German Americans (German: Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States who are of German ancestry; they form the largest ethnic ancestry group in the United States, accounting for 17% of U.S. population. The first significant numbers arrived in the 1680s in New York and Pennsylvania. Some eight million German immigrants have entered the United States since that point. Immigration continued in substantial numbers during the 19th century; the largest number of arrivals moved 1840–1900, when Germans formed the largest group of immigrants coming to the U.S., outnumbering the Irish and English. Some arrived seeking religious or political freedom, others for economic opportunities greater than those in Europe, and others for the chance to start afresh in the New World. California and Pennsylvania have the largest populations of German origin, with more than six million German Americans residing in the two states alone. More than 50 million people in the United States identify German as their ancestry; it is often mixed with other Northern European ethnicities. This list also includes people of German Jewish descent.
Americans of German descent live in nearly every American county, from the East Coast, where the first German settlers arrived in the 17th century, to the West Coast and in all the states in between. German Americans and those Germans who settled in the U.S. have been influential in almost every field, from science, to architecture, to entertainment, and to commercial industry.
Art and literature
Architects
Dankmar Adler – architect
Adolf Cluss – architect, builder of numerous public buildings in Washington, D.C.
Ferdinand Gottlieb – architect heading his own firm, Ferdinand Gottlieb & Associates, based in Dobbs Ferry, New York
Walter Gropius – pioneer in modern architecture, founder of Bauhaus
Albert Kahn – industrial architect; known as the "architect of Detroit"
Richard Kiehnel – senior partner of Kiehnel, Elliot and Chalfant
Henry C. Koch – architect based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – architect, academic, and interior designer
Joseph Molitor – Chicago-based church architect
John A. Roebling – architect, known for designing the Brooklyn Bridge
Washington Roebling – civil engineer known for his work on the Brooklyn Bridge, which was designed by his father John A. Roebling
Frederick C. Sauer – architect, particularly in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Frederick G. Scheibler Jr. – Art Nouveau Pittsburgh architect
August Schoenborn – helped design the United States Capitol Dome
Hans Schuler – sculptor and monument maker; first American sculptor to win the Salon Gold Medal
Adolph Strauch – landscape architect
Horace Trumbauer – prominent architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe – pioneer of modern architecture, second Chicago School of Architecture
Thomas Ustick Walter – fourth Architect of the Capitol, designed the current United States Capitol dome
Artists
Anni Albers – printmaker, textile artist
Josef Albers – painter and graphic artist
Leonard Bahr – portrait painter, muralist, illustrator and educator. He worked for many years as a painting professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Earl W. Bascom – painter, printmaker, and sculptor ("Cowboy of Cowboy Artists")
Robert Benecke – early photographer
Albert Bierstadt – painter, known for his large landscapes of the American West
Richard Bock – sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright
Charles Dellschau – one of America's earliest known outsider artists, draftsman engineer, creating drawings, collages and watercolors of airplanes and airships
Rudolph Dirks – comic strip artist who created The Katzenjammer Kids
Alfred Eisenstaedt – photographer and photojournalist best remembered for his photograph capturing the celebration of V-J Day
Jimmy Ernst – painter
Carl Eytel – artist of desert landscapes living in early 20th-century Palm Springs, California
Claire Falkenstein – sculptor, painter, print-maker and jewelry designer known for her large-scale abstract metal and glass sculptures
Andreas Feininger – photographer and writer on photographic technique
Lyonel Feininger – painter and caricaturist
Carl Giers – early photographer
George Grosz – member of the Berlin Dada and New Objectivity group, known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s
Don Heck – comics artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics characters Iron Man and the Wasp, and for his long run penciling the Marvel superhero-team series The Avengers during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books
Uli Herzner – fashion designer
Hans Hofmann – abstract expressionist painter
Ubbe Ert Iwwerks – Academy Award-winning animator, cartoonist and special effects technician, famous for his work for Walt Disney
Klaus Janson – comic book artist (inker), working regularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and sporadically for independent companies
Ulli Kampelmann – painter and filmmaker
Kenya (Robinson) – multimedia artist
Harold Knerr – illustrator of The Katzenjammer Kids until 1949
Fritz Kredel – woodcut artist and illustrator known for fairy tale and young readers' fiction drawings, delicate and hand-colored botanical woodcuts, and US and European armies' uniforms over time
John Lewis Krimmel – America's first genre painter
Dorothea Lange – documentary photographer and photojournalist
Emanuel Leutze – history painter best known for his painting Washington Crossing the Delaware
Cornelius Krieghoff – painter
Nicola Marschall – artist, designed the first Confederate flag and the Confederate uniform
Louis Maurer – lithographer
David Muench – landscape and nature photographer known for portraying the American western landscape
Marc Muench – sports and landscape photographer
Charles Christian Nahl – painter who is called California's first significant artist
Thomas Nast – political cartoonist
Elisabet Ney – sculptor
Erwin Panofsky – art historian
William Henry Rinehart – Neoclassical sculptor
Julian Ritter – Classical Realist painter best known for his paintings of nudes, clowns and portraits and his ill-fated voyage of the South Pacific
Severin Roesen – still life painter
Paulus Roetter – landscape and botanical painter
Christoph Sauer – earliest type founder in America, published the first German Bible, 1743, and the first religious magazine in America, 1764
Christian Siriano – fashion designer
Gustavus Sohon – artist
Henry William Stiegel – glassmaker and ironmaster
Alfred Stieglitz – photographer instrumental in making photography an acceptable art form alongside painting and sculpture
Ruth VanSickle Ford – painter, art teacher, and owner of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts
Richard Veenfliet – artist known for illustration-figure, genre and landscape
Patrizia von Brandenstein – production designer
Kat Von D (Katherine von Drachenberg) – tattoo artist
Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven – avant-garde, Dadaist artist, and poet
Baroness Hilla von Rebay – abstract painter, helped establish the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City
Karl Ferdinand Wimar – painter
Matt Groening - animator, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, father is of German-Canadian descent
Tom Ruegger - animator at Warner Bros. Animation and Disney,creator of Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Histeria and The 7D
Stephen Hillenburg - animator, creator of SpongeBob SquarePants
Chuck Jones
Tex Avery
Authors and writers
Kathy Acker – author
Sade Baderinwa – news reporter-journalist
Matthias Bartgis – printer and publisher
L. Frank Baum – author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Dan Brown – author of thriller novels, known for the Robert Langdon series which includes The Da Vinci Code
Pearl S. Buck – writer and novelist, first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
Charles Bukowski – poet and novelist
Edgar Rice Burroughs – writer, creator of Tarzan
Caspar Butz – journalist, politician
Clive Cussler – adventure author and undersea explorer
George DiCaprio – writer, editor, and major west coast underground comic book distributor
Theodore Dreiser – author of the naturalist school, known for dealing with the gritty reality of life
Gottfried Duden – travel author
Roger Ebert – Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, journalist, and screenwriter
Martin Ebon – author of non-fiction books from the paranormal to politics
Max Ehrmann – widely known for his 1927 prose poem "Desiderata" (Latin: "things desired").
Joseph Eiboeck – newspaper editor and publisher of Iowa Staats-Anzeiger and author of The Germans in Iowa and Their Achievements
Charles Follen – poet and patriot
Cornelia Funke – author
Geoffrey Hartman – literary theorist
Ursula Hegi – novelist
Patricia Highsmith – novelist known for her psychological thrillers
Friedrich Hirth – sinologue
Max Hofmann – correspondent
William Dean Howells – realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters"
Amal Kassir – international award-winning spoken word poet
Stephen King – author
Chuck Klosterman – writer
Siegfried Kracauer – film historian, sociologist and author
Herbert Arthur Krause – historian
D.L. Lang – poet laureate of Vallejo, California
Fritz Leiber – science fiction writer
Walter Lippman – writer, journalist, and political commentator
H. L. Mencken – journalist
Henry Miller – writer and painter
Anna Balmer Myers – author of Mennonite (Pennsylvania Dutch) novels
Oswald Ottendorfer – journalist associated with the development of the German-language New Yorker Staats-Zeitung into a major newspaper
Sylvia Plath – poet, novelist, and short story writer
Frederik Pohl – science-fiction writer, editor
Erich Maria Remarque – German-born author, naturalized United States citizen
Conrad Richter – Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
Hope Aldrich Rockefeller – journalist
Irma S. Rombauer – author of The Joy of Cooking
Virginia Satir – author and psychotherapist, called the "mother of family therapy"
Diane Sawyer – journalist
Jack Schaefer – author of Shane
Paul Schrader – screenwriter, film director, and film critic
Charles Sealsfield – pseudonym of Austrian American author of novels and travelogues Carl (or Karl) Anton Postl
Dr. Seuss (born Theodor Seuss Geisel) – writer and cartoonist
Maria Shriver – journalist and author
Mona Simpson – novelist and university professor, biological younger sister of the late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs
Curt Siodmak – screenwriter
Nicholas Sparks – author and screenwriter
Gertrude Stein – author
John Steinbeck – Nobel prize-winning author, one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century
Wallace Stevens – modernist poet
Gene Stratton-Porter – novelist and silent film-era producer
Henry F. Urban – journalist, author
Henry Villard – journalist
Kurt Vonnegut – novelist
Tessa Gräfin von Walderdorff – writer, socialite
Businesspeople and entrepreneurs
Philip Anschutz – billionaire businessman who owns or controls many companies in a variety of industries
John Jacob Astor – business magnate, merchant and investor and the first multi-millionaire in the United States
John Jacob Astor IV – millionaire businessman, real estate developer, inventor, writer and a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War
William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor – financier and statesman
Ralph Baer – father of the home video game console
John Jacob Bausch – optician who co-founded Bausch & Lomb
Andy von Bechtolsheim – co-founder of Sun Microsystems and one of the first investors in Google
Maximilian Berlitz – Berlitz Language School
Isaac Wolfe Bernheim – businessman notable for starting the I. W. Harper brand of premium bourbon whiskey
Bernard Baruch – financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant
William Edward Boeing – aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company
Paul Bonwit – founder of Bonwit Teller department store in New York City
Emil J. Brach – founder of Brach's Candy
George Brumder – newspaper publisher and businessman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Clyde Cessna – aircraft designer, aviator, and founder of the Cessna Aircraft Corporation
Walter Chrysler – Chrysler automobile developer
Frank Crowninshield – first editor of Vanity Fair magazine
George A. Dickel – whiskey distributor; born in Grünberg, Hesse
Chris Deering – businessman and marketer best known for his role as president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Noah Dietrich – CEO of the Howard Hughes empire
Walt Disney – film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist
August Duesenberg – automobile pioneer manufacturer
Fred Duesenberg – automobile pioneer designer, manufacturer and sportsman
Edward Filene – businessman, social entrepreneur and philanthropist
Harvey Firestone – founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Henry Flagler – industrialist, co-founder of Standard Oil
Nicholas C. Forstmann – one of the founding partners of Forstmann Little & Company, a private equity firm
Theodore J. Forstmann – one of the founding partners of Forstmann Little & Company, a private equity firm, and chairman and CEO of IMG, a leading global sports and media company
Henry Clay Frick – industrialist, financier and art patron, co-founder of U.S. Steel
Bill Gates – software magnate and investor, founder and former chairman of Microsoft
Henry Giessenbier – banker and founder of the Young Men's Progressive Civic Association in 1915 and the United States Junior Chamber in 1920
Henry J. Heinz – H. J. Heinz Company ketchup founder
H. J. Heinz II – best known as Jack Heinz, a business executive and CEO of the H. J. Heinz Company
H. Robert Heller – President and CEO of VISA U.S.A. and Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Richard Hellmann – company founder of Hellmanns
Joseph A. Hemann – educator, newspaper publisher, and banker
Milton S. Hershey – Hershey chocolate founder
Barron Hilton – chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain and grandfather of Paris Hilton
Conrad Hilton – founder of the Hilton Hotel chain and great-grandfather of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton
Richard Hilton – hotelier and real estate entrepreneur, father of Paris Hilton
George A. Hormel – founder of Hormel Foods Corporation
Steve Jobs – software tycoon, co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc.
Max Kade – pharmaceutical tycoon, endowed the Max Kade Foundation
Otto Hermann Kahn – investment banker
Henry J. Kaiser – industrialist and health care pioneer
Jawed Karim – co-founder of YouTube and designer of key parts of PayPal
Edgar J. Kaufmann – department store entrepreneur
Peter Kern – confectioner and mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee
John Kluge – television industry mogul
Klaus Kleinfeld – business executive
William Knabe – industrialist and piano-manufacturer
James L. Kraft – first to patent processed cheese; founder of Kraft Foods
Bernard Kroger – chain grocer founder of the Kroger chain
Louis Kurz – major publisher of chromolithographs in the late 19th century
Johan Adam Lemp – father of modern brewing in St. Louis, started the William J. Lemp Brewing Company
Alfred Lion – co-founder of Blue Note Records
Solomon Loeb – banker, co-founder of Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
Grover Loening – aircraft manufacturer
Henry Lomb – co-founded Bausch & Lomb
George Lucas – film director and producer
Adolph Luetgert – Chicago businessman of A.L. Luetgert Sausage & Packing Company
Peter Luger – steak restaurateur
Abby Rockefeller Mauzé – philanthropist
Oscar Mayer – meat entrepreneur
Frederick L. Maytag – founder of the Maytag Company
George W. Merck – scientist and former president of Merck & Co
Fred G. Meyer – founder of Fred Meyer
Maxey Dell Moody Jr. – founder of MOBRO Marine, Inc. and CEO of M. D. Moody & Sons, Inc.
Elon Musk – co-founder of PayPal Inc.; founder of SolarCity, SpaceX, Hyperloop, and Tesla Motors
Carrie Marcus Neiman – co-founder of the Neiman-Marcus department store
Douglas R. Oberhelman – former CEO and Executive Chairman of Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois
Adolph Ochs – newspaper publisher and former owner of The New York Times and The Chattanooga Times (now the Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Hermann Oelrichs – shipping magnate and owner of Norddeutsche Lloyd Shipping
Albrecht Pagenstecher – pioneer of the modern paper industry
Charles Pfizer – founded the Pfizer Inc. pharmaceutical company
John C. Pritzlaff – founder of the John Pritzlaff Hardware Company, the largest wholesale hardware store in the Midwestern United States until its closure in 1958
John J. Raskob – builder of the Empire State Building
Francis Joseph Reitz – banker, civic leader, and philanthropist
John Augustus Reitz – known as the "Lumber Baron", an entrepreneur, industrialist, banker, civic leader, and philanthropist
George Remus – famous Cincinnati lawyer and bootlegger during the Prohibition era
William Rittenhouse – built the first paper mill in America
David Rockefeller – banker, philanthropist, world statesman, and the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family
John D. Rockefeller – oil magnate and philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller Jr. – industrialist and philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller III – industrialist and philanthropist
Laurance Rockefeller – venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist and major conservationist
John Augustus Roebling – civil engineer, one of the pioneers in the construction of suspension bridges
Washington Roebling – civil engineer best known for his work on the Brooklyn Bridge
Jim Rohr – chairman and CEO of PNC Financial Services (PNC Bank)
Jacob Ruppert – brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and United States Congressman, owner of New York Yankees from 1915 until 1939
Christoph Sauer – first German-language printer and publisher in North America
William Schaus – New York-based art dealer
August Schell – founded The August Schell Brewing Company in 1860, the second oldest family-owned brewery in America
Walter Schlage – engineer, inventor, and businessman; founder of Schlage Manufacturing company in San Francisco
John Schnatter – founder of Papa John's Pizza
Jacob Schiff – banker and philanthropist
Julius Schmid – creator of the Sheik condom and the Ramses condom
Charles M. Schwab – steel magnate (Bethlehem Steel)
Frank Seiberling – inventor and founder of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Seiberling Rubber Company, Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens
John Seiberling – founder and inventor of one of the first reaping machines
Isaac Singer – inventor, actor, and sewing machine entrepreneur
Joseph Spiegel – founder of Spiegel catalog
Claus Spreckels – industrialist
George Steinbrenner – shipping and sports franchise entrepreneur and late owner of the New York Yankees
Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg – Steinway pianos manufacturer
Henry William Stiegel – glassmaker and ironmaster and an active lay Lutheran and associate of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg
Chris Strachwitz – founder and president of Arhoolie Records
Levi Strauss – creator of the first company to manufacture blue jeans
Clement Studebaker – founded Studebaker, a wagon, carriage and car manufacturer
Arthur Hays Sulzberger – publisher of The New York Times, 1935–1961
John Sutter – pioneer settler/colonizer
Peter Thiel – co-founder of PayPal Inc.; first outside investor in Facebook, Inc.
Otto Timm – aircraft manufacturer
Robert Uihlein Jr. – heir, businessman, polo player and philanthropist
Frederick Vogel – tanner and businessman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who spent a single one-year term as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Charles Von der Ahe – co-founder of the Vons Supermarket chain
Wilfred Von der Ahe – co-founder of the Vons Supermarket chain
The Warburg Family – bankers
George Westinghouse – engineer and electricity pioneer
Oscar Werwath – founder and first president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Friedrich Weyerhäuser – timber mogul and founder of the Weyerhaeuser
Frederick G. Zinsser – American chemical company entrepreneur who founded Zinsser & Company, which synthesized organic chemicals
Brewers
Eberhard Anheuser – soap and candle maker, president and CEO of Eberhard Anheuser and Company, which eventually became Anheuser-Busch
Valentin Blatz – beer baron, started the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company
Adolphus Busch – Anheuser-Busch brewing company founder
Adolphus Busch III – brewing magnate who was the President and CEO of Anheuser-Busch, 1934–1946
August Anheuser Busch Sr. – brewing magnate who served as the President and CEO of Anheuser-Busch, 1913–1934
August Busch IV – president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch
Gussie Busch – company chairman, 1946–1975, of Anheuser-Busch
Adolph Coors – Coors beer empire founder
Matthias Haffen – New York City brewer
Theodore Hamm – founder of Hamm's Brewery
Frederick Miller – Miller beer creator
Frederick Pabst – founder of Pabst Brewery (with Philip Best)
Tom Pastorius – founded Penn Brewery (Pennsylvania Brewing Co.)
Frederick Schaefer – beer baron, started F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company
Joseph Schlitz – beer baron, founded Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company
Kosmas Spoetzl – brewer, Shiner Brewery
Peter P. Straub – founder of Straub Brewery
August Uihlein – Uhrig Brewery and Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company brewer
Herman Weiss – first brewmaster in Shiner, Texas
Distillers
Arthur Phillip Stitzel – founder of the Stitzel–Weller Distillery
Entertainment
Actors
Gideon Adlon – actress
Ben Affleck – actor and filmmaker
Casey Affleck – actor and director
Eddie Albert (born Edward Albert Heimberger) – stage, film, and character actor, and World War II hero
Woody Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg) – filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian, and musician
Mädchen Amick – actress
Fred Armisen – comedian, actor, musician, writer, and producer
Fred Astaire – dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, and television presenter
Odessa A'zion – actress
Catherine Bach – actress
Diedrich Bader – actor
Haley Bennett – actress
Earl W. Bascom – film actor
Kim Basinger – actress
Kristen Bell – actress
Zazie Beetz – actress
Candice Bergen – actress
Frances Bergen (née Westerman) – actress and model
Ingrid Bergman – actress
Michael Biehn – actor
Jessica Biel – actress
Karen Black – actress
Curt Bois – actor
Johnny Yong Bosch – actor
Julie Bowen – actress
Eric Braeden – actor
Marlon Brando – actor
Lesley-Ann Brandt - actress
Benjamin Bratt – actor
Hermann Braun – actor
Felix Bressart – actor
Agnes Bruckner – actress
Sandra Bullock – actress
Ty Burrell – actor
Scott Caan – actor
Nicolas Cage – actor
Steve Carell - actor
Dana Carvey – actor, comedian, and producer
Loan Chabanol – actress
Sarah Chalke – actress
Carol Channing – actor
Claudia Christian – actress
Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz) – actress
Montgomery Clift – actor
George Clooney – actor, director, producer, screenwriter, activist, businessman, and philanthropist
Kevin Costner – actor
Bryan Cranston – actor, director and producer
Tom Cruise – actor
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz) – actor
Willem Dafoe – actor
Josh Dallas – actor
Helmut Dantine – actor
Doris Day – actress, singer
Robert De Niro – actor
James Dean – actor
Johnny Depp – actor
Cameron Diaz – actress
Leonardo DiCaprio – actor
Angie Dickinson – actress
Marlene Dietrich – actress
Peter Dinklage – actor
Adam Driver – actor
Patty Duke – actress; mother of Mackenzie Astin and Sean Astin
Kirsten Dunst – film actress and former model
Aaron Eckhart – actor
Zac Efron – actor
Nicole Eggert – actress
Erika Eleniak – actress
Noah Emmerich – actor
Chris Evans – actor
Dakota Fanning – actress
Elle Fanning – actress; younger sister of Dakota Fanning
Tina Fey – writer, comedian, and actress
William Fichtner – actor
Jenna Fischer – actress
Carrie Fisher – actress
Jodie Foster – actress
Jason David Frank (1973–2022) – actor and martial artist
Dennis Franz (born Dennis Franz Schlachta) – actor
Brendan Fraser – actor
Tatiana von Fürstenberg – rock singer and filmmaker; daughter of fashion designers Diane and Prince Egon von Fürstenberg
James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner) – actor
Clark Gable – actor
Janet Gaynor – actress
Lillian Gish – actress
Summer Glau – actress
Karl Glusman – actor
Crispin Glover – actor
Betty Grable – actress, dancer, and singer
Joel Gretsch – actor
Andy Griffith – actor
Harry Groener – actor and dancer
Lukas Haas – actor
Gene Hackman – actor
Thomas J. Hageboeck (1945–1996) – actor
Uta Hagen – actress
Jon Hamm – actor
Chelsea Handler – comedian and actress
Daryl Hannah – actress
Melora Hardin – actress and singer
Mariska Hargitay – actress
Woody Harrelson – actor
Cecilia Hart – television and stage actress
David Hasselhoff – actor
Anne Hathaway – actress
Cole Hauser – film and television actor
Dwight Hauser – actor and film producer
Wings Hauser – actor, director and film writer
James Haven – actor
Rita Hayworth – actress and dancer
Bill Heck – actor
Eileen Heckart – actress
Katherine Heigl – actress
Tricia Helfer
Marg Helgenberger – actress
Richard Henzel – film, TV, and voice-over actor
Edward Herrmann – television and film actor
J. G. Hertzler – actor, author, and screenwriter
Emile Hirsch – actor
Katie Holmes – actress
Sofia Hublitz – actress
Adam Huber – actor
Rock Hudson – actor
Tab Hunter – film actor and singer
Josh Hutcherson – actor
Martha Hyer – Academy Award-nominated actress
Gillian Jacobs – film, theater and television actress
Emil Jannings – first actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor
Van Johnson – film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II
Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight) – actress
James Earl Jones – actor
Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Joy Zeidler) – silent film era actress
Victoria Justice – actress
Vincent Kartheiser – actor
Gene Kelly – dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer
Grace Kelly – actress
Ellie Kemper – actress and comedian
Nicole Kidman – actress
Richard Kiel – actor
Q'orianka Kilcher – actress and singer
Val Kilmer – actor
Angela Kinsey – actress
Chris Klein – actor
Werner Klemperer – actor
Kevin Kline – actor
Liza Koshy – actress, television host, comedian, media personality, and YouTuber
Don Knotts – actor and comedian
Johnny Knoxville – actor
Boris Kodjoe – actor
David Koechner – actor, comedian, and musician
Lynne Koplitz – actor and comedian
Fran Kranz – actor
Kurt Kreuger – actor
Diane Kruger – actress
Mickey Kuhn – actor
Ashton Kutcher – actor
Cheryl Ladd – actress and model
Veronica Lake – actress and pin-up model
Jessica Lange – actress
Wesley Lau – film and television actor
Cyndi Lauper – singer, actress
Ed Lauter – actor
Taylor Lautner – actor/martial artist
Jennifer Lawrence – actress
Bruce Lee – actor; father of Brandon Lee and Shannon Lee
Janine Lindemulder – exotic dancer and adult film actress
Kay Lenz – actress
Clara Lipman – actress and playwright; sister of Lieder singer Mattie Lipman Marum
Blake Lively – actress
Kristanna Loken – actress
Carole Lombard – actress
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – actress
Chad Lowe – actor and director
Rob Lowe – actor
Kellan Lutz – fashion model and actor for television and films
Matilda Lutz – actress
Chloë Grace Moretz – actress
Kaitlyn Maher – actress and singer
John Malkovich – actor
Jayne Mansfield – actress
William Mapother – actor
Marx Brothers – actors
Matthew McConaughey – actor
Mia Malkova – pornographic actress
Candice Michelle – model, actress, WWE wrestler
Wentworth Miller – actor
Jason Momoa – actor
Michelle Monaghan – actress
Barbara Nichols – actress
Jack Nicholson – actor and filmmaker
Nick Nolte – actor
Bob Odenkirk – actor
Chris O'Donnell – actor
Nick Offerman – actor and comedian
Heather O'Rourke – child actress
Chord Overstreet – actor
Jared Padalecki – actor
Lilli Palmer (born Lillie Marie Peiser) – actress
Gwyneth Paltrow – actress; daughter of Blythe Danner
Sarah Jessica Parker – actress
Penny Pax – adult film actress
Gregory Peck – actor
Evan Peters – actor
William Petersen – actor and producer
Michelle Pfeiffer – actress
Joaquin Phoenix – actor
Brad Pitt – actor
Amy Poehler – actress, comedian, producer and writer
Erich Pommer – actor and film producer
Chris Pratt – actor
Laura Prepon – actress
Freddie Prinze Jr. – actor
Jürgen Prochnow – actor
George Raft (born George Ranft) – actor
Luise Rainer – actress
John Ratzenberger – actor
Donna Reed – actress
Frank Reicher – German-born American actor, director and producer
Jeremy Renner – actor and musician
Denise Richards – actress
Molly Ringwald – actress
Naya Rivera – actress and singer
Julia Roberts – actress and producer
Isabella Rossellini – actress, daughter of Ingrid Bergman
Andrew Rothenberg – television actor
Mercedes Ruehl – theater, television and film actor
Katee Sackhoff – actress
William Sadler – film and television actor
Roy Scheider – actor
August Schellenberg – actor
Kendall Schmidt – actor and singer – well known for his part in Big Time Rush
Danielle Schneider – actress, comedian, and writer
Helen Schneider – actress and singer
John Schneider – actor and singer
Liev Schreiber – actor
Pablo Schreiber – actor
Ricky Schroder – actor and film director
Carly Schroeder – actress and model
Brooke Shields – actress
Tom Selleck – actor
Amanda Seyfried – actress
Sherri Saum – actress
Elke Sommer – actress
Josef Sommer – actor
Shannyn Sossamon – actress, dancer, model, and musician
Nick Stahl – actor
Rod Steiger – actor
Frances Sternhagen – actress
Emma Stone – actress
Michael Strahan – retired football player, actor, and television personality
Meryl Streep – actress
Ethan Stiefel – dancer, choreographer, and director
Jeremy Sumpter – actor
Sydney Sweeney – actress
Carl Switzer – actor, professional dog breeder and hunting guide
Ralph Taeger – actor
Channing Tatum – actor
Shirley Temple – actress
Alexis Texas – pornographic actress
Charlize Theron – actress
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (born Jonathan Taylor Weiss) – actor
Uma Thurman – actress; mother is model Nena von Schlebrügge
Rip Torn – actor and voice actor
Liv Tyler – actress
Alida Valli (Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg) – actress
Mario Van Peebles – actor and director
Mike Vogel – actor
Jon Voight – actor
Erik von Detten – actor
Jenna von Oÿ – actress and singer
Christopher Walken – actor
Paul Walker – actor
Erin Wasson – actress and model
Johnny Weissmuller – Olympic swimmer, actor, best known as Tarzan
Lois Weber – silent film actress, screenwriter, producer, and director
George Wendt – actor
Frank Welker – actor
Mae West – actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol
Vera-Ellen Westmeier Rohe – actress and dancer
Bruce Willis – actor
Henry Winkler – actor, comedian, director, producer, and author
Frank Wolff – actor
Elijah Wood – actor
Kari Wuhrer – actress and singer
Wolfgang Zilzer – actor
Zendaya – (born Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman) actress
Celebrities
Glenn Beck – political commentator
Benjamin C. Bradlee (1921–2014) – editor-in-chief of the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal
Samantha Brown (born 1970) – television host of several Travel Channel programs
Pat Buchanan – political commentator
William F. Buckley Jr. – conservative writer and political commentator, founder of National Review
Kristin Cavallari – television personality, fashion designer, and actress
Katie Couric – television and online journalist, presenter, producer, and author
Walter Cronkite – broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981)
Jeane Dixon – born Lydia Emma Pinckert, astrologer and self-proclaimed psychic, columnist
Mark Edward Fischbach – YouTuber and actor
Siegfried Fischbacher – magician
Willie Geist – television personality, journalist and humorist
Nicky Hilton – businesswoman, socialite, model, member of the former Hilton Hotel owners family
Paris Hilton – businesswoman, socialite, model, member of the former Hilton Hotel owners family
James Holzhauer (born 1984) – game show contestant and professional sports gambler
Roy Horn – magician
Kris Jenner – socialite
Kendall Jenner – socialite and model
Kylie Jenner – socialite, model, media personality, businesswoman, and billionaire from Kylie Cosmetics
Alex Jones – conspiracy theorist
Khloe Kardashian – socialite and model
Kourtney Kardashian – socialite and model
Kim Kardashian – television personality, socialite, actress, businesswoman, and model
Megyn Kelly – journalist, attorney, talk show host
Jimmy Kimmel – comedian, writer, late night talk show host, game show host, and producer
Tomi Lahren – political commentator
Rush Limbaugh – conservative political commentator
Alicia Menendez – television journalist
Bridget Marquardt – model and TV personality, reality TV star
Jenny McCarthy – model, author, activist, actress, Playboy Playmate of the Year, and television personality
Don Ohlmeyer – TV producer and president of the NBC West Coast
Keith Olbermann – news anchor, sports and political commentator, and radio sportscaster
Jeff Probst – game show host and executive producer
Brad Rutter – game show contestant, TV host, producer, and actor
Judy Sheindlin – television personality, television producer, author, former prosecutor and family court judge
Stassi Schroeder – television personality, podcast host, author, fashion blogger, and model
Ed Schultz – television and radio host, liberal political commentator, former sports broadcaster
Jerry Springer – television personality, journalist, comedian
Ruth Westheimer (born 1928) – known as "Dr. Ruth," sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper
Composers and musicians
Anastacia (full name: Anastacia Lyn Newkirk) – singer-songwriter, and former dancer
George Antheil – avant-garde composer, pianist, author, and inventor
Bibi Bourelly – singer
Andy Biersack – lead singer of Black Veil Brides
Bix Beiderbecke – jazz cornet player and a classical and jazz pianist
Jon Bon Jovi – singer and musician
Eva Cassidy – singer
J. Cole – rapper, songwriter, record producer
Tre Cool – punk rocker
Patrick Dahlheimer – bassist for the band Live
Walter Johannes Damrosch – conductor
John Denver (born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.) – musician
Edsel Dope (born Brian Ebejer) – lead singer of Dope
Dave Dudley – (born David Darwin Pedruska) – country music singer
David Ellefson – co-founder of thrash metal band Megadeth
Eminem – rapper and actor
Nancy Faust – former stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox
Lukas Foss – conductor
Chris Frantz – musician and record producer; the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club
Norman Frauenheim – pianist and music teacher
Ace Frehley – band member of Kiss
Hugo Friedhofer – film music composer
G-Eazy – rapper
Louis F. Gottschalk – composer
Dave Grohl – musician
Hilary Hahn – violinist
Daryl Hall – co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Hall & Oates
Jeff Hanneman – guitarist of Slayer
Reinhold Heil – film and television composer
Otto K. E. Heinemann – manager for the U.S. branch of German-owned Odeon Records
James Hetfield – vocalist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of Metallica
Elbert Joseph Higgins – songwriter
Paul Hindemith – composer, violinist and teacher
Hanya Holm – choreographer
Horst P. Horst – photographer
Terry Kath – first guitarist of the rock band Chicago
Josh Kaufman – singer-songwriter and season six winner of NBC's The Voice
John Kiffmeyer – first drummer of the punk rock band Green Day
Otto Klemperer – conductor
Alison Krauss – bluegrass-country singer-songwriter, and musician
Nick Lachey – pop singer
Armando Lichtenberger Jr. – member of musical band La Mafia
Charles Martin Loeffler – composer
Courtney Love – actress and frontwoman of Hole
Marilyn Manson – front man of rock band Marilyn Manson
Martina McBride – country music singer-songwriter and record producer
Melissa Auf der Maur – rock singer
Alyson Michalka – actress, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
Amanda Michalka – actress, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
Sanford A. Moeller – rudimental drummer, national champion, educator, author and Spanish–American War veteran
Tomo in der Mühlen – DJ, producer and guitar player, known for work with Harold Perrineau, Masta Ace, Styles P, and Ekatarina Velika
Dave Mustaine – co-founder of thrash metal band Megadeth and first lead guitarist for thrash metal band Metallica
Charles Theodore Pachelbel – baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist, son of Johann Pachelbel
James Pankow – trombone player for the rock band Chicago
Jaco Pastorius – musician and songwriter widely acknowledged for his virtuosity with the fretless bass
Jaan Patterson – founder of the Surrism-Phonoethics label, also known as Undress Béton
Les Paul (born Lester William Polsfuss) – jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor
Katy Perry – singer and songwriter
Philip Phile – composer, best known for "The President's March", composed for the inauguration of President George Washington
Pink (Alecia Beth Moore) – singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress
Jimmy Pop – musician, composer, comedian and lead singer of the Bloodhound Gang
Elvis Presley – singer-songwriter, and actor
Charlie Puth — singer-songwriter, brother of Stephen Puth
R.A. the Rugged Man - rapper and producer
Dee Dee Ramone – bassist for the Ramones
Trent Reznor – musician, film score composer and founder of Nine Inch Nails
Olivia Rodrigo – singer and actress
Heinz Eric Roemheld – composer; won the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score for Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1943
Linda Ronstadt – singer-songwriter
Dieter Ruehle – stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers and National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings
Nate Ruess – singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of indie rock band Fun
Felix Salten – composed scores for some 150 Hollywood movies
Arnold Schoenberg – expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School
Nico Schüler – music theorist, musicologist, musician, composer, educator
Wesley Schultz – guitarist and lead vocalist for the American folk rock band The Lumineers
Pete Seeger – folk singer
John Philip Sousa – composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches
James Shaffer – co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn
Paul Stanley – musician from the band KISS, of Jewish descent
Frederick Stock – composer and conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Mark Stoermer – musician, producer and singer-songwriter; bassist for alternative rock band the Killers
Joel Stroetzel – guitarist from the metalcore band Killswitch Engage
Alec John Such - musician and former member of bon Jovi
Taylor Swift – singer-songwriter
Lil Peep († 2017) – rapper, singer-songwriter
Machine Gun Kelly – rapper, singer and actor
Theodore Thomas – conductor
Obie Trice – rapper
Steven Tyler – lead singer of Aerosmith
Eddie Vedder – lead vocalist of Pearl Jam
Kurt Weill – composer
Lawrence Welk – bandleader
Pete Wentz – bassist for Fall Out Boy
Hans Zimmer – Academy Award-winning film composer
Wolfgang Zuckermann – harpsichord maker and writer
Directors, producers, screenwriters, and film editors
Robert Altman – film director, screenwriter, and producer
Michael Ballhaus – cinematographer
Gesine Bullock-Prado – pastry chef, TV personality, author, attorney, and former film executive
Frank Dexter (1882–1965) – German-born American art director
Roy O. Disney – entertainment industry executive
Roland Emmerich – Hollywood film director
Paul Feig – actor and director
Steven Fischer – producer and director; two-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee
Ray Harryhausen – visual effects creator, writer, and producer
Jim Jarmusch – film director and screenwriter
Carl Laemmle – pioneer in American filmmaking and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios
Ernst Lubitsch – acclaimed film director, special Academy Award winner
Anthony Mann – film director and actor
Richard C. Meyer – German-American television and film editor
Russ Meyer – director and photographer
F. W. Murnau – film director of the silent era
Seymour Nebenzahl – film producer
Kurt Neumann – Hollywood film director who specialized in science fiction
Mike Nichols – Academy Award-winning film director, writer and producer
Arch Oboler – scriptwriter, novelist, producer and director who was active in films, radio and television
Wolfgang Petersen – director
Kelly Reichardt – screenwriter and film director working within American indie cinema
Gottfried Reinhardt – producer and director
Ringling brothers – circus owners
Victor Schertzinger – composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter
Eugen Schüfftan – cinematographer and inventor
Nev Schulman – producer, actor, and photographer
Reinhold Schünzel – director and actor
Robert Siodmak – director
Wim Wenders – film director
William Wyler – film director
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. – Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies
George Lucas-director, founder of Lucasfilm, of German and Swiss-German descent
Matt Groening-animator, cartoonist, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama franchises and Disenchantment, father is of German-Canadian descent
Humorists
Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz) – comedian, actor, writer, and director
David Letterman – late-night talk show host and comedian and the host of CBS's Late Show with David Letterman
Daniel Tosh – comedian, host of Comedy Central's Tosh.0
Models
Wilhelmina Cooper – model and founder of Wilhelmina Models
Cindy Crawford – model
Rande Gerber – male model and entrepreneur
Karlie Kloss – fashion model and entrepreneur
Heidi Klum – model
Nicole Brown Simpson – model
Nena von Schlebrügge – former fashion model in the 1950s and 1960s, mother of actress Uma Thurman
First Ladies of the United States
(in order by their husband's presidency)
Lucretia Garfield
Florence Harding
Pat Nixon
Historical figures
Harry J. Anslinger – United States government official who served as the first commissioner of the United States Department of the Treasury's Federal Bureau of Narcotics, supporter of prohibition and the criminalization of drugs, and played a pivotal role in cannabis prohibition
Neil Armstrong – astronaut, first human to set foot on the Moon
George Atzerodt – assassin, conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Meta Schlichting Berger – socialist organizer
Frank Borman – astronaut, commander of the Apollo 8 mission, the first to fly around the Moon
Warren E. Burger (1907–1995) – Chief Justice of the United States, 1969–86
Willard Erastus Christianson aka Matt Warner – Old West outlaw, deputy sheriff
Amelia Earhart – aviation pioneer and author, the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross
Johann Friedrich Ernst – "Father of German Immigration to Texas", arriving in 1831
Bobby Fischer – chess prodigy, grandmaster, and the eleventh World Chess Champion
Henry Francis Fisher – German Texan in Houston, Texas, where he was consul for the Hanseatic League, became acting treasurer of the San Saba Company
Meyer Guggenheim (1828–1905) – statesman, patriarch of what became known as the Guggenheim family
Frank Gusenburg – gangster and a victim of the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago
Peter Gusenberg – member of Chicago's North Side Gang, the main rival to the Chicago Outfit
John F. Hartranft – military officer, awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the First Battle of Bull Run, served as the 17th governor of Pennsylvania
Bruno Hauptmann – Lindbergh kidnapper
Mary Hays – American Revolutionary War hero
Alfons Heck – writer and former Hitler Youth
Friedrich Hecker – revolutionary
Michael Hillegas – first Treasurer of the United States
Alger Hiss – American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s, original surname of "Hesse"
Jimmy Hoffa – labor union leader and author
J. Edgar Hoover – first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Lena Kleinschmidt – jewel thief
Fritz Kuhn – German American Bund leader
Maria Kraus-Boelté – pioneer of Fröbel education in the United States, and helped promote kindergarten training as suitable for study at university level
Herman Lamm – considered the "father of modern bank robbery"
Johann Lederer – explorer
Jacob Leisler – colonist
Frank J. Loesch – law enforcement official, reformer and a founder of the Chicago Crime Commission
Kurt Frederick Ludwig – head of the "Joe K" spy ring in the United States in 1940–41
Paul Machemehl – German-Texan, rancher and civic leader
Fredericka Mandelbaum – entrepreneur and criminal
Nicola Marschall – designer of the first national flag and uniform of the Confederacy
Christene Mayer – aka "Kid Glove Rosey", famous thief and associate of "Black" Lena Kleinschmidt
Burchard Miller – Texas land pioneer
Peter Minuit – Director-General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland
Charles Mohr – pharmacist
Duncan Niederauer – CEO of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
Madge Oberholtzer – schoolteacher who worked for the state of Indiana on adult literacy
Franz Daniel Pastorius – pioneer and founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania
Robert Prager – Illinois coal miner lynched during World War I because of anti-German sentiment
Hermann Raster – Chicago politician, editor, and abolitionist
Walter Reuther – labor leader
Rockefeller family – industrial and political family that made one of the world's largest fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. – historian, social critic, and public intellectual
August Schrader – engineer and mechanic
Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. – Lindbergh kidnapping investigator
Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Flegenheimer) – New York City-area gangster
Margarethe Schurz – established the kindergarten system in the United States
Frank "The German" Schweihs – alleged hitman who had been known to work for The Outfit, the organized crime family in Chicago
Jacob Shallus – penman of the original copy of the United States Constitution
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels – "Texas-Carl" was an Austro-Hungarian Lieutenant General and founder of the town New Braunfels, Texas
Jacob Sternberger – historian and one of the original Forty-Eighters
Ida Straus – victim of the sinking of the RMS Titanic
Isidor Straus – former co-owner of Macy's and victim of the sinking of the RMS Titanic
Chesley Sullenberger – commercial airline pilot, safety expert, and accident investigator; piloted US Airways Flight 1549 to a safe ditching in the Hudson River in New York City
John Sutter – settler/colonizer
Count Ludwig Joseph von Boos-Waldeck – organized the Adelsverein to promote German emigration to Texas
Paul Warburg – banker
Charles Maria Weber – pioneer of California and founder of Stockton, California
John Henry Weber – fur trader and explorer in the Rocky Mountains. The Weber River, Weber State University, and Weber County, Utah, were named after him.
Louis J. Weichmann – witness for the prosecution in the conspiracy trial of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Conrad Weiser – pioneer, farmer, monk, tanner, judge, soldier, interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native Americans
Lewis Wetzel – frontiersman and Indian fighter
Adam Worth – crime boss and fraudster
John Peter Zenger – printer, publisher, editor and journalist in New York City
David Ziegler – first mayor of Cincinnati; Revolutionary War Veteran and aide to president George Washington
Military
Rosemarie Aquilina – Judge, Michigan Army National Guardswoman, Michigan's first female member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps
Otto Boehler – United States Army private awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Moro Rebellion during the Philippine–American War
Johann August Heinrich Heros von Borcke – Major in the Confederate army
John Boyd – United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant during the second half of the 20th century
Arent S. Crowninshield (1843–1908) – Commander of the USS Maine
George Armstrong Custer (1839–1876) – United States Army cavalry commander
Thomas Custer – United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War; a younger brother of George Armstrong Custer, perishing with him at Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory
Konrad Dannenberg – rocket pioneer and member of the German Rocket Team, brought to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip
Dieter Dengler – German born United States Navy Naval aviator during the Vietnam War
Hubert Dilger – decorated artillerist in the Union Army during the American Civil War
Walter Dornberger – leader of Germany's V-2 rocket program and other projects at the Peenemünde Army Research Center, brought to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip
Johann de Kalb – Major general in the American Revolution
Frank Finkel – claimed to be the only white survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn
Friedrich Hecker – lawyer, politician, revolutionary and Civil War colonel
Lewis Heermann – commissioned Surgeon's Mate in the United States Navy February 8, 1802; in 1942, the destroyer USS Heermann was named in his honor
Nicholas Herkimer – commanding general at Battle of Oriskany, American Revolutionary War
Daniel Hiester – political and military leader from the Revolutionary War period to the early 19th century
John Hiester – military leader from the Revolutionary War period to the early 19th century
Ralph Ignatowski – soldier, of German and Polish descent, World War II veteran
August Kautz – Brigadier general /Union Army officer
Walter Krueger – United States Army general during World War II and military historian
Eugene H. C. Leutze – admiral of the United States Navy, appointed to the United States Naval Academy by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863
Frank Luke – aviator in World War I, Medal of Honor recipient
Aleda E. Lutz – American Army flight nurse during World War II, second-most decorated woman in American military history
Marc Mitscher – Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy; served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific in the latter half of World War II
Peter Muhlenberg – clergyman, soldier and a politician of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Post-Revolutionary eras in Pennsylvania
Chester W. Nimitz – Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces for the United States and Allied forces during World War II
Peter Osterhaus – Union Army general in the American Civil War, later serving as a U.S. diplomat
John J. Pershing – officer in the United States Army, rose to the highest rank ever held in the U.S. Army – General of the Armies
Friedrich Adolf Riedesel – regiment commander of the Duchy of Brunswick (Braunschweig) unit hired by the British during the American Revolution
Alexander Schimmelfennig – American Civil War general in the Union Army
James Martinus Schoonmaker – colonel in the Union Army in the American Civil War and a vice-president of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
Theodore Schwan – officer who served with distinction during the American Civil War, Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. – United States Army General
Albert Sieber – U.S. Civil War veteran, Chief of Scouts for much of the Apache Wars
Franz Sigel – teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union general in the American Civil War
Carl Andrew Spaatz – general in World War II
Adolph von Steinwehr – served as a Union general in the American Civil War
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben – German–Prussian general; served with George Washington in the American Revolutionary War
Gustav Tafel – colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War
Stephen J. Townsend – U.S. Army general, served with the 10th Mountain Division during the war in Afghanistan; born in (West) Germany
Max Weber – brigadier general in the Union army during the American Civil War;
Lewis Wetzel – frontiersman and Indian fighter who roamed the hills of western Virginia and Ohio; Wetzel County, West Virginia, is named for him
Godfrey Weitzel – Major General in the Union army during the American Civil War
August Willich – general in the Union Army during the American Civil War
Charles Henry Wilcken – artilleryman who was awarded the Iron Cross by the King of Prussia, Frederick William IV
Jurgen Wilson – Union Army officer during the American Civil War
Frederick C. Winkler – lieutenant colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War
Chuck Yeager – United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and flying ace, first confirmed person to exceed the speed of sound in flight
Philosophers
Felix Adler – rationalist intellectual
Hannah Arendt – political theorist
Rudolf Carnap – philosopher
Adolf Grünbaum – philosopher
Eric Hoffer – philosopher
Susanne Langer – philosopher, writer, and educator
Francis Lieber – jurist/political philosopher
Herbert Marcuse – philosopher (1898–1979)
Nicholas Rescher – philosopher
Richard Rorty – philosopher
Politicians and public servants
John Peter Altgeld – former Union troop, Illinois governor and leading figure of the Progressive Era movement
Edward L. Bader – politician who served as mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey
William B. Bader – Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs 1999–2001
Gerhard Adolph Bading – physician, politician, and diplomat
Charles Augustus Barnitz – Anti-Masonic member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district from 1833 to 1835
Martin Baum – former mayor of Cincinnati, fought with General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers
Paul Bechtner – newspaper editor of Abendpost, manufacturer, and Wisconsin State Assembly politician
Henry C. Berghoff – mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Cofounder of the Herman J. Berghoff Brewing Company, lawyer, and businessman
Richard Blumenthal – United States Senator from Connecticut since 2011
John Boehner – Republican House Majority Leader in the 109th Congress, and a U.S. representative from Ohio's 8th congressional district
John Bohn – mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1942 to 1948
Philip Becker – mayor of Buffalo, New York, 1876–1877 and 1886–1889
Martin Grove Brumbaugh – Pennsylvania's 25th governor (Republican)
James L. Buckley – U.S. senator from New York, 1971–1977
Henry Burk – former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
George W. Bush – U.S. president (2001–2009)
Simon Cameron – U.S. senator, Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war 1861–1862
Benjamin Williams Crowninshield – 5th United States Secretary of Navy (1815–1818), and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusett's 2nd district (1823–1832)
Jacob Crowninshield – member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusett's 2nd district (1803–1808)
William Q. Dallmeyer – Missouri politician
Thomas Dixon Jr. – politician, lawyer
Tom Daschle – U.S. senator from South Dakota, 1987–2005, former Senate Majority Leader
William J. Diehl – served as mayor of Pittsburgh, 1899–1901, a thirty-third degree mason
George Anthony Dondero – U.S. representative from Michigan
Gerhard Anton (Anthony) Eickhoff – journalist, editor, author, lawyer, United States Congress representative of New York City, United States Treasury auditor and New York City Fire Commissioner
Dwight D. Eisenhower – five-star Army general and U.S. president
Tulsi Gabbard – U.S. congresswoman from Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District
Timothy Geithner – U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Dick Gephardt – U.S. congressman, 1977–2005
William Goebel – controversial politician who served as governor of Kentucky for a few days in 1900 before being assassinated
Richard W. Guenther – 19th-century politician and pharmacist from Wisconsin
Charles Godfrey Gunther – Mayor of New York, 1864–1866
Paul Grottkau – socialist political activist and newspaper publisher
Chuck Hagel – U.S. senator and Secretary of Defense
Louis F. Haffen – two-time borough president for Bronx, New York, 1898–1909
John Paul Hammerschmidt – served for 13 terms in the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
William Havemeyer – mayor of New York City (1845–1846, 1848–1849, and 1873–1874)
John Hay – statesman and diplomat, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, served under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt
Max W. Heck – politician and jurist
Julius Heil – governor of Wisconsin, 1939–1943
H. Robert Heller – governor of the Federal Reserve System, 1986–1989 and president of Visa Inc.
Daniel Hiester (1747–1804) U.S. congressman
Gabriel Hiester (1749–1824) Pennsylvania political leader
Isaac Ellmaker Hiester (1824–1871) U.S. congressman
John Hiester (1745–1821) U.S. congressman
Joseph Hiester (1752–1832) U.S. congressman and governor of Pennsylvania
Daniel Hiester the younger (1774–1834) U.S. congressman
William Hiester (1790–1853) US congressman
William Muhlenberg Hiester – (1818–1878) political and military leader in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
H. John Heinz III – member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (1971–1977) and the United States Senate (1977–1991) and son of H. J. Heinz II (heir to the H. J. Heinz Company)
Gustav A. Hoff (1852–1930) – German-born American politician and businessman active in Arizona Territory
Herbert Hoover – 31st U.S. president
Franz Hübschmann – physician and political leader in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Darrell Issa – businessman and member of the United States House of Representatives from California
Vera Katz – 45th mayor of Portland, Oregon
Steve King – member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa
Henry Kissinger – former Secretary of State
John C. Koch – Republican politician who served two terms as mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Matt Koehl – leader of the American Nazi Party
Gustav Koerner – lieutenant governor of Illinois, 1853–1857, U.S. ambassador to Spain, and one of the original Dreissiger
Ferdinand Kuehn – Milwaukee politician
Louis Kuehnle – politician; considered a pioneer in the growing resort town of Atlantic City in the late 1880s
Richard Lugar – U.S. senator from Indiana
Oscar Marx – mayor of Detroit from 1913 to 1918
Christopher Gustavus Memminger – first Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury, 1861–1864
Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach – Prussian bureaucrat, later an American farmer, politician, and member of the Texas Senate
Frederick Muhlenberg – minister and politician who was the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Peter Muhlenberg – clergyman, soldier and politician of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Post-Revolutionary eras in Pennsylvania
Karl E. Mundt – U.S. senator and congressman
Paul Henry Nitze – Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
Barack Obama – 44th U.S. president
Sarah Palin – former governor of Alaska; Republican nominee for vice president in 2008
Ron Paul – former U.S. congressman from Texas
Henry Paulson – U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Tim Pawlenty – former governor of Minnesota
Reince Priebus – chairman of the Republican National Committee and previous chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin
William C. Rauschenberger – Republican politician who served as mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Luke Ravenstahl – Pittsburgh mayor
Denny Rehberg – lieutenant governor of Montana, 1991–1997 and U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district, 2001–2013
Jim Risch – former governor of Idaho
Joseph Ritner – eighth governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, elected as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party
Nelson Rockefeller – governor of New York and 41st vice president of the United States
Winthrop Rockefeller – politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction
William E. Rodriguez (1879–1970) – socialist politician and lawyer; first Hispanic elected to the Chicago City Council
Dana Rohrabacher – Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1989, currently representing California's 46th congressional district
Mitt Romney – United States senator from Utah since January 2019, 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election.
Theodore Roosevelt – 26th U.S. president
Donald Rumsfeld – former Secretary of Defense
Paul Ryan – former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
Edward Salomon – governor of Wisconsin during the Civil War
Edward S. Salomon – Union brigadier general in the Civil War, later became governor of Washington Territory and a California legislator
Harry Sauthoff – lawyer, Wisconsin State Senator, also served in the United States House of Representatives
Solomon Scheu – mayor of Buffalo, New York, in office 1878–1880
Gustav Schleicher – U.S. Representative from Texas, serving briefly in Texas legislature and veteran of the Confederate Army
Gustav A. Schneebeli – former member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Pennsylvania
Frederick A. Schroeder – industrialist and politician
Carl Schurz – statesman and reformer, and Union Army general in the American Civil War
Mark S. Schweiker – 44th governor of the Pennsylvania
Richard Schultz Schweiker – former U.S. congressman and senator representing the state of Pennsylvania, later the Secretary of Health and Human Services for Ronald Reagan
Brian Schweitzer – 23rd governor of Montana
Emil Seidel – mayor of Milwaukee, 1910–1912 and the vice presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America in the 1912 presidential election
Sargent Shriver – diplomat, politician
John Andrew Shulze – Pennsylvania political leader and 6th governor of Pennsylvania
August Siemering – writer, political leader and Forty-Eighter
Al Smith – governor of New York
Jackie Speier – member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 12th and 14th districts, serving since 2008
Harold Stassen 25th governor of Minnesota, 1939–1943
Edward Stettinius Jr. – U.S. Secretary of State 1944–1945
Donald Trump – 45th president
Jesse Ventura – former governor of Minnesota (1999–2003)
Paul Volcker – 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve, 1979–1987
Robert F. Wagner – U.S. senator from New York, 1927–1949
Emil Wallber – mayor of Milwaukee from 1884 to 1888, during the Great Labor Strike of 1886
Elizabeth Warren – U.S. senator from Massachusetts since 2013
Lowell P. Weicker Jr. – politician who has served as a U.S. representative, senator, and governor of Connecticut
Wendell Willkie – lawyer and the Republican nominee for the 1940 presidential election
Carl Zeidler – mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1940 to 1942
Frank Zeidler – mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960
Robert Zoellick – eleventh president of the World Bank, former United States Deputy Secretary of state and United States Trade Representative
Religious
Joseph Breuer – leader of the Orthodox Jewish community of Washington Heights, Manhattan; very well known for his involvement in setting up an Orthodox Jewish infrastructure in post-World War II America
Conrad Beissel – religious leader who in 1732 founded the Ephrata Community in Pennsylvania
Raymond Philip Etteldorf – Roman Catholic Archbishop and author
George J. Geis – Baptist missionary in Kachin State, Burma
Robert Graetz – Lutheran clergyman
Barbara Heck – 1768 – founder of the first Methodist church in New York
Joseph J. Himmel – Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus, missionary and retreat master, and president of Gonzaga College and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Samuel Hirsch – philosopher and rabbi
Johannes Kelpius – pietist, mystic, musician, and writer
Kathryn Kuhlman – 20th-century faith healer and Pentecostal arm of Protestant Christianity
Benjamin Kurtz – Lutheran pastor and theologian
Barbara Heinemann Landmann – spiritual leader of the Amana Colonies
Alexander Mack – Germantown, Pennsylvania New World religious leader
Christian Metz – inspirationalist
Albert Gregory Meyer – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago
Henry K. Moeller – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cincinnati
John Gottlieb Morris – Lutheran minister who played an influential role in the evolution of the Lutheran church in America
Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg – Lutheran clergyman
St. John Neumann – Bishop of Philadelphia (1852–60) and the first American bishop to be canonized
Reinhold Niebuhr – Protestant theologian best known for his work relating the Christian faith to the realities of modern politics and diplomacy
William Passavant – Lutheran minister noted for bringing the Lutheran Deaconess movement to the United States
George Rapp – founder of the religious sect called Harmonists, Harmonites, Rappites, or the Harmony Society
Augustus Rauschenbusch – clergyman
Walter Rauschenbusch – theologian and Baptist pastor who taught at the Rochester Theological Seminary
Joseph Cardinal Ritter – Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal of the Church, desegregated schools in his two archdioceses in the mid-1940s
George Erik Rupp – educator and theologian, the former President of Rice University and later of Columbia University, and president of the International Rescue Committee
Francis Xavier Seelos – Roman Catholic missionary priest beatified in 2000
Joseph Strub – founder of what is today Duquesne University, which was called the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost until 1911
Billy Sunday – evangelist
Paul Tillich – Protestant theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher
C. F. W. Walther – Lutheran clergyman, professor, seminary president, editor, and first president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf – founded the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where his daughter Benigna organized the school that would become Moravian College
Dieter F. Uchtdorf – apostle and current second counselor in the First Presidency within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Scientists and inventors
Howard H. Aiken – physicist and computing pioneer
David Alter – inventor, physicist and doctor
Reinhold Aman – chemical engineer and publisher of Maledicta
Rudolf Arnheim – author, art and film theorist, and perceptual psychologist; learned Gestalt psychology from studying under Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler at the University of Berlin and applied it to art
Walter Baade – astronomer
Earl W. Bascom – inventor of rodeo equipment
Max Bentele – pioneer in the field of jet aircraft turbines and mechanical engineering
Hans Albrecht Bethe – nuclear physicist who won a Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the nuclear energy sources of stars (1967)
Franz Boas – anthropologist and ethnologist best known for his work with the Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia, Canada
Karl Brandt – economist
Magnus von Braun – chemical engineer, Luftwaffe aviator, and rocket scientist at Peenemünde, the Mittelwerk, and after emigrating to the United States via Operation Paperclip, at Fort Bliss; brother of Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun – rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect
Hermann Collitz – eminent German historical linguist and Indo-Europeanist
Arthur Compton – physicist, discovered the Compton effect
Werner Dahm – NASA rocket scientist
Kurt H. Debus – rocket engineer and NASA director
Hans Georg Dehmelt – physicist
Max Delbrück – biophysicist
Krafft Arnold Ehricke – rocket-propulsion engineer
Ernst R. G. Eckert – scientist
Otto Eckstein – economist
Albert Einstein – theoretical physicist, philosopher and author
Douglas Engelbart – inventor, computer and Internet pioneer
George Engelmann – botanist
Katherine Esau – botanist
Paul Flory – Nobel Prize-winning chemist
James Franck – physicist
John Fritz – pioneer of iron and steel technology who has been referred to as the "Father of the U.S. Steel Industry"
John Froelich – invented the first successful gasoline-powered tractor with forward and reverse drive
Frieda Fromm-Reichmann – psychoanalyst, founded William Alanson White Institute
Herbert Spencer Gasser – Nobel Prize-winning physiologist
Ernst Geissler – NASA aerospace engineer
William Paul Gerhard – sanitary engineer
Edward Glaeser – economist and Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University
Heinrich Göbel – precision mechanic and inventor, who was long seen as an early pioneer who independently developed designs for an incandescent light bulb, though this claim is seen as unlikely today
Kurt Gödel – logician, mathematician, and philosopher
Maria Goeppert Mayer – Nobel Prize-winning physicist
Martin Gruebele – biophysicist and Computational biologist, currently associated with many departments at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Dietrich Gruen – timepiece or wristwatch maker; founded the Gruen Watch Company in Ohio
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht – literary theorist and professor at Stanford University
Walter Haeussermann – NASA rocket scientist
Hermann August Hagen – entomologist who specialised in Neuroptera and Odonata
Ewald Heer – aerospace engineer
Michael Heidelberger – regarded as the father of modern immunology
Philip Showalter Hench – Nobel Prize-winning physician, co-discovered Cortisone
Holger Henke – political scientist
Herman Hollerith – inventor of tabulating machines
Karen Horney – psychoanalyst
David H. Hubel – Nobel Prize-winning neurophysiologist
Heinrich Klüver – psychologist, largely credited with introducing Gestalt psychology to the United States in the early 20th century
Siegfried Knemeyer – aviation technologist, civilian employee and consultant with the United States Air Force for over twenty years
Donald Knuth – computer scientist
Wolfgang Köhler – psychologist
Christopher C. Kraft Jr. – aerospace engineer, instrumental in establishing NASA's Mission Control Center
Gene Kranz – aerospace engineer, flight director during Apollo 11 and Apollo 13
Willy Ley – science writer and space advocate who helped popularise rocketry and spaceflight
Friedrich List – economist and political theorist
Jacques Loeb – biologist, Nobel Prize candidate
Leo Loeb – biologist, pathologist
John Mearsheimer – political scientist and international relations scholar
Ottmar Mergenthaler – linotype inventor
George Mueller – electrical engineer, headed the Office of Manned Space Flight from September 1963 until December 1969
Hermann Joseph Muller – Nobel Prize-winning geneticist
Hugo Münsterberg – psychologist, pioneered applied psychology
Emmy Noether – mathematician
Robert Oppenheimer – physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, also known as "The Father of the Atomic Bomb"
Linus Carl Pauling – chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator
Jesco von Puttkamer – aerospace engineer, senior manager at NASA, and a pulp science fiction writer
Norman Ramsey Jr. – Nobel Prize-winning physicist
Eberhard Rees – rocketry pioneer, second director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Charles Francis Richter – seismologist, inventor of the Richter magnitude scale
David Rittenhouse – astronomer, inventor, and the first director of the United States Mint
Eileen Rockefeller – founder and former president of the Institute for the Advancement of Health
Gunther E. Rothenberg – military historian, professor at Purdue University and elsewhere
Frank Schlesinger – astronomer
Theodore Schultz – Nobel Prize-winning economist
Lewis David de Schweinitz – botanist and mycologist, "Father of American Mycology"
Frederick Seitz – physicist, co-inventor of the Wigner-Seitz unit cell, which is an important concept in solid state physics
Claude Shannon – mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist and cryptographer known as the "father of information theory"
Herbert A. Simon – political scientist
Charles Proteus Steinmetz – electrical engineer, fostered development of alternating current
Adam Steltzner – NASA engineer who works for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), flight projects including Galileo, Cassini, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers
Joseph Strauss – structural engineer and designer, chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge
Otto Stern – physicist and Nobel laureate, known for his studies of molecular beams
Ernst Stuhlinger – atomic, electrical, and rocket scientist
Henry Taube – Nobel Prize-winning chemist
Frederick Traugott Pursh – botanist
Harold Urey – physical chemist, discovered Deuterium
Willard Van Orman Quine – logician and philosopher
George Waldbott – physician, allergy and fluoride specialist
Hellmuth Walter – engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines
Kenneth Waltz – political scientist, outlined the theory of neorealism
Günter Wendt – mechanical engineer noted for his work in the U.S. human spaceflight program
Gustave Whitehead – aviation pioneer, built first motorized plane
Eckard Wimmer – virologist, Distinguished Professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Stony Brook University; known for the first chemical synthesis of a viral genome capable of infection and subsequent production of live viruses
Louis Wirth – sociologist
Caspar Wistar – physician and anatomist
Wright brothers – inventors of the airplane
Hans Zinsser – American bacteriologist, physician and author
Max August Zorn – algebraist, group theorist, and numerical analyst
Sports
Baseball professionals
Chris von der Ahe – owner of the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association, now the St. Louis Cardinals
Nick Altrock – professional baseball player and coach
Trevor Bauer – MLB pitcher
Chris Beck – Chicago White Sox pitcher
Heinz Becker – MLB first baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs (1943, 1945–46) and Cleveland Indians (1946–47)
Zinn Beck – MLB third baseman, shortstop and first baseman; minor league manager and baseball scout
Heinie Beckendorf – former MLB catcher
Joe Benz – former pitcher for the Chicago White Sox; threw a no-hitter
Lou Bierbauer – former MLB second baseman during the late 1880s and 1890s; credited with giving the Pittsburgh Pirates their name
Mike Blowers – former MLB third baseman and first baseman; current Seattle Mariners radio commentator
Brennan Boesch – MLBoutfielder
Ted Breitenstein – former MLB pitcher and part of the "Pretzel Battery" with Heinie Peitz
Clay Buchholz – MLB pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
Taylor Buchholz – MLB pitcher
Mark Buehrle – MLB pitcher
Fritz Buelow – former MLB
Jay Buhner – former MLB player
Madison Bumgarner – MLB pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
Roger Clemens – former MLB pitcher
Bill Dahlen – former MLB shortstop
Babe Danzig – MLB first baseman
Ross Detwiler – MLB pitcher
Mel Deutsch – former MLB pitcher
Bill Dietrich – MLB pitcher
Derek Dietrich – MLB 2nd baseman
Barney Dreyfuss – baseball executive
Ryne Duren – former relief pitcher in MLB
Justin Duchscherer – MLB pitcher
David Eckstein – MLB player and 2006 World Series MVP
Mose Eggert – second baseman in Major League Baseball
Hack Eibel – utility player in Major League Baseball
Jim Eisenreich – former MLB outfielder
Kid Elberfeld – "The Tabasco Kid", former shortstop in MLB
Jacoby Ellsbury – center fielder
Joe Engel – former left-handed pitcher and scout in MLB who spent nearly his entire career with the Washington Senators
Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch – center fielder for the Chicago White Sox, best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
David Freese – 2011 National League Championship Series MVP Award and the 2011 World Series MVP Award winner
Frank Frisch – former MLB player and manager
Bruce Froemming – MLB umpire, then special assistant to the vice president on umpiring
Gene Garber – former MLB player
Ron Gardenhire – former New York Mets player and current Minnesota Twins manager
Lou Gehrig – MLB player
Charlie Gehringer – MLB second baseman, played 19 seasons (1924–1942) for the Detroit Tigers
Charlie "Pretzels" Getzien – former MLB pitcher
Troy Glaus – former MLB third baseman
Paul Goldschmidt – MLB first baseman
Zack Greinke – MLB pitcher
Charlie Grimm – former MLB player
Justin Grimm – MLB relief pitcher
Heinie Groh – third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants
Harry Heilmann – Hall of Fame MLB player and World War I Veteran
Fred Heimach – former MLB pitcher and part of the "Murderers' Row" Yankee teams
Tommy Henrich – MLB player nicknamed "The Clutch" and "Old Reliable"
Tom Herr – former MLB second baseman
August Herrmann – MLB executive
Orel Hershiser – former MLB pitcher
Buck Herzog – MLB infielder and manager
Whitey Herzog – MLB outfielder, scout, coach, manager, general manager and farm system director
Shea Hillenbrand – baseball player
Dick Hoblitzel – MLB first baseman
Billy Hoeft – former MLB pitcher
Barbara Hoffman – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Glenn Hubbard – former Atlanta Braves and Oakland Athletics player and current Braves' coach
Carl Hubbell – MLB Hall of Fame screwball pitcher
John Hummel – former MLB utility player
Brock Huntzinger – MLB free agent
Jason Isringhausen – MLB relief pitcher
Edwin Jackson – MLB pitcher
Derek Jeter – former MLB shortstop, played 20 season
Jeff Karstens – MLB pitcher
Pop Kelchner – college professor who spoke seven languages; prolific MLB scout
Alex Kellner – MLB pitcher
Walt Kellner – MLB pitcher
Dean Kiekhefer – MLB relief pitcher
Chuck Klein – former MLB outfielder
Johnny Kling – former MLB catcher
Bob Knepper – former MLB all-star pitcher
Chuck Knoblauch – former MLB second baseman
Mark Koenig – former MLB shortstop for the New York Yankees, 1925–1936
Howie Koplitz – baseball player, pitcher for the 1961 Tigers and then the Senators until 1966
Rick Kranitz – MLB pitching coach
Gene Krapp – MLB pitcher
Erik Kratz – MLB catcher
Harvey Kuenn – player, coach and manager in MLB
Randy Keisler – former MLB pitcher
Dallas Keuchel – MLB pitcher
Bowie Kuhn – former commissioner of MLB
Kenesaw Mountain Landis – while serving as a Federal judge, Landis, an ardent baseball fan, was selected as chairman of a new National Commission of baseball
Charley Lau – American League catcher and hitting coach, authored How to Hit .300
Charlie Leibrandt – former MLB pitcher
Craig Lefferts – former MLB pitcher
Jon Lieber – MLB pitcher
Jesse Litsch – MLB pitcher
Hans Lobert – infielder, coach, manager and scout in MLB
Kyle Lohse – MLB pitcher
Chuck Machemehl – former Cleveland Indians pitcher
Heinie Manush – Hall of Fame left-fielder in MLB
Nick Markakis – outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles
Erskine Mayer – MLB pitcher
Heinie Meine – sometimes "Heinie" Meine, professional baseball player
Fred Merkle – first baseman in Major League Baseball, 1907–1926
Bob Meusel – former MLB shortstop
Emil Meusel – former MLB outfielder
Bill Mueller – retired MLB third baseman
Freddie Muller – infielder in Major League Baseball
Les Mueller – former MLB pitcher
Walter Mueller – former professional baseball player who played outfield in MLB 1922–1926
Fritz Mollwitz – born in Germany, former Major League Baseball first baseman
Chris Nabholz – former starting pitcher in MLB
Jeff Niemann – pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays
Brett Oberholtzer – MLB pitcher
Ross Ohlendorf – MLB pitcher
Daniel Ortmeier – MLB pitcher
Fritz Ostermueller – pitcher in MLB 1934–1948
Barney Pelty – MLB pitcher
Heinie Peitz – former MLB catcher and part of the "Pretzel Battery" with Ted Breitenstein
Dick Radatz – "The Monster" or "Moose", relief pitcher in MLB
Rick Reuschel – former MLB pitcher
Rick Rhoden – former Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher and current golf professional
John Rocker – former MLB reliever and controversial figure
Oscar Roettger – first baseman and right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball
Wally Roettger – outfielder in Major League Baseball
Trevor Rosenthal – MLB Pitcher
Babe Ruth – MLB player 1914–1935
Adley Rutschman – catcher for the Oregon State Beavers, seen as a top prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft
Germany Schaefer – former second baseman in MLB who played fifteen seasons
Jordan Schafer – MLB player
Ray Schalk – MLB catcher
Bobby Shantz – MLB pitcher
Scott Schebler – outfielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization
Bob Scheffing – baseball player, coach, manager and front-office executive
Carl Scheib – right-handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball
Max Scherzer – MLB pitcher
Curt Schilling – MLB pitcher
Ryan Schimpf – former LSU Tigers baseball and MLB infielder
Gus Schmelz – MLB manager
Jason Schmidt – MLB baseball pitcher
Mike Schmidt – former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman and Hall of Famer
Frank Schneiberg – pitcher in Major League Baseball
Brian Schneider – MLB catcher
Red Schoendienst – former player, coach and manager in MLB
Scott Schoeneweis – MLB relief pitcher
Marge Schott – managing general partner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise, 1984–1999
Paul Schrieber – MLB umpire
Al Schroll – MLB baseball pitcher
Heinie Schuble – former MLB infielder
John Schuerholz – general manager of the Atlanta Braves
Frank Schulte – right fielder in Major League Baseball
Joe Schultz – catcher, coach and manager in MLB
Joe Schultz Sr. – Joe "Germany" Schultz, outfielder and farm system director in MLB and a manager in minor league baseball
Skip Schumaker – outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals
Ralph Schwamb – St. Louis Browns pitcher and convicted murderer
Kyle Schwarber – MLB catcher
Bob Shawkey – baseball pitcher who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball
J. B. Shuck – outfielder for the Chicago White Sox
John Smoltz – pitcher for the Atlanta Braves
Travis Snider – outfielder in MLB
Warren Spahn – Hall of Fame pitcher in MLB
Justin Speier – relief pitcher
Rusty Staub – MLB player for 23 seasons (1963–1985)
Terry Steinbach – former catcher in MLB
Hank Steinbrenner – art-owner and Senior Vice President of the New York Yankees, along with his brother Hal Steinbrenner
Harry Steinfeldt – MLB utility infielder
Casey Stengel – MLB player and manager, early 1910s–1960s
Stephen Strasburg – MLB pitcher
Gus Suhr – Major League Baseball first baseman
Bruce Sutter – Hall of Fame right-handed relief pitcher in MLB
Nick Swisher – infielder in MLB
Duke Snider – Hall of Fame MLB center fielder
Jake Thielman – MLB pitcher
Jack Thoney – reserve outfielder / infielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1902 through 1911
Peter Ueberroth – executive, served as commissioner of MLB, 1984–1989
Bob Uecker – former MLB player and award-winning sportscaster, comedian, and actor
Jim Umbricht – former MLB pitcher
Frank Viola – former starting pitcher in MLB
Chris von der Ahe – entrepreneur and owner of the St. Louis Browns of the National League, now known as the Cardinals
Fritz Von Kolnitz – MLB third baseman
Doug Waechter – MLB pitcher, currently a free agent
Billy Wagner – MLB closer
Heinie Wagner – former MLB shortstop for the New York Giants and the Boston Red Sox
Honus Wagner – former Pittsburgh Pirate Hall of Fame shortstop, manager and hitting instructor
Bill Wambsganss – second baseman in MLB
Duke Welker – MLB pitcher
Jayson Werth – MLB outfielder
Vic Wertz – former MLB first baseman and outfielder
Hoyt Wilhelm – Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher in MLB
Nick Wittgren – pitcher with the Miami Marlins
Shawn Wooten – former MLB player
Michael Wuertz – MLB pitcher
Christian Yelich – MLB outfielder, great-grandson of Fred Gehrke
Ryan Zimmerman – MLB player
Jordan Zimmermann – MLB pitcher
Ben Zobrist – MLB second baseman
Bill Zuber – MLB pitcher, 1936–1947
Basketball
Uwe Blab – former NBA center
Buddy Boeheim – Syracuse University guard
Jim Boeheim – Syracuse University NCAA basketball coach
Carlos Boozer – professional basketball player born in West Germany in a U.S. Army base
Shawn Bradley – former center in the NBA and for the Germany national basketball team
Carl Braun – professional basketball player and coach
Christian Braun – former Kansas Jayhawks Basketball player and current NBA player
Jon Brockman – professional basketball player
Jud Buechler – former guard/forward with the NBA Chicago Bulls
Jon Diebler – professional basketball player
Demond Greene – professional basketball player for the Germany national team
Isaiah Hartenstein – NBA Power Forward / Center
Tom Heinsohn – professional basketball player and color commentator
Fred Hetzel – retired NBA basketball player
Kirk Hinrich – NBA guard for the Chicago Bulls
Phil Jackson – New York Knicks team president, former NBA player and coach; Jackson's mother was part of a German Mennonite family
Chris Kaman – center for the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA and for the Germany national basketball team (dual citizen of the United States and of Germany)
Lon Kruger – professional and college basketball coach
Jon Leuer – professional basketball player
Rebecca Lobo – television basketball analyst and a former player in the professional Women's National Basketball Association
Drew Neitzel – All-American NCAA basketball player
Jeff Neubauer – Western Kentucky University NCAA basketball coach
Johnny Neumann – professional basketball player and coach
Dirk Nowitzki – German player for Dallas Mavericks in NBA who applied for U.S. citizenship in 2011
Greg Ostertag – NBA center
Steve Prohm – college basketball coach
Anthony Randolph – professional basketball player born in West Germany in a U.S. Army base
Adolph Rupp – college basketball coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member
Fred Schaus – basketball player, head coach and athletic director
Detlef Schrempf – former NBA All-Star forward
Akeem Vargas – professional basketball player for the Germany national team
Jeff Walz – head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of Louisville
American Football
John Alt – former offensive tackle in the NFL
Jay Berwanger – the first recipient (1935) of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, renamed in 1936 as the Heisman Memorial Trophy
Kroy Biermann – NFL defensive end
Tom Brady – quarterback, one of only two players to win five Super Bowls
Dave Butz – NFL defensive lineman, selected to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Amon-Ra St. Brown – wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft
Equanimeous St. Brown – wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft
Gunther Cunningham – American football head coach
Fritz Crisler – NCAA football coach
David Diehl – football player and NFL offensive lineman
Dan Dierdorf – former NFL football player and current television sportscaster
Conrad Dobler – former offensive lineman
Chris Doering – former college and professional football player; wide receiver in the NFL
Dave Duerson – safety in the NFL, two-time Super Bowl Champion
Zach Ertz – tight end in the NFL
Kirk Ferentz – head coach of University of Iowa Hawkeyes football
Fred Gehrke – NFL halfback / defensive back and executive; great-grandfather of Milwaukee Brewers left fielder, Christian Yelich
Jared Goff – quarterback
Bob Griese – Hall of Fame quarterback
Al Groh – NCCA Virginia football head coach and former NFL coach
Hinkey Haines – NFL player and MLB player
Don Hasselbeck – NFL
Matt Hasselbeck – NFL football player
Tim Hasselbeck analyst and former professional quarterback
Keith Heinrich – NFL tight end
John Heisman – football player, coach, and namesake of the Heisman Trophy
Kirk Herbstreit – former Ohio State University quarterback and analyst for ESPN's College GameDay
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch – running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style
Domenik Hixon – NFL wide receiver
Jeff Hostetler – former NFL quarterback
Harvey Jablonsky – football player and U.S. Army Veteran who was a 'highly decorated veteran' of both World War II and later in his career the Vietnam War, elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978
Brett Keisel – defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Don Klosterman – quarterback
Jonathan Klinsmann – son of Jürgen Klinsmann, goalkeeper for LA Galaxy
Dan Kreider – fullback in the NFL
Dave Krieg – former NFL Seattle Seahawks quarterback
Clint Kriewaldt – linebacker in the NFL
Luke Kuechly – linebacker in the National Football League
John Kuhn – fullback, currently playing for the Green Bay Packers
Kory Lichtensteiger – NFL center
Lex Luger – former football player and professional wrestler
Todd Marinovich – former NFL American and Canadian football quarterback
Zach Mettenberger – LSU and NFL quarterback
Christian Mohr – NFL defensive end
Nesser brothers – group of football playing brothers who helped make up the most famous football family in the United States, 1907–mid-1920s
John Nesser: born April 25, 1875, in Triere, Germany, and died August 1, 1931, in Columubus, Ohio
John Peter Nesser: born October 22, 1877, in Triere, Germany, and died May 29, 1954, in Columbus, Ohio
Philipp Gregory Nesser: born December 10, 1880, in Triere, Germany, and died May 9, 1959, in Columbus, Ohio
Theodore H. (Ted) Nesser: born April 8, 1883, in Dennison, Ohio, and died June 7, 1941, in Columbus, Ohio
Frederick William Nesser: born September 10, 1887, in Columbus, Ohio, and died July 2, 1967, in Columbus, Ohio
Francis Raymond (Frank) Nesser: born June 3, 1889, in Columbus, Ohio, and died January 1, 1953, in Columbus, Ohio
Alfred Louis Nesser: born June 6, 1893, in Columbus, Ohio, and died March 11, 1967, in Columbus, Ohio
Raymond Joseph Nesser: born March 22, 1898, in Columbus, Ohio, and died September 2, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio
Rick Neuheisel – football coach
Ray Nitschke – Hall of Fame football player
Brock Osweiler – NFL quarterback
Tyler Ott – long snapper
Jim Otto – former Oakland Raider offensive lineman
Robin Pflugrad – college football coach
Ricky Proehl – former NFL wide receiver, two-time Super Bowl Champion
George Ratterman – former player in the All-America Football Conference and the NFL
Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback of Swiss-German descent, two-time Super Bowl Champion
Rudy Ruettiger – former player at Holy Cross College (1972–1974) and Notre Dame
George Sauer – former American football player, coach, college sports administrator, and professional football executive
George Sauer Jr. – wide receiver who played six seasons for the American Football League's New York Jets
Matt Schaub – NFL quarterback
Bo Schembechler – former NCAA football coach at the University of Michigan
Anthony Schlegel – former linebacker
Cory Schlesinger – NFL fullback
Blake Schlueter – former American football and NCAA TCU center
Francis Schmidt – college football coach inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
Joe Schmidt – former 1950s NFL football player and coach
Owen Schmitt – NFL fullback
John Schneider – professional American football player in the Ohio League and the early National Football League for the Columbus Panhandles
John Schneider – professional American football executive
Joe Schobert – linebacker
Turk Schonert – former NFL quarterback
Jay Schroeder – former professional quarterback in the NFL
Geoff Schwartz – NFL offensive lineman
Mitchell Schwartz – NFL offensive tackle
Jim Schwartz – NFL head coach
Stephen Spach – NFL tight end
Matt Spaeth – tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Roger Staubach – Heisman Trophy winner and Hall of Fame quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys
Eric Steinbach – NFL offensive lineman
Zach Strief – NFL offensive lineman
Harry Stuhldreher – football player, coach, and college athletics administrator
Zach Sudfeld – NFL tight end
Nate Sudfeld – quarterback
Mike Tannenbaum – professional football executive, who is currently the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins and former general manager for the New York Jets
Jim Tressel – college head football coach
Brian Urlacher – Pro Bowl linebacker for the Chicago Bears
Sebastian Vollmer – NFL offensive Lineman
Kimo von Oelhoffen – NFL linebacker
Uwe von Schamann – former NFL kicker
Mike Wagner – safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, 1971–1980; member of the famed Steel Curtain defense; played in two Pro Bowls
Charlie Weis – NFL football coach
Wes Welker – NFL wide receiver, punt returner, and kick returner
Carson Wentz – football quarterback for the North Dakota State Bison
Björn Werner – NFL linebacker
Matt Wilhelm – NFL linebacker
Danny Wuerffel – former NFL quarterback and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner
Zach Zenner – NFL running back
Jim Zorn – Seattle Seahawks quarterback
Golf
Jason Dufner – professional golfer and 2013 PGA Championship winner
Walter Hagen – golf legend
Jack Nicklaus – professional golfer; won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 24 years
Jordan Spieth – professional golfer, 2015 Masters Tournament winner with a score of 18 under par
Tom Weiskopf – professional golfer
Ice hockey
David Backes – professional NHL hockey player
Mathew Dumba – professional NHL hockey player
Christian Ehrhoff – professional NHL hockey player
Jack Eichel – professional NHL hockey player
Gabe Guentzel – professional ice hockey player
Jake Guentzel – professional NHL hockey player
Chris Kreider – hockey player
Cody Lampl – professional ice hockey player
Jamie Langenbrunner – NHL and U.S. Olympic hockey player
Peter Mueller – professional NHL hockey player
Jed Ortmeyer – professional hockey player
Rob Schremp – professional hockey player
Jordan Schroeder – ice hockey player
Dennis Seidenberg – professional NHL hockey player
Tim Schaller – professional NHL hockey player
R. J. Umberger – professional NHL hockey player
Soccer
Walter Bahr – long-time captain of the U.S. national team, played in the 1950 FIFA World Cup when the U.S. defeated England 1–0
Nicole Barnhart – Olympic medalist and professional soccer player
Kyle Beckerman – midfielder
Justin Braun – forward for Chivas USA
Eric Brunner – soccer player who currently plays for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer
Rachel Buehler – Olympic medalist and professional soccer player
Timothy Chandler – right back for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga
Jimmy Conrad – center back
Dietrich Albrecht – U.S. national team
Thomas Dooley – long-time member and former captain of the United States national team
Greg Eckhardt – American soccer player in Finland
Whitney Engen – professional soccer player
Brad Friedel – U.S. National Team, Premier League goalkeeper for Aston Villa
Julian Green – professional soccer player
Marcus Hahnemann – soccer goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team and Wovlerhampton Wanderers in the Premier League
Aaron Hohlbein – soccer player who currently plays for Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the North American Soccer League
David Horst – soccer player currently playing for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer
Kasey Keller – goalkeeper
Jerome Kiesewetter – forward currently playing for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in Germany
Meghan Klingenberg – professional soccer player
Jonathan Klinsmann – son of Jürgen Klinsmann, player for LA Galaxy
Jürgen Klinsmann – professional football manager notably, Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the United States national team and former player, a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Ali Krieger – professional soccer player
Fabian Johnson – professional soccer player for the U.S. national team; born and raised in Berlin
Steven Lenhart – soccer player for the Columbus Crew
Joanna Lohman – professional soccer player
Justin Butler - Professional soccer player who plays for Borussia dortmund II
Fred Lutkefedder – member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1936 Summer Olympics and Philadelphia German-Americans of the American Soccer League
Chris Rolfe – American soccer player playing in Denmark
Sigi Schmid – Major League Soccer manager
Chris Seitz – goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union
Jonathan Spector – soccer (football) player for the U.S. National Team and West Ham United in the Premier League
Seth Stammler – plays for the New York Red Bulls
Zack Steffen – goalkeeper for Manchester City
Taylor Twellman – retired professional soccer player
Abby Wambach – Olympic medalist and professional soccer player
Andrew Wiedeman – currently plays for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer
Josh Wolff – forward, currently a free agent
Gotoku Sakai
Tennis
Bob Falkenburg – tennis player and 1948 Wimbledon Champion
Liezel Huber – professional tennis player
Sam Warburg – tennis player
John Whitlinger – former professional tennis player
Tami Whitlinger – former professional tennis player
Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Wrestling
Max Baer – boxer, heavyweight boxing champion of the world
Shayna Baszler – professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, her father is of German descent
Mac Danzig – professional mixed martial arts fighter and instructor, and is a former lightweight champion for the King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge mixed martial arts organizations
Ted DiBiase – former professional wrestler
Ted DiBiase Jr. – former professional wrestler
Harry Greb – professional boxer, nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he was the American Light Heavyweight Champion, 1922–1923 and World Middleweight Champion, 1923–1926
April Hunter – professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and fitness and glamour model
Maven Huffman - professional wrestler
Nia Jax – professional wrestler
Brock Lesnar – professional wrestler and MMA fighter
Mercedes Varnado – professional wrestler known in the WWE as "Sasha Banks" and formerly known as "Mercedes KV"
David Schultz – retired professional wrestler, known by his ring name "Dr. D"
Ryan Schultz – professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, currently fighting for the Portland Wolfpack of the International Fight League
Chael Sonnen – professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, politician and actor
Gus Sonnenberg – professional wrestler and boxer
Seth Rollins – professional wrestler of Armenian, German & Irish descent
Jon Heidenreich – former professional wrestler and former football player
Katarina Waters – professional wrestler
Other sports
Lisa Aukland – professional bodybuilder and powerlifter
Earl W. Bascom – professional rodeo cowboy, inductee in several rodeo halls of fame
Tony Bettenhausen and his race-driving sons Gary, Tony Jr., and Merle; Tony was at times nicknamed "Der Panzer" due to his ancestry and driving style
Jana Bieger – two-time World Champion artistic gymnast
Gretchen Bleiler – professional halfpipe snowboarder and pioneer
Greg Bretz – Olympic snowboarder
George Brosius – gymnastics teacher associated from 1854 to 1915 with the Milwaukee Turnverein, he served in the Union Army from 1861 to 1864
Dale Earnhardt – race car driver in NASCAR's top division
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author analyst for NASCAR on NBC
Gertrude Ederle – Olympic Gold Medal winner and first woman to swim the English Channel
George Eyser – gymnast who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics with a wooden leg
Bobby Fischer – chess grandmaster and World Chess Champion between 1972 and 1975
Christopher Fogt – Army captain who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi as a member of the famed Team Night Train
Gretchen Fraser – alpine ski racer; first American to win an Olympic gold medal for skiing
Archie Hahn – sprinter in the early 20th century
Hans Halberstadt – Olympic fencer
J. R. Hildebrand – Formula One and IndyCar Series race car driver
Margaret Hoelzer – Olympic swimmer
Katie Hoff – Olympic medal-winning swimmer
Mark Geiger – soccer referee in Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada, as well as CONCACAF and the World Cup
Harry Greb – professional boxer, nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he was the American Light Heavyweight Champion, 1922–1923 and World Middleweight Champion, 1923–1926
Kasey Kahne – dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver
Evel Knievel – motorcycle daredevil
Henry Laskau – racewalker
Helene Mayer – Olympic champion fencer
Kimmie Meissner – U.S. national champion figure skater
Josef Newgarden – IndyCar Series driver, driving the 21 car for Ed Carpenter Racing
Jordan Niebrugge – amateur golfer currently playing collegiate golf at Oklahoma State University
Robert Oberst – professional strongman
Michael Phelps – swimmer; has won 16 Olympic medals
Craig Sager – sports journalist for TBS and TNT
Allison Schmitt – swimmer
Lacy Schnoor – Olympic skier
Mark Spitz – swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
Sara Studebaker – biathlete who has competed on the World Cup circuit
Dana Vollmer – swimmer and Olympic gold medalist
Lindsey Vonn – alpine skier
Thomas Vonn – alpine skier
Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone (1913–1996) – perhaps the best known pool player in the United States
Dick Weber – bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), father of Pete Weber
Pete Weber – bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour
Richard Weiss – slalom canoer
Johnny Weissmuller – swimmer, Olympic gold medalist
Rasa von Werder – bodybuilder
Waldemar von Zedtwitz – German-born American bridge player and administrator
Other
Nicole Brown Simpson - murder victim and ex-wife of former football player O. J. Simpson
See also
German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA
German Americans in the American Civil War
German Canadians
List of Amish and their descendants
List of Germans
List of German Texans
List of German inventors and discoverers
References
Bibliography
Wright, Russell (July 1982). Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form: Brice B. Brewer, Sr. House (PDF) (Report). Maryland Historical Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019.