy, which is a system of medicine that uses substances that produce symptoms in healthy people as a form of treatment.

  9. #9
    Photo of Gerhard Domagk

    Gerhard Domagk

    1895 - 1964

    HPI 73.7068 langs

    Domagk was a German scientist who discovered the first antibiotic, Prontosil, in 1932.

  10. #10
    Photo of Otto Loewi

    Otto Loewi

    1873 - 1961

    HPI 73.1155 langs
    Otto Loewi is most famous for his work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology...Read moreShow less

    Otto Loewi is most famous for his work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the chemical transmission of nerve impulses.

People by Birth Decade

Browse notable Germans Physicians grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.

1940s(1)

1920s(1)

1640s(1)

Overlapping Lives

Which Physicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Physicians since 1700.

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