Famous People Born In Bonn

German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music even two centuries after his death. Born into a musical family, he was initially tutored by his father. He found success early as a pianist and went on to become an admired composer despite suffering from hearing-impairment.

German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher was one of the significant figures behind the formation of Britain’s post-World War II welfare state plans. His ground-breaking book Small Is Beautiful explained how capitalism was detrimental to culture. He also developed the concept of intermediate technology.

Luke Mockridge is a television presenter and comedian best known for presenting the popular German TV program NightWash. Mockridge has also appeared in other TV shows like TV total and Quatsch Comedy Club. In 2013, he launched his own show titled Occupy School. In the same year, Mockridge was honored with the Best Newcomer Award at the German Comedy Awards.         

Ferdinand Ries was a German composer best remembered for his association with Ludwig van Beethoven. He studied under Beethoven before going on to become his secretary. Ries is credited with helping Beethoven with the premieres of the latter's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies which were used in the Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808. 

Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka is a German Japanese pianist, composer, and former powerlifter and Olympic weightlifter. She achieved popularity in 1998 when she won a national music competition known as Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, along with her brothers Danjulo and Kiyondo Ishizaka. As a Olympic weightlifter, Kimiko competed at the 2008 German championships where she won three medals.   

Loved for his talk shows, television presenter Roger Willemsen was also a bestseller author, a cultural correspondent and one of Germany's best known intellectuals. A student of German Philosophy and History of Art, he began his television career with 0137, later switching to Willemsens Woche, producing numerous television documentaries, interviews, portraits, and programs, concurrently authoring fifty books and numerous articles.

Born to Spanish parents in Germany, Juan Jose Linz studied law in Madrid and later moved to Columbia University to study sociology. He taught at various universities, such as Yale, where he was a Sterling Professor Emeritus. The Johan Skytte Prize winner had written books such as Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes.

German geologist and petrographer Ferdinand Zirkel is remembered for his pioneering contribution to microscopic petrography. He also taught mineralogy at Lemberg University and penne the iconic work Lehrbuch der Petrographie, or Manual of Petrography, which is considered a classic in geology. He later chaired mineralogy at the University of Leipzig.