# List of Heidelberg University people

Alumni and faculty of the university include many founders and pioneers of academic disciplines, and a large number of internationally acclaimed philosophers, poets, jurisprudents, theologians, natural and social scientists. 56 Nobel Laureates, at least 18 Leibniz Laureates, and two "Oscar" winners have been associated with Heidelberg University. Nine Nobel Laureates received the award during their tenure at Heidelberg.
Besides several Federal Ministers of Germany and Prime Ministers of German States, five Chancellors of Germany have attended the university, the latest being Helmut Kohl, the "Chancellor of the Reunification". Heads of State or Government of Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Nicaragua, Serbia, Thailand, a British Crown Prince, a Secretary General of NATO and a director of the International Peace Bureau have also been educated at Heidelberg; among them Nobel Peace Laureates Charles Albert Gobat and Auguste Beernaert. Former university affiliates in the field of religion include Pope Pius II, Cardinals, Bishops, and with Philipp Melanchthon and Zacharias Ursinus two key leaders of Protestant Reformation. Outstanding university affiliates in the legal profession include a President of the International Court of Justice, two Presidents of the European Court of Human Rights, a President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a Vice President of the International Criminal Court, an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, at least 16 Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, a President of the Federal Court of Justice, a President of the Federal Court of Finance, a President of the Federal Labor Court, two Attorney Generals of Germany, and a British Law Lord. In business, Heidelberg alumni and faculty notably founded, co-founded or presided over ABB Group; Astor corporate enterprises; BASF; BDA; Daimler AG; Deutsche Bank; EADS; Krupp AG; Siemens AG; and Thyssen AG.
Alumni in the field of arts include classical composer Robert Schumann, philosophers Ludwig Feuerbach and Edmund Montgomery, poet Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff and writers Christian Friedrich Hebbel, Gottfried Keller, Irene Frisch, Heinrich Hoffmann, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, José Rizal, W. Somerset Maugham, Jean Paul, and Literature Nobel Laureate Carl Spitteler. Amongst Heidelberg alumni in other disciplines are the "Father of Psychology" Wilhelm Wundt, the "Father of Physical Chemistry" J. Willard Gibbs, the "Father of American Anthropology" Franz Boas, Dmitri Mendeleev, who created the periodic table of elements, inventor of the two-wheeler principle Karl Drais, Alfred Wegener, who discovered the continental drift, as well as political theorist Hannah Arendt, political scientist Carl Joachim Friedrich, and sociologists Karl Mannheim, Robert E. Park and Talcott Parsons.
Philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Karl Jaspers, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Jürgen Habermas served as university professors, as did also the pioneering scientists Hermann von Helmholtz, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, Emil Kraepelin, the founder of scientific psychiatry, and outstanding social scientists such as Max Weber, the founding father of modern sociology. Present faculty include Medicine Nobel Laureates Bert Sakmann (1991) and Harald zur Hausen (2008), Chemistry Nobel Laureate Stefan Hell (2014), 7 Leibniz Laureates, former Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany Paul Kirchhof, and Rüdiger Wolfrum, the former President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

## Alumni

| Name | Affiliation | Years at Heidelberg | Importance / Notes |
| Herbert Baxter Adams (1850–1901) | Historian | ~around 1872–1876 | Founder of the American Historical Association. Established one of the first history Ph.D. programs to follow the new German seminary method at Johns Hopkins University around 1880. |
| Felix Adler (1851–1933) | Educator | 1870–1874 | Founder of the Ethical Culture Movement in 1876. |
| Louis Agassiz (1807–1873) | Paleontologist | ~around 1824–1829 | First to publish the Ice Age Hypothesis in 1840. |
| Christoph Ahlhaus (1990–) | Politician | 1990–1993 | Mayor and Prime Minister of Hamburg |
| Edward Andrade (1887–1971) | Physicist | 1911–1913 | Worked with Ernest Rutherford to show the wave nature of gamma rays in 1914. |
| Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) | Political theorist | 1926–1928 | Author of The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition; reported on the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem. |
| Friedrich Arnold (1803–1890) | Anatomist | ?–1825 | Privy councillor; described the reflex of coughing when the ear is stimulated; the auricular branch of the vagus nerve was nicknamed "Arnold's nerve" |
| William Backhouse Astor, Sr. (1850–1901) | Financier | | Head of the Astor corporate enterprises; nicknamed "the Landlord of New York" |
| Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden (1857–1928) | Statesman | ? | Head of State of the Grand Duchy of Baden; General Field Marshal of the German Imperial Army |
| Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867–1929) | Statesman | ? | Last Chancellor of the German Empire |
| Adolf von Baeyer (1835–1917) | Chemist | ~around 1852–1858 | Synthesized indigo; discovered the phthalein dyes; proposed the correct formula for indole; introduced the strain theory in triple bonds and carbon rings. Chemistry Nobel laureate |
| Matthias Basedau (1968- ) | German political scientist | ~around 1995-2001 | director of the GIGA Institute for African Studies |
| George Bancroft (1800–1891) | Statesman and historian | ~around 1813–1822 | U.S. Secretary of the Navy; established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1845; Author of "History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent" |
| Auguste Beernaert (1829–1912) | Statesman | ~around 1850–1853 | Prime Minister of Belgium and Nobel Peace Laureate |
| Rudolf Bernhardt (1925–) | Jurisprudent | 1956–1962 | President of the European Court of Human Rights |
| Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782) | Mathematician | 1718–1719 | Developed the Bernoulli's principle and together with Leonhard Euler the Euler–Bernoulli beam equation. |
| Manfred Bischoff (1942–) | Executive | | Chairman of EADS; Chairman of DaimlerChrysler |
| Franz Boas (1858–1942) | Anthropologist | April–September 1877 | Started applying the scientific method to the study of human cultures and societies; "Father of American Anthropology" |
| Edgar Bodenheimer (1908–1991) | Jurisprudent | ? | Author of "Jurisprudence: The Philosophy and Method of the Law", "Treatise on Justice", "Philosophy of Responsibility" |
| Max Born (1882–1970) | Physicist | ? | Formulated the matrix mechanics representation of quantum mechanics in collaboration with Werner Heisenberg; Physics Nobel laureate |
| Huberta von Bronsart (1892–1978) | Biologist | ? | |
| Andreas von Bülow (1937–) | Statesman | ? | Federal Minister of Education and Research |
| Reinhard Bütikofer (1953–) | Statesman | ? | Chairman of the Green Party of Germany |
| George C. Butte (1877–1940) | Jurist | 1913 (Jurisprudence) | Republican gubernatorial nominee in Texas, 1924; member of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands, 1932–1936 |
| Moritz Cantor (1829–1920) | Mathematician | 1848–? | Founded the history of mathematics as a scientific discipline |
| Conrad Celtes (1459–1508) | Humanist scholar | 1484–1485 | First to teach human history as a whole; discovered the Tabula Peutingeriana |
| Rangsit, Prince of Chainat (1885–1951) | Statesman | ? | Prince regent of Thailand |
| John W. Chanler (1826–1877) | Lawyer | ? | Top lawyer; U.S. Representative from New York; member of the Astor family |
| Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892) | Royalty | 1884 | Crown Prince of Britain |
| John Amos Comenius (1592–1670) | Theologian | ? | Bishop of Lissa; author of Didactica Magna; became the symbol of the Czech nation |
| Wilhelm Cuno (1876–1933) | Statesman | ? | Chancellor of the German Weimar Republic |
| Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) | Theologian and polymath | ? | Roman Catholic Cardinal |
| Karl Drais (1785–1851) | Inventor | 1803–1805 | Inventor of the two-wheeler principle that started mechanized transport |
| Johann Eck (1486–1543) | Theologian | 1498–1501 | Martin Luther's Catholic opponent during Protestant Reformation; Papal legate and Inquisitor |
| Norbert Elias (1897–1990) | Sociologist | ~around 1917–1920 | Founder of figurational sociology; author of The Civilizing Process |
| Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788–1857) | Poet | 1807–1808 | Author of Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts, "Die Zauberei im Herbst", "Ahnung und Gegenwart", "Auch ich war in Arkadien" |
| Richard T. Ely (1854–1943) | Economist | ? | Co-founder and president of the American Economic Association; editor of Macmillan's Citizen's Library of Economics, Politics, and Sociology; Professor at Johns Hopkins University and University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872) | Philosopher | ? | Author of The Essence of Christianity |
| Carl-August Fleischhauer (1930–2005) | Jurist | -1954 | Judge in the International Court of Justice |
| James Franck (1882–1964) | Physicist | ? | Invented the Franck–Hertz experiment; confirmed the Bohr model of the atom; Physics Nobel laureate |
| Sebastian Franck (1499–1542) | Theologian | ? | Author of "Weltbuch", "Chronicle of Germany", "Universal Chronicle of the World's History from the Earliest Times to the Present", "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil", "The Vanity of Arts and Sciences" |
| Wilhelm Frick (1877–1946) | Nazi government | ?–1901 | Minister of the Interior of the Third Reich, executed for war crimes |
| Carl Joachim Friedrich (1901–1984) | Political scientist | ?–1925 | Developed the concept of a "good democracy"; laid out a theoretical framework for the European Union; co-author of "Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy" with Zbigniew Brzezinski, author of "Man and His Government: An Empirical Theory of Politics"; Professor at Harvard University |
| Erich Fromm (1900–1980) | Psychologist | ?–1922 | Co-founder of political psychology; author of The Art of Loving, Escape from Freedom; co-founder of The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy |
| Lazarus Immanuel Fuchs (1833–1902) | Mathematician | ? | Developed the Fuchsian groups and functions, the Picard–Fuchs equation and the Fuchsian differential equations |
| Rüdiger Hell (1959–) | Biologist | 2003- | |
| Otto von Gerlach (1801–1849) | Theologian | ? | Published a major rewrite of the Old and New Testament after Martin Luther; Dome Minister and Konsistorialrat |
| Georg Gottfried Gervinus (1805–1871) | Political historian | 1826–1828 | Advocate of democracy before and during the 1848 revolution; member of the Göttingen Seven; member of the 1848 Frankfurt Parliament; |
| Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu (1916–1992) | Writer | ? | Author of "The 25th Hour", "Les inconnus de Heidelberg", "Dieu a Paris", "Le peuple des immortels", "Calligraphies sur la Neige" |
| J. Willard Gibbs (1839–1903) | Physicist, chemist and mathematician | 1868 | Pioneer of chemical thermodynamics and physical chemistry; inventor of vector analysis; member of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans |
| Albert Gobat (1843–1914) | Statesman | ?–1867 | Director of the International Peace Bureau; Member of the Swiss National Council; Nobel Peace laureate |
| Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945) | Nazi government | ?–1921 | Minister of Public Enlightenment of the Third Reich; succeeded Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Nazi Germany |
| Franciscus Gomarus (1563–1641) | Theologian | ?–1591 | Founder of the Gomarist movement; leader of the 1618 Synod of Dordrecht |
| Constantine I of Greece (1868–1920) | Statesman | ? | King of Greece |
| August Grisebach (1814–1879) | Botanist | ? | Founded biogeography as a scientific discipline; author of "The Earth's vegetation after its climatic arrangement" and "Catalogus plantarum cubensium" |
| Friedrich Gundolf (1880–1931) | Writer | ? | Co-founder of the Georgekreis; author of "Die deutsche Literärgeschicht, Reimweis kurz fasslich hergericht´", "Andreas Gryphius", "Shakespeare", "Paracelsus", "Romantiker"; also Professor at Heidelberg from 1916 onwards. |
| Fritz Haber (1868–1934) | Chemist | 1886–1891 | Developed synthetic ammonia; developed and deployed chlorine and other poison gases; "father of chemical warfare"; Chemistry Nobel laureate |
| Gunther von Hagens (1945–) | Artist and physician | ?–1975 | Inventor the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination; initiator of the Body Worlds exhibition of human bodies and body parts. |
| Theodor W. Hänsch (1941–) | Physicist | ? | Developed an optical "frequency comb synthesiser", which makes it possible, for the first time, to measure with extreme precision the number of light oscillations per second; Physics Nobel laureate |
| James Hannen, Baron Hannen (1821–1849) | Justice | ? | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary; Life peer |
| Monika Harms (1946–) | Jurisprudent | 1966–1967 | Attorney General of Germany |
| Franz-Ulrich Hartl (1957–) | Biochemist | ? | Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry; Wiley Prize laureate in Biomedical Science "for his significant contribution in protein folding"; Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award laureate "for distinguished work in basic medical science" |
| Christian Friedrich Hebbel (1813–1863) | Writer | ? | Author of "Maria Magdalene", "Judith", "Genoveva", "Herodes and Mariamne", and of the trilogy "Die Nibelungen " |
| Rudolf Heinze (1865–1928) | Statesman | ? | Vice-Chancellor of Germany; German Ministry of Justice (Weimar Republic) |
| Barnabas Kelet Henagan (1798–1855) | Statesman | ? | Governor of South Carolina |
| Heinrich Hoffmann (1885–1957) | Writer | 1829–1832 | Author of children's books including "Der Struwwelpeter" |
| Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901) | Statesman | | Chancellor of the German Empire |
| Charles Henry Huberich (1877–1945) | Jurisprudent | (?–?) | Dean of Stanford Law School |
| Heinrich Hübsch (1795–1863) | Architect | 1813–1815 | Designer of the University of Karlsruhe main building, State Art Gallery Karlsruhe, Baden State Theater, west front of the Speyer Cathedral |
| Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938) | Poet, philosopher and politician | ? | Leader of the All India Muslim League; author of "Asrar-i-Khudi", "Rumuz-i-Bekhudi", "Payam-i-Mashriq", "Bang-i-Dara", "Zabur-i-Ajam", "Javid Nama", "Bal-i-Jibril", "Zarb-i-Kalim", "What should then be done O people of the East", "Armaghan-i-Hijaz" |
| Philipp von Jolly (1809–1884) | Physicist | ? | Contributed significantly to the understanding of gravitational acceleration and osmosis; teacher of Max Planck; also Professor at Heidelberg from 1839 onwards |
| Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853–1926) | Physicist | 1871–1873 | Explored extremely cold refrigeration techniques and the associated phenomena; Physics Nobel laureate |
| Ernst Kantorowicz (1895–1963) | Historian | ? | Author of "The King's Two Bodies" and of "Kaiser Friedrich der Zweite"; Professor at Oxford University, University of California, Berkeley and Princeton University |
| Hans-Peter Kaul (*1943) | Jurisprudent | 1967–1971 | Vice President of the International Criminal Court |
| James E. Keeler (1857–1900) | Astronomer | ? | Discovered the Encke Division, the Keeler Gap and two asteroids; co-founder of the Astrophysical Journal; Henry Draper Medalist |
| Gottfried Keller (1819–1890) | Writer | 1848–1850 | Author of "Green Henry", "A Village Romeo and Juliet", "Seldwyla Folks", "Zurich Novellas", "Martin Salander" |
| Jerome Kern (1885–1945) | Composer | 1904 | Composed The Way You Look Tonight, Ol' Man River, A Fine Romance, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Academy Award for the soundtrack of the movie Swing Time |
| Wolfgang Ketterle (1957–) | Physicist | 1976–1979 | Contributed significantly to fundamental studies of condensates; completed experiments that trap and cool atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero, and he led one of the first groups to realize Bose–Einstein condensation in these systems; Physics Nobel laureate; also assistant professor at Heidelberg from 1986 to 1990 |
| Gustav Koerner (1809–1896) | Jurist | graduated as Doctor juris utriusque in 1832 | Politician, lawyer, judge and statesman in Illinois; United States Minister to Spain, 1862–1864 |
| Helmut Kohl (1930–2017) | Statesman | 1951–1956 | Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany; "Architect of the German Reunification" |
| Juliane Kokott (1957–) | Jurisprudent | 1982–1985 | Advocate General at the European Court of Justice |
| Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp (1817–1892) | Chemist | ?–1839 | Discovered several important correlations of the physical properties of substances with their chemical constitution; significant research on specific volumes and on the connection of the boiling point of compounds with their composition; also Professor at Heidelberg from 1864 onwards |
| Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891) | Mathematician | ? | Developed the Cauchy–Kowalevski theorem; first woman who was appointed to a full professorship in Europe |
| Gustav Krupp (1870–1950) | Industrialist | 1888–1893 | Owner and Chairman of the Krupp AG heavy industry conglomerate; Prussian Ambassador to the Holy See |
| Hans Heinrich Lammers (1879–1962) | Nazi government | ? | Head of the Reich Chancellery; Reich Minister without Portfolio |
| Ingeborg Levin | Geoscientist | Doctorate | Institute of Environmental Physics, Lab Director |
| Judah Leon Magnes (1877–1948) | Rabbi, Pacifist and university chancellor | Doctorate 1902 | First Chancellor of Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Vera Lüth | Physicist | 1966–1974 | Experimental particle physicist and professor emerita at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, senator of the Helmholtz Association |
| Golo Mann (1909–1994) | Writer and historian | 1929–1932 | Author of "Friedrich von Gentz", "Vom Geist Amerikas", "Von Weimar nach Bonn. Fünfzig Jahre deutsche Republik", "Erinnerungen und Gedanken. Eine Jugend in Deutschland", "Wir alle sind, was wir gelesen", "Wissen und Trauer. Historische Portraits und Skizzen"; Son of Thomas Mann and Katia Mann |
| W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) | Novelist | 1890–? | Author of Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, Cakes and Ale, The Razor's Edge, The Magician |
| Georg Ludwig von Maurer (1790–1872) | Statesman | ?–1812 | Member of the Council of Regency of Greece; Bavarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice; |
| Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway (1850–1934) | Statesman | ? | Member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom; member of the House of Lords; Order of the Redeemer (Greece); Order of the Sacred Treasures (Japan) |
| Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) | Theologian | 1509–1512 | Key leader of the Protestant Reformation; friend and associate of Martin Luther |
| Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer (1801–1869) | Paleontologist | ? | Introduced vertebrate paleontology in Germany; proposed the classification of fossil reptiles into four major groups based on their limbs |
| Otto Meyerhof (1884–1951) | Physician | ?–1909 | Cardinal work on muscle metabolism, including glycolysis; also Director of the Heidelberg Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research; Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate |
| Johann von Miquel (1829–1901) | Statesman | ? | Prussian Minister of Finance; Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main |
| Alfred Mombert (1872–1942) | Poet | ? | Author of "Der Sonnengeist", "Aeon, der Weltgesuchte", "Aeon vor Syrakus", "Der Himmlische Zecher", "Der Held der Erde, Aeon Zwischen den Frauen" |
| Rudolf Mössbauer (1929–) | Physicist | 1955–1957 | Discovered the Mössbauer effect; Professor at the California Institute of Technology; Physics Nobel laureate |
| F. W. Murnau (1888–1931) | Film director | ? | Director of Nosferatu, The Last Laugh, Faust, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans; Academy Award for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans |
| Karl Friedrich Neumann (1793–1870) | Orientalist | ? | Author of "A History of the United States of America"; "Geschichte des englischen Reichs in Asien", "Versuch einer Geschichte der armenischen Literatur", "Die Volker des südlichen Russland", "Geschichte des englisch-chinesischen Kriegs " |
| George Newlands (????–) | Theologian | ? | Convenor of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's Panel on Doctrine; member of the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England; Chair of the Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies panel of the UK's Research Assessment Exercise; Professor of Divinity, Glasgow |
| Max Nonne (1861–1959) | Neurologist | 1879–1881 | Discovered the Nonne-Apelt reaction and the Nonne-Milroy-Meige disease |
| Alfred von Oberndorff (1870–1963) | Diplomat | c. 1888–1893, Dr.Iur. | Ambassador; signatory of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 |
| Robert E. Park (1864–1944) | Sociologist | 1903 | One of the main founders of the Chicago School of sociology; president of the American Sociological Association and of the Chicago Urban League; Professor at Harvard University and at the University of Chicago |
| Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) | Sociologist | 1925–1927 | Produced a general theoretical system for the analysis of society that came to be called structural functionalism; created the Harvard Department of Social Relations |
| Jean Paul (1763–1825) | Novelist | 1817 | Author of "Greenland Lawsuits", "Selections from the Devil's Papers", "The Invisible Lodge", "Life of the Cheerful Schoolmaster Maria Wutz", "Biographical Recreations under the Brainpan of a Giantess" |
| George H. Pendleton (1825–1889) | Statesman | c. 1845 | United States Senator from Ohio; nominee for Vice President of the United States; United States Ambassador to Germany; |
| Hugo Preuß (1860–1925) | Statesman | ~around 1879–1883 | Minister of the Interior; "Father of the German constitution of the Weimar Republic" |
| Sir William Ramsay (1852–1916) | Chemist | ? | Discovered argon; significant contributions to the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air; Chemistry Nobel laureate |
| Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer (1894–1957) | Diplomat | ?–1921 | Executive, supervisor, and diplomat for the League of Nations and United Nations Organization; author of "Portrait of the British Labour Party" |
| Thomas Caute Reynolds (1821–1887) | Politician | 1842 | Lieutenant Governor of Missouri; Governor of Missouri (Confederate) |
| Jovan Ristić (1894–1957) | Statesman | ?–? | Acted as regent of Serbia twice and served as Serbian prime minister four times (1867, 1875, 1877–81, 1887–88). |
| José Rizal (1861–1896) | Writer | 1887 | Author of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo; founder of La Liga Filipina; "national hero of the Philippines" |
| Richard Rothe (1799–1867) | Theologian | ? | Co-founder of the Protestantenverein; author of "Die Anfänge der christlichen Kirche und ihrer Verfassung", "Theologische Ethik", "Zur Dogmatik" |
| Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818–1874) | Financier | ? | Banker; High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire; MP for Hythe |
| Henrique de Carvalho Santos (????) | Statesman | ? | Minister of Industry of Angola |
| Hermann Scheer (1944–2001) | Politician | 1967–1972 | Member of the German Bundestag; President of Eurosolar; major exponent of renewable energy; Right Livelihood Award 1999 |
| Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804–1881) | Biologist | ? | Co-founder of the cell theory |
| Hanns Martin Schleyer (1915–1977) | Executive | 1933–1938 | Entrepreneur and head of Confederation of German Employers' Associations; killed by Red Army Faction during the German Autumn |
| Bernhard Schlink (* 1944) | Novelist and jurisprudent | | Author of The Reader |
| Robert Schumann (1810–1856) | Composer | 1829–1830 | Composed "piano quintet", "Paradise and the Peri", "Faust", "Genoveva", "Rhenish Symphony" |
| Jacob Gould Schurman (1854–1942) | Diplomat | ~around 1877–1880 | President of Cornell University; U.S. Ambassador to Greece, China and Germany; Benefactor of the University of Heidelberg |
| William Berryman Scott (1858–1947) | Paleontologist | ?–1880 | Authority on mammals; author of the White River Oligocene monographs; Professor at Princeton University; Penrose Medalist |
| Anna Seghers (1900–1983) | Poet | ? | Author of The Seventh Cross, The Dead Stay Young, Benito's Blue and Nine Other Stories, A Price on His Head, Revolt of the Fishermen of Santa Barbara |
| Anja Seibert-Fohr | Judge and Professor | 2016– | Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, and Professor at the University of Heidelberg |
| Georg Wilhelm von Siemens (1855–1919) | Industrialist | ~around 1876–1879 | Owner and Chairman of Siemens AG; privy councillor |
| Georg von Siemens (1839–1901) | Banker | ? | Co-founder and director of Deutsche Bank; financed the Northern Pacific Railway and Baghdad Railway; member of the imperial Reichstag |
| Hans Spemann (1869–1941) | Physician | ? | Discovered the effect now known as Embryonic induction; Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate |
| Guy Spier (1966–) | Investor, Author | Summer, 1988 | Author of "The Education of a Value Investor", manager of the Aquamarine Fund |
| Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) | Poet | ? | Author of The Olympic Spring; Literature Nobel laureate |
| Jakob Steiner (1796–1863) | Mathematician | 1818–1821 | Renowned Swiss mathematician |
| Konstantin Stoilov (1853–1901) | Statesman | ?–1877 | Prime Minister of Bulgaria |
| Hans-Christian Ströbele (1939–) | Statesman | 1960–? | Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the Green Party of Germany |
| Thomas Sydserf (1581–1663) | Theologian | ? | Bishop of Brechin; Bishop of Galloway; Bishop of Orkney |
| Haldun Taner (1915–1986) | Playwright | 1935–1938 | Author of Kesanli Ali; Founder of Devekuşu Kabere |
| Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon (1875–1947) | Industrialist | ?–1900 | Founder and Chairman of the Thyssen AG heavy industry conglomerate |
| Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) | Historian | ?–? | Director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs; professor at the London School of Economics |
| Gianni Vattimo (1936–) | Philosopher | ? | Author of The End of Modernity: Nihilism and Hermeneutics in Post-modern Culture, The Transparent Society, After Christianity, The Future of Religion, After the Death of God; member of the European Parliament |
| Bernhard Vogel (1932–) | Statesman | 1953–1960 | Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia |
| William Walker (1824–1860) | Statesman and filibuster | ? | President of Nicaragua |
| Carl Warburg (1805–1892) | Physician and Clinical Pharmacologist | ? Late 1820s ? | Inventor of Warburg's Tincture, a famed antipyretic and antimalarial medicine of the 19th-century |
| Otto Warburg (1883–1970) | Physician | 1906–1911 | Discovered flavine; important work on nicotinic acid amide; Order Pour le Mérite; Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate |
| Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) | Earth Scientist | ? | Discovered the continental drift and the thermodynamics of the atmosphere; developed the theory of the super-continent Pangea; eponym of the Wegener Impact Craters on both Mars and Moon |
| Luzius Wildhaber (1937–) | Jurisprudent | ? | President of the European Court of Human Rights; Vice President of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration; Judge at the Constitutional Court of Liechtenstein |
| Bohdan Winiarski (1884–1969) | Jurisprudent | ? | President of the International Court of Justice |
| Friedrich Wöhler (1800–1882) | Chemist | ?–1823 | Synthesized urea and calcium carbide; co-discoverer of beryllium and silicon; first to isolate yttrium, beryllium, and titanium |
| Manfred Wörner (1934–1994) | Statesman | | Secretary General of NATO; Federal Minister of Defense |
| Joseph Wright (1855–1930) | Linguist | ?–1885 | Author of the six-volume English Dialect Dictionary, Dialect Test, Rustic Speech and Folklore; Professor at Oxford University |
| Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) | Psychologist | ~around 1851–1856 | Author of Principles of Physiological Psychology; eponym of "Wilhelm Wundt-William James Award for Exceptional Contributions to Trans-Atlantic Psychology" awarded by the American Psychological Association; "Father of Psychology" |
| Karl Zell (1793–1873) | Statesman | ~around 1810–1814 | Member of the Upper Chamber of the Diet of Baden; reformer of the high-school system of Baden; established a special board for the supervision and encouragement of the higher studies; president of the congresses for Catholic Germany |
* Judah Leon Magnes, Chancellor/President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1925–1948

## Faculty

| Name | Affiliation | Years at Heidelberg | Importance / Notes | Ref |
| Rodolphus Agricola (1443–1485) | Humanist Scholar | 1482–1485 | Author of De inventione dialectica – a significant work for Renaissance Humanism and the education of Northern European humanists in the 15th century. | |
| Géza Alföldy (1935– ) | Historian | 1975–2005 | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (1986); Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (2002) | |
| Gerhard Anschütz (1867–1948) | Jurisprudent | 1900–1933 | Leading commentator of the Weimar Constitution; consultant to the US military government in Germany after World War II; one of the "fathers" of the constitution of Hesse. | |
| Friedrich Arnold (1803–1890) | Anatomist | 1852–1873 | Privy councillor; described the reflex of coughing when the ear is stimulated (Arnold's nerve cough); the auricular branch of the vagus nerve was nicknamed Arnold's nerve; the Arnold's canal and Arnold's ganglion are named after him. | |
| Jan Assmann (1938– ) | Egyptologist | 1976–2003 | Developed the theory of cultural memory; published renowned works on the origin and development of monotheism; Ph.D. h.c. from Yale University et al.; Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (2006) | |
| François Baudouin (1520–1573) | Jurisprudent | 1555–1561 | Established the palingenetic method of presentation of legal source; reconstructed the original legislation of Justinian; important commentator on Roman law | |
| Klaus Berger (1940– ) | Theologian | 1974–2006 | Leading interdisciplinary theologian in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s; particularly known for his works on exegetical methodology, history of religion, form criticism, and hermeneutics. | |
| Friedrich Bergius (1884–1949) | Chemist | ?–? | Chemistry Nobel laureate "in recognition of the contributions to the invention and development of chemical high pressure methods"; Ph.D. honoris causa from Harvard University | |
| Klaus von Beyme (1934–) | Political Scientist | 1974–1999 | First West German university student in Moscow after World War II; president of the International Political Science Association (1982–1985); ranked 10th most important political scientist of the world (1991). | |
| Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff (1807–1882) | Anatomist | ?–1843 | One of the first to conclude, based on comparative anatomy of the skull and brain, that women had a general intellectual deficiency for academia. | |
| Johann Kaspar Bluntschli (1808–1881) | Jurisprudent | 1861–1881 | Co-founder of the Institut de Droit International; author of Privatrechtliches Gesetzbuch für den Kanton Zurich, Geschichte des algemeinen Staatsrechts und der Politik, Das moderne Kriegsrecht, Das moderne Völkerrecht, Das Beuterecht im Krieg; Bluntschli's library was acquired by Johns Hopkins University. | |
| Philipp August Böckh (1785–1867) | Classical Scholar | 1807–1811 | Author of De Metris Pindari, Die Staatshaushaltung der Athener; pioneer in investigating ancient chronology; Order Pour le Mérite in 1857 | |
| Carl Bosch (1874–1940) | Chemist | –1940 | Co-founder of IG Farben; Chairman of BASF; Chemistry Nobel laureate "in recognition of the contributions to the invention and development of chemical high pressure methods"; eponym of Haber–Bosch process | |
| Walther Bothe (1891–1957) | Physicist | 1932–1957 | Pour le Mérite (1952); Max Planck Medal (1953); Physics Nobel laureate (1954) "for the coincidence method and his discoveries made therewith". | |
| Markus Büchler (1955– ) | Physician | 2001– | Founder and medical director of the European Pancreas Center; director of the Heidelberg Clinic for General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery; managing medical director of the Heidelberg Clinic for Surgery. | |
| Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899) | Chemist | 1852–1899 | Developed the Bunsen burner; worked on the emission spectroscopy of heated elements; discovered together with Gustav Kirchhoff the elements caesium and rubidium. | |
| Conrad Celtes (1459–1508) | Humanist Scholar | 1495–1496 | Founded the Sodalitas Litteraria Vistulana, Rhenana, Hungarorum, and Danubiana; first to teach the human history as a whole; discovered the Tabula Peutingeriana | |
| Georg Friedrich Creuzer (1771–1851) | Philologist | 1804–1845 | Privy councillor; co-founder of the Philological Seminary at the University of Heidelberg (1807); friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Clemens Brentano; liaison with Karoline von Günderrode. | |
| Otto Crusius (1857–1918) | Classical Scholar | 1898–1903 | President of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (1915–1918). | |
| Johann von Dalberg (1445–1503) | Bishop | 1480–1503 | Bishop of Worms (1482–1503); Chancellor of the University of Heidelberg (1480–1503); supported the development of humanism at the University of Heidelberg; friend of Rodolphus Agricola; honored with a bust in the Walhalla temple (1842). | |
| Hugo Donellus (1527–1591) | Jurisprudent | 1573–1579 | Leading representatives of legal humanism; pioneer in applying the methods of Renaissance humanism to law | |
| Thomas Erastus (1524–1583) | Humanist, physician, & theologian | 1558–1580 | Opponent of Calvinist disciplinary regime and thus father of "Erastianism", denying the church independent jurisdiction over moral infractions in a Christian state. Challenged ideas of Paracelsus and Johann Weyer. | |
| Friedrich von Duhn (1859–1930) | Archaeologist | 1879–1920 | Recognized scattered fragments of sculpture as the remains of the Ara Pacis; largely expanded the archaeological collection of the University of Heidelberg. | |
| Norbert Frey (1966-) | Physician | 2020– | Medical Director of the Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Pneumology |
| Jakob Friedrich Fries (1773–1843) | Philosopher | 1806–1816 | Author of Wissen, Glaube und Ahnung, Neue oder anthropologische Kritik der Vernunft, Reinhold, Fichte und Schelling, System der Philosophie als evidente Wissenschaft | |
| Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002) | Philosopher | 1949–2002 | Elaborated the concept of "philosophical hermeneutics"; author of Truth and Method; taught at Heidelberg until his death at the age of 102. | |
| Georg Gottfried Gervinus (1805–1871) | Historian | 1830–1871 | Founder of Deutsche Zeitung; member of the 1848 Frankfurt Parliament; "Guide of the Nation" in political history | ? |
| Otto von Gierke (1841–1921) | Jurisprudent | 1884–1887 | Developed important contributions to the Rechtsstaat conception; author of Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht, Deutsches Privatrecht, Naturrrecht und Deutsches Recht | |
| Jan Gruter (1560–1627) | Humanist scholar | 1597–1627 | Author of Inscriptiones antiquae totius orbis Romani and Lampas, sive fax artium liberalium ; last librarian of the Bibliotheca Palatina | ? |
| Levin Goldschmidt (1828–1897) | Jurisprudent | 1855–1870 | Major contributor to the development of the German commercial law (Handelsgestzbuch); founder and editor of the Zeitschrift für das Gesamte Handelsrecht; Member of the German Imperial Reichstag; Federal Judge at the Bundesgericht | ? |
| Dionysius Gothofredus (1549–1622) | Jurisprudent | 1600–1621 | Author of Corpus juris civilis; member of the council of two hundred of Geneva; Dean of the Heidelberg Faculty of Law | ? |
| Emil Julius Gumbel (1891–1966) | Mathematician | 1924–1932 | Developed the Extreme value theory; founder and editor of Die Weltbühne; anti-Nazi-activist; professor at Columbia University | ? |
| Jürgen Habermas (1929– ) | Philosopher | 1961–1964 | Author of The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere; The Theory of Communicative Action; Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy; The Inclusion of the Other; A Berlin Republic; Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe | ? |
| Werner Hacke (1948– ) | Neurologist | 1987– | Chairman of the Department of Neurology; Feinberg Award recipient; Karolinska Stroke Award recipient | ? |
| Karl Hampe (1869–1936) | Historian | ? | Author of "Germany under the Salic and Hohenstaufen Emperors"; Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy; Rector of Heidelberg University | ? |
| Sebastian Harnisch (b.1967) | International Relations | ? | Internationale Politik und Verfassung. Zur Domestizierung des sicherheits- und europapolitischen Prozesses der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Baden-Baden: Nomos- Verlag, 2006. | ? |
| Harald zur Hausen (1936) | Physician | 1983–present | 2008 Physiology or Medicine Nobel Laureate "for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer"; former director of the Heidelberg German Cancer Research Center; member of the faculty of the medical school | |
| Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) | Philosopher | 1816–1818 | "Father of German idealism"; author of Elements of the Philosophy of Right; Phenomenology of Spirit; Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences; Science of Logic | ? |
| Stefan Hell (*1962) | Physicist | 1981–1990 (student); since 2003 Professor of Physics | Chemistry Nobel Laureate 2014; inventor of Stimulated Emission Depletion microscopy and related microscopy methods | |
| Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894) | Physicist and physician | 1858–1870 | Medicine: developed the mathematics of the eye and theories of vision; cardinal work on the visual perception of space, color vision research, the sensation of tone and perception of sound; physics: introduced theories on the conservation of energy, developed a mechanical foundation of thermodynamics, significant work in electrodynamics and chemical thermodynamics; eponym of Helmholtz resonance | ? |
| Otto Hesse (1811–1874) | Mathematician | 1856–1868 | Cardinal work on algebraic invariants; eponym of the Hessian matrix and the Hesse normal form | |
| Alfred Hettner (1859–1941) | Geographer | 1906–1928 | Developed a concept of chorology | ? |
| Wilhelm Hofmeister (1824–1877) | Botanist | 1863–1872 | Discovered the principle of alternation of generations; pioneer in investigating genetics in plants; published a concept of plant evolution eight years before Darwin | ? |
| Frank Hoffmeister (1969– ) | Lawyer | – 1998 | Academic (international law and organisations) and working for European Commission and United Nations | |
| Marsilius of Inghen (1330?–1396) | Philosopher | 1386–1396 | Co-founder and first Rector of the University of Heidelberg | ? |
| Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) | Psychiatrist and Philosopher | 1913–1948 | Major exponent of existensialism; author of Philosophy of Existence; Reason and Existenz; Way to Wisdom; Philosophy is for Everman | ? |
| Georg Jellinek (1851–1911) | Jurisprudent | 1891–1911 | Author of Allgemeine Staatslehre (General Theory of the State), a groundbreaking work on constitutional law and state philosophy before and during the Weimar Republic; member of the democratic circle around Max Weber | ? |
| J. Hans D. Jensen (1907–1973) | Physicist | 1949–1969 | 1963 Physics Nobel laureate "for the discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure" | ? |
| Oskar Perron (1880–1975) | Mathematician | 1914–1922 | Major contributions concerning differential equations and partial differential equations; eponym of Perron–Frobenius theorem and Perron's formula | ? |
| Jerome of Prague (1379–1416) | Philosopher | 1406–1407 | Introduced Realism in Germany | ? |
| Paul Kirchhof (1943– ) | Jurisprudent | 1999– | Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany; member of the 2005 CDU shadow cabinet as designated Federal Minister of Finance; proposed a conception to reform the German tax system based on a flat tax | ? |
| Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824–1887) | Physicist | 1854–1875 | Contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation; coined the term "black-body"; eponym of "Kirchhoff's laws"; Rumford Medalist | ? |
| Karl Knies (1821–1898) | Economist | 1865–1895 | Major representative of the historical school of economics; author of Political Economy from the Standpoint of the Historical Method | ? |
| Leo Königsberger (1837–1921) | Mathematician and historian of science | 1884–1914 | Author of the biography of Hermann von Helmholtz and of Mein Leben | ? |
| Albrecht Kossel (1853–1927) | Physician | 1901–1927 | 1910 Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate "in recognition of the contributions to our knowledge of cell chemistry made through his work on proteins, including the nucleic substances" | ? |
| Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926) | Psychiatrist | 1891–1903 | Founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics | ? |
| Ludolf von Krehl (1861–1937) | Physiologist | 1907–1931 | Co-developed the Strophanthin-Therapy for treatment of cardiac deficiencies; cardinal work concerning the physiological and pathological aspects of thermoregulation, metabolism and the circulatory system; Co-founder of the Heidelberg Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research; knighted in 1903, Order Pour le Mérite in 1925 | ? |
| Richard Kuhn (1900–1967) | Chemist | 1928–1966 | Director of the Heidelberg Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research; discovery of the deadly nerve agent Soman; 1938 Chemistry Nobel laureate "for his work on carotenoids and vitamins" | |
| Emanuel Lasker (1868–1941) | Mathematician | 1905–1933 | Introduced the concept of a primary ideal, which extends the notion of a power of a prime number to algebraic geometry; World Champion of Chess from 1894 to 1921, 27 years in a row. | ? |
| Lothar Ledderose (1942– ) | Art historian | 1976– | Acclaimed work on the history of art of Japan and history of art of China; dean of the Faculty of Philosophy; 2005 Balzan Laureate; Slade Professor at the University of Cambridge in 1992 | ? |
| Philipp Lenard (1862–1947) | Physicist | 1904–1945 | 1905 Physics Nobel laureate "for his work on cathode rays"; during the 3rd Reich one of the leading advocates of Deutsche Physik (Aryan Physics). | ? |
| Fritz Lipmann (1899–1986) | Biochemist | 1929–1931 | Co-discoverer of coenzyme A; professor at Harvard Medical School and Rockefeller University; Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate | |
| Karl Löwith (1897–1973) | Philosopher | 1952–1964 | Author of From Hegel to Nietzsche and Meaning in History: The Theological Implications of the Philosophy of History | ? |
| Peter Luder (1415–1472) | Humanist | 1458–1461 | Introduced Humanistic ideals in Germany | ? |
| André Michel Lwoff (1902–1994) | Biologist | 1932–1937 | Coined the term Provirus; 1965 Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate "for the discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis" | ? |
| Michael Maestlin (1550–1631) | Astronomer and Mathematician | 1580–1583 | First to accept and teach the heliocentric Copernican view; discovered the "golden ratio"; mentor of Johannes Kepler | |
| Karl Mannheim (1893–1947) | Sociologist | 1922–1930 | Promoted a comprehensive sociological analysis of the structures of knowledge; author of Ideology Utopia; Man and Society in an Age of Reconstruction; Sociology as Political Education; professor at the London School of Economics | ? |
| Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907) | Chemist | 1859–1861 | Creator of the first version of the periodic table of elements; eponym of the Mendeleev Medal | |
| Matthäus Merian (1593–1650) | Humanist Scholar | ~ around 1620 | Pioneering naturalist and illustrator | ? |
| Christoph Michalski (1977) | Physician | 2023– | Professor of Surgery and Chair of General Surgery, director of the Heidelberg Clinic for General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery; managing medical director of the Heidelberg Clinic for Surgery | ? |
| Subrata K. Mitra (1949) | Political Scientist | 2004– | Cardinal research on Indian society and politics; director of the Heidelberg South Asia Institute; Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques; President of the joint Research Committee on Political Sociology of the International Political Science Association and the International Sociological Association; previously professor at University of California, Berkeley | ? |
| Robert von Mohl (1799–1875) | Jurisprudent | 1848–1861 | Coined the term of a Rechtsstaat as opposed to an aristocratic police state; knighted in 1837; peerage in 1871 | ? |
| Dieter Nohlen (1939) | Political Scientist | 1974–2005 | Author of Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook; Sistemas electorales y partidos políticos,; Elections and Electoral Systems; Handbook of the Third World; 1991 Max Planck Research Laureate | ? |
| Severo Ochoa (1903–1995) | Physician | 1937 | 1959 Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate "for the discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid" | ? |
| Kaspar Olevianus (1536–1587) | Theologian | 1560–1576 (on faculty 1561–1562) | Significant covenant theologian and Calvinist church organizer during the Second Reformation | ? |
| Martin Opitz (1597–1639) | Poet | 1619–1624 | Author of Dafne, the first German opera; leader of the Heidelber School of Poetry | ? |
| Frank R. Pfetsch (1936) | Political Scientist | 1999– | Co-founder of the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research; Commissioner of the European Consortium for Political Research; Chaire Elie Halevy and Chaire Alfred Grosser at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris; Jean Monnet Professor at Heidelberg | ? |
| Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1405–1464) | Theologian | 1442–1449 | Pope Pius II; chancellor of the university | ? |
| Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694) | Jurisprudent | 1661–1668 | Pioneer in international law; influential commentaries and revisions of the natural law | ? |
| Georg Hermann Quincke (1834–1924) | Physicist | 1875–1907 | Classical investigations of all capillary phenomena; important work in the experimental study of the reflection of light and influence of electric forces upon the constants; DCL honoris causa from Oxford University; LLD honoris causa from Cambridge University | ? |
| Gerhard von Rad (1901–1971) | Theologian | 1949–1971 | Major contribution to Old Testament studies; author of Theology of the Old Testament; The Problem of the Hexateuch and other Essays; God at work in Israel; Genesis: A Commentary; Deuteronomy: A Commentary | ? |
| Gustav Radbruch (1878–1949) | Jurisprudent | 1926–1933; 1945–1949 | Major proponent of a renewal of natural law as opposed to the then predominant legal positivism; author of "Rechtsphilosophie", still one of the most important works on legal philosophy in Germany | ? |
| Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522) | Humanist Scholar | 1492–1498 | Most influential representative of platonism; founder of the newer German Drama; author of De Arte Cabalistica | ? |
| Johann Carl Otto Ribbeck (1827–1898) | Classical Scholar | 1862–1887 | Authority on ancient Roman poetry; editor of Ars Poetica of Horace and the Satires of Juvenal | ? |
| Heinrich Rickert (1863–1936) | Philosopher | 1915–1932 | Co-founder and leader of the Baden school of neo-Kantians | ? |
| Erwin Rohde (1845–1898) | Classical Scholar | 1878–1898 | Author of Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality among the Greeks | ? |
| Rudy Rucker (1946– ) | Novelist and mathematician | 1978–1980 | Founder of the cyberpunk literary movement; author of The Fourth Dimension; the Ware Tetralogy, White Light, Master of Space and Time, Spaceland, Mathematicians in Love; | ? |
| Bert Sakmann (1942– ) | Physician | 1988– | 1991 Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate "for the discoveries concerning the function of single ion channels in cells" | ? |
| Friedrich Carl von Savigny (1779–1861) | Jurisprudent | ? | Founder of the German Historical School of Law; High Chancellor of Justice of Prussia; celebrated authority on Roman Law; co-founder of the University of Berlin | ? |
| Paul Schede (1539–1602) | Diplomat and Humanist Scholar | ? | Imperial Ambassador to France, Switzerland, England and Italy; director of the Bibliotheca Palatina | ? |
| Edmund Schlink (1903–1984) | Theologian | 1946–1971 | Influential authority on Lutheran systematic theology and advocate of Ecumenism; author of The Victor Speaks, Theology of the Lutheran Confessions, The Coming Christ and the Coming Church, The Doctrine of Baptism, The Vision of the Pope | ? |
| Friedrich Christoph Schlosser (1776–1861) | Historian | 1819–1861 | Author of World History and World History for the German People; teacher of Georg Gottfried Gervinus; "Guide of the Nation" in political history. | ? |
| Manfred G. Schmidt (1948– ) | Political Scientist | 1997– | Author of Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany and of The Welfare State; 1995 Leibniz Laureate; ranked as the third most influential political scientist in Germany, and as the most important researcher in comparative politics in Germany by the German Research Foundation | ? |
| Herbert Seifert (1907–1969) | Mathematician | 1935–1975 | Eponym of Seifert fiber space, Seifert surface, Seifert-van Kampen theorem, Seifert conjecture, Seifert–Weber space | ? |
| Gerd Spittler (1939) | Ethnologist | 1939 | | ? |
| Paul Stäckel (1862–1919) | Mathematician | 1913–1919 | Groundbreaking work in differential geometry, number theory, and non-Euclidean geometry. Coined the term twin prime | ? |
| Dolf Sternberger (1907–1989) | Political Scientist | 1947–1985 | One of the founders of political science in post-war Germany; developed the "Concept of Citizenship in German Political Contemporary Thought"; coined the term "constitutional patriotism"; Chairman of the German Society for Political Science | ? |
| Gerd Theissen (1943– ) | Theologian | ? | Pioneer in the application of the principles and methods of sociology to the study of the New Testament; 2002 Burkitt Medalist | ? |
| Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut (1772–1840) | Jurisprudent | 1805–1840 | Re-introduced the ancient Roman Pandectists system which allowed the creation of the German Civil Code | ? |
| Ernst Troeltsch (1865–1923) | Theologian | 1894–1914 | Author of The Social Teachings of the Christian Church; developed an acclaimed system of philosophy of religion by synthesizing the conceptions of Max Weber and Neo-Kantianism; member of the democratic circle around Max Weber | ? |
| Zacharias Ursinus (1534–1583) | Theologian | 1561–1576 | Reformer and intellectual mastermind during Protestant Reformation; Principal author of the Heidelberg Catechism | |
| Klaus Vogel (1930–2007) | Jurisprudent | 1966–1977 | Internationally acknowledged authority in international taxation; member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association | ? |
| Johann Heinrich Voss (1751–1826) | Poet | 1805–1826 | Author of Wine, Women and Song; published the first German translations of the Odyssey, Hesiod, Theocritus, Bion and Moschus, Virgil, Horace, Tibullus, Propertius, and Shakespear | ? |
| George Wald (1906–1997) | Biologist | 1933 | 1967 Physiology or Medicine Nobel laureate "for the discoveries concerning the primary physiological and chemical visual processes in the eye" | ? |
| Max Weber (1864–1920) | Sociologist | 1896–1919 | Founder of modern sociology; author of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Politics as a Vocation, The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism, The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, Ancient Judaism, The History of Medieval Business Organisations, The Roman Agrarian History and its Significance for Public and Private Law; widely considered the all-time most important German sociologist | |
| Alfred Weber (1868–1958) | Political Economist | 1907–1933 | Leader in intellectual resistance during Nazi era; developed the Least Cost Theory; eponym of the Alfred Weber Institute for Economy at Heidelberg | ? |
| Claus Westermann (1909–2000) | Theologian | 1958–1978 | Leading German Old Testament scholar; author of The Human in the Old Testament | ? |
| Wilhelm Windelband (1848–1915) | Philosopher | 1903–1915 | Co-founder of the Baden School; author of History Of Ancient Philosophy, History of Philosophy, An Introduction to Philosophy, Theories in Logic | ? |
| Bernhard Windscheid (1817–1892) | Jurisprudent | 1871–1892 | Co-author of the German Civil Code; knighted in 1868 | ? |
| Georg Wittig (1897–1987) | Chemist | 1956–1980 | 1979 Chemistry Nobel laureate "for the development of the use of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively, into important reagents in organic synthesis"; eponym of the Wittig reaction; honorary doctorate of the Sorbonne | ? |
| Rüdiger Wolfrum (1941–) | Jurisprudent | 1993–present | President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; Director of the Heidelberg Max Planck Institute for International Law; Vice President of the German Research Foundation; Vice President of the Max Planck Society; United Nations mediator in the Darfur conflict; Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2008 | |
| Karl Salomo Zachariae (1769–1843) | Jurisprudent | 1807–1829 | Created a reformation the Baden Criminal Code and the Baden Constitution; | ? |
| Karl Ziegler (1898–1973) | Chemist | –1936 | 1963 Chemistry Nobel laureate "for the discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers"; eponym of the Ziegler–Natta catalyst | ? |