# List of Austrians

This is a list of notable Austrians.

## Actors/actresses

* Helmut Berger (1944–2023), actor
* Senta Berger (born 1941), actress
* Klaus Maria Brandauer (1943–2025), actor
* Wolfgang Cerny (born 1984), actor
* Marie Geistinger (1836–1903), actress and opera singer
* Gilla (born 1950), also known as Gisela Wuchinger; singer and actor from the disco era
* Käthe Gold (1907–1997), stage actress
* Liane Haid (1895–2000), first Austrian movie star
* Attila Hörbiger (1896–1987), actor
* Christiane Hörbiger (1938–2022), actress
* Paul Hörbiger (1894–1981), actor
* Maria Hofstätter (born 1964), actress
* Boris Kodjoe (born 1973), actor
* Melanie Kogler (born 1985), television and theatre actress
* Brigitte Kren (born 1954), actress
* Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), actress; also co-inventor of spread spectrum radio technology; became U.S. citizen
* Karl Merkatz (1930–2022), actor (most notable for his role as a Viennese in "Mundl")
* Birgit Minichmayr (born 1977), actress
* Hans Moser (1880–1964), comedy actor
* Reggie Nalder (1907–1991), actor
* Nina Proll (born 1974), actress
* Maximilian Schell (1930–2014), actor
* Arnold Schwarzenegger (born 1947), bodybuilder, actor, became U.S. citizen, governor of the U.S. state of California (2003–2011)
* Ursula Strauss (born 1974), actress
* Erich von Stroheim (1885–1957), actor and film director
* Christoph Waltz (born 1956), actor
* Maria Weiss, mezzo-soprano and actress
* Oskar Werner (1922–1984), actor

## Artists/architects

* Maria Auböck (born 1951), landscape architect
* Bernhard Cella (born 1969), conceptual artist
* Johann Georg Danninger, 19th-century bronzesmith
* Karl Duldig (1902–1986), Austrian-Australian sculptor
* Albin Egger-Lienz (1868–1926), painter
* Karl Ehn (1884–1957), architect, designer of the Karl-Marx-Hof
* Trude Fleischmann (1895–1990), photographer
* Ernst Fuchs (1930–2015), artist
* Xenia Hausner (born 1951), painter
* Gottfried Helnwein (born 1948), artist, born in Vienna
* Kurt Hentschlager (born 1960), new media artist
* Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000), artist
* Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), artist, helped found Vienna Secession
* Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980), painter
* Alfred Kubin (1877–1959), graphic artist
* Adolf Loos (1870–1933), architect, born in Brno (Moravia, present-day Czech Republic)
* Josef Lorenzl (1892–1950), sculptor
* Hans Makart (1840–1884), history painter, designer and decorator
* Inge Morath (1923–2002), photographer
* Richard Neutra (1892–1970), architect
* Josef Pögl (born 1867), painter, winner of the Vienna Arts Prize
* Wolf Prix (born 1942), architect, co-founder of Coop Himmelb(l)au
* Willy Puchner (born 1952), photographer
* Arnulf Rainer (born 1929), painter
* Johann Michael Rottmayr (1656–1730), Baroque painter
* Egon Schiele (1890–1918), painter
* Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897–2000), architect and political activist
* De Es Schwertberger (born 1942), artist
* Harry Seidler (1923–2006), architect
* Helmut Swiczinsky (born 1944), architect, co-founder of Coop Himmelb(l)au
* Aloys Wach (1892–1940), painter
* Otto Wagner (1841–1918), Jugendstil architect behind much of turn-of-the-century Viennese architecture
* Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793–1865), painter
* Felix de Weldon (1907–2003), sculptor
* Franz West (1947–2012), artist
* Olga Wisinger-Florian (1844–1926), painter

## Composers/musicians

* Wolfgang Ambros (born 1952), pop musician
* Louie Austen (born 1946), composer and musician
* Ernst Bachrich (1892–1942), composer and conductor
* Caroline Bayer (1758–1803), 18th-century violinist and composer
* Alban Berg (1885–1935), composer
* Alfred Brendel (born 1931), pianist
* Anton Bruckner (1824–1896), composer
* Friedrich Cerha (1926–2023), composer and conductor
* Carl Czerny (1791–1857), pianist and composer
* Anton Diabelli (1781–1858), publisher, editor and composer
* Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739–1799), composer
* Karlheinz Essl (born 1960), composer and electronic musician
* Falco (1957–1998), pop musician
* Christian Fennesz (born 1962), electronic musician
* Bernhard Gál (born 1971), composer and artist
* Georg Friedrich Haas (born 1953), composer
* Natascha Hagen (born 1974), singer-songwriter
* Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1929–2016), conductor
* Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), composer
* Michael Haydn (1737–1806), composer, younger brother of Joseph Haydn
* Yung Hurn (born 1995), hip-hop musician
* Udo Jürgens (1934–2014), singer-songwriter
* Herbert von Karajan (1908–1989), conductor
* Bernhard Lang (born 1957), composer
* Thomas Lang (born 1967), drummer and composer
* Joseph Lanner (1801–1843), composer
* Left Boy (born 1988), singer
* Elisabeth Leonskaja (born 1945), pianist, Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class, in 2006
* Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), composer
* Marianne von Martinez (1744–1812), composer, singer
* Penny McLean (born 1948), singer with the disco group Silver Convention
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), musician and composer
* Olga Neuwirth (born 1968), composer
* Gerhard Potuznik, electronic musician
* Franz Schmidt (1874–1939), composer
* Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951), composer
* Franz Schubert (1797–1828), composer and musician
* Parov Stelar (born 1974), electronic musician
* Eduard Strauss (1835–1916), composer
* Johann Strauss Jr. (1825–1899), composer
* Johann Strauss Sr. (1804–1849), composer
* Josef Strauss (1827–1870), composer
* Franz von Suppé (1819–1895), composer
* Anton Webern (1883–1945), composer
* Franz Welser-Möst (born 1960), conductor
* Hugo Wolf (1860–1903), composer
* Conchita Wurst (born 1988), pop musician
* Joe Zawinul (1932–2007), jazz musician, composer
* Eric Zeisl (1905–1959), composer
* Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871–1942), composer

## Entrepreneurs

* Hannes Androsch (1938–2024), former minister of finance in the government of Bruno Kreisky
* Hikmet Ersek (born 1961), CEO of The Western Union Company, a Fortune 500 company
* Ignaz Glaser (1853–1916), entrepreneur
* Gaston Glock (1929-2023), inventor, founder of Glock Ges.m.b.H.
* Niki Lauda (1949–2019), Formula One race car driver and aviation entrepreneur
* Richard Lugner (1932–2024), entrepreneur and society figure
* Dietrich Mateschitz (1944–2022), businessman behind the Red Bull brand
* Ludwig (Louis) von Nathaniel (1882–1955), banker
* Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), automotive engineer, designed the Volkswagen (the "people's car"), born in Vratislavice nad Nisou (Austria-Hungary, Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic)
* Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (1909–1998), automotive engineer and entrepreneur, he expanded the sports car manufacturer Porsche AG to what it is now
* Johann Puch (1862–1914), inventor, mechanic, co-founder of Steyr-Daimler-Puch
* Albert Salomon von Rothschild (1844–1911), banker
* Anselm von Rothschild (1803–1874), banker
* Ferdinand James von Rothschild (1839–1898), investor
* Nathaniel Mayer Anselm von Rothschild (1836–1905), banker
* Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (1774–1855), banker
* Robert Schlumberger (1814–1879), entrepreneur
* Frank Stronach (born 1932), entrepreneur, born in Austria
* Daniel Swarovski (1862–1956), founder of Swarovski AG, world-famous crystals, born in Jiřetín pod Bukovou, (Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic)

## Filmmakers

* Barbara Albert (born 1970), film director, producer and writer
* Franz Antel (1913–2007), director, actor and writer
* Axel Corti (1933–1993), director
* Elfi von Dassanowsky (1924–2007), film producer, singer, pianist
* Andrea Maria Dusl (born 1961), film director and writer
* Amir Esmann (born 1965), director, director of photography, writer
* Max Fleischer (1883–1972), animator
* Michael Haneke (born 1942), film director (born in Germany, however lives and works in Austria)
* Fritz Lang (1890–1976), film director
* Francis Lawrence (born 1971), Austrian-American film director
* Otto Preminger (1905–1986), film director
* Stefan Ruzowitzky (born 1961), film director and writer
* Arnold Schwarzenegger (born 1947), actor and politician
* Ulrich Seidl (born 1952), film director and writer
* Josef von Sternberg (1894–1969), film director
* Erich von Stroheim (1885–1957), film director
* Wolfgang Suschitzky (1912–2016), director of photography
* Edgar G. Ulmer (1904–1972), film director
* Hans Weingartner (born 1977), film director, producer and writer
* Virgil Widrich (born 1967), film director, producer and writer
* Billy Wilder (1906–2002), film director, born in Austria-Hungary
* Fred Zinnemann (1907–1977), film director

## Mountaineers

* Peter Aufschnaiter (1899–1973), mountaineer and co-traveller of Heinrich Harrer (Seven Years in Tibet)
* Karl Blodig (1859–1956), mountaineer (first to climb all alpine mountains above 4,000 m)
* Hermann Buhl (1924–1957), first ascent of Nanga Parbat on the 1953 German–Austrian Nanga Parbat expedition, first ascent of Broad Peak
* Kurt Diemberger (born 1932), first ascents of Broad Peak (1957) and Dhaulagiri (1960)
* Peter Habeler (born 1942), first ascent of Mount Everest without oxygen (together with Reinhold Messner)
* Heinrich Harrer (1912–2006), mountaineer (first ascent of the Carstensz Pyramid) and writer (Seven Years in Tibet)
* Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (born 1970), first woman to ascend all eight-thousanders without oxygen (2011)
* Fritz Moravec (1922–1997), first ascent of Gasherbrum II (1956)
* Ludwig Purtscheller (1849–1900), first ascent of Kilimanjaro in 1889
* Marcus Schmuck (1925–2005), first ascent of Broad Peak in 1957 as expedition leader
* Herbert Tichy (1912–1987), geologist, journalist and mountaineer (first ascent of Cho Oyu)
* Luis Trenker (1892–1990), mountaineer, film director and writer (born in the southern part of Tyrol, then in Austria-Hungary)
* Fritz Wintersteller (1927–2018), first ascent of Broad Peak in 1957

## Military leaders

* Haim Bar-Lev (1924–1994), Israeli general and government minister
* Leopold Josef Graf Daun (1705–1766), field marshal
* Joseph Radetzky von Radetz (1766–1858), military leader
* Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), general in the war against the Turks (17th–18th century)
* Philipp von Stadion und Thannhausen (1799–1868), field marshal
* Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (1827–1871), admiral
* Georg von Trapp (1880–1947), navy officer
* Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1787–1862), general
* Archduke Charles of Austria (1771–1847), fought against Napoleon

## Politicians

* Kasimir Felix Graf Badeni (1846–1909), statesman and diplomat
* Leopold Graf Berchtold (1863–1942), foreign minister at the outbreak of the First World War
* Brigitte Bierlein (1949–2024), Chancellor 2019–2020
* Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972), politician and writer
* Engelbert Dollfuß (1892–1934), Chancellor 1932–1934 (First Republic), established Austrofascism
* Leopold Figl (1902–1965), Chancellor 1945–1953, foreign minister 1953–1959
* Heinz Fischer (born 1938), former President
* Werner Faymann (born 1960), former Chancellor
* Jörg Haider (1950–2008), politician, governour of Carinthia until his death in 2008
* Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), leader of Nazi Germany 1933–1945, gained German citizenship in 1932, and became German Chancellor in 1933. In 1938, he annexed Austria with the Anschluß
* Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg (1781–1848), statesman and historian
* Theodor Innitzer (1875–1955), cardinal archbishop of Vienna 1932–1955, minister of social affairs 1929–1930
* Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903–1946), NSDAP politician
* Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz (1711–1794), statesman
* Christian Kern (born 1966), Chancellor 2016–2017
* Rudolf Kirchschläger (1915–2000), judge, diplomat and President 1974–1986
* Thomas Klestil (1932–2004), diplomat, President 1992–2004
* Teddy Kollek (1911–2007), Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem
* Bruno Kreisky (1911–1990), Chancellor 1970–1983, foreign minister 1959–1966
* Sebastian Kurz (born 1986), Chancellor 2017–2019, 2020–2021
* Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (1773–1859), diplomat and statesman
* Julius Raab (1891–1964), Chancellor 1953–1961 (1773–1859)
* Adolf Schärf (1890–1965), President 1957–1965
* Anton von Schmerling (1805–1893), statesman (liberal movement of the 19th century)
* Kurt Schuschnigg (1897–1977), Chancellor 1934–1938
* Wolfgang Schüssel (born 1945), Chancellor 2000–2007
* Arnold Schwarzenegger (born 1947), former governor of California
* Ignaz Seipel (1876–1932), Catholic priest, Chancellor 1922–1924 and 1926–1929
* Arthur Seyß-Inquart (1892–1946), NSDAP politician, last Chancellor before the Anschluss in 1938
* Johann Philipp von Stadion (1763–1824), statesman, foreign minister and diplomat 1763–1824
* Alexander Van der Bellen (born 1944), former chairman of the Austrian Green Party and President since 2017
* Kurt Waldheim (1918–2007), diplomat and politician, UN Secretary-General 1972–1982, President of Austria 1986–1992

## Religious leaders

* Theodor Innitzer (1875–1955), cardinal archbishop of Vienna 1932–1955, minister of social affairs 1929–1930
* Franz König (1905–2004), Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna (1956–1985)
* Christoph Schönborn (born 1945), archbishop and cardinal
* Ignaz Seipel (1876–1932), Catholic priest, Chancellor 1922–1924 and 1926–1929

## Royalty

* Elisabeth, Empress-Consort of Austria, wife of Francis Joseph I
* Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria
* Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria
* Francis II/I, Holy Roman Emperor, first Emperor of Austria
* Franz Ferdinand, Archduke (assassinated in 1914)
* Frederick II of Austria, last Babenberger duke of Austria
* Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, reformer (abolished the death penalty) 1780–1790
* Karl I, last Emperor of Austria
* Karl V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Leopold V, Babenberg duke of Austria, participated in the Third Crusade
* Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess, became Empress of Brazil
* Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria, Holy Roman Empress-Consort, last male-line Habsburg
* Marie Antoinette, Archduchess, became Queen of France
* Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459–1519)
* Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico, Archduke of Austria
* Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Archduke of Austria
* Rudolph I, King of Germany, first Habsburg king
* Rudolf IV of Austria, Duke of Austria, self-styled archduke 1358–1365 (Privilegium Maius)

## Scientists
### Economists

* Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk (1851–1914), economist and early member of the Austrian School of Economics
* Gottfried von Haberler (1900–1995), Austrian-American economist, born in Purkersdorf, Austria-Hungary
* Friedrich Hayek (1899–1992), economist and social scientist, Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1974 (became a British citizen in 1938)
* Leopold Kohr (1909–1994), economist, jurist and political scientist
* Fritz Machlup (1902–1983), Austrian-American economist, born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria-Hungary
* Carl Menger (1840–1921), founder of the Austrian School of economics
* Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973), free-market economist
* Oskar Morgenstern (1902–1977), co-founder of game theory
* Otto Neurath (1882–1945), socialist, economist and philosopher
* Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950), economist, born in Triesch, Austria-Hungary
* Friedrich von Wieser (1851–1926), economist of the Austrian School

### Engineers/inventors

* Thomas Feichtner (born 1970), industrial designer
* Anselm Franz (1900–1994), pioneer in jet engine engineering, designed the world's first turbojet
* Gaston Glock (1929–2023), inventor, founder of firearms company GLOCK GmbH
* Eduard Haas (1897–1989), inventor of the Pez candy
* Viktor Kaplan (1876–1934), inventor of turbines for river power plants
* Wilhelm Kress (1836–1913), aviation pioneer, inventor of the stick control for airplanes
* Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), co-inventor of spread spectrum wireless communications, along with George Antheil
* Ernst Lauda (1859–1932), hydraulic and bridge engineer
* Josef Madersperger (1768–1850), invented the sewing machine in 1818
* Siegfried Marcus (1831–1898), automobile pioneer, inventor of the first gasoline powered automobile (vehicles of 1870 and 1889)
* Alois Negrelli (1799–1858), engineer and railroad pioneer (created the plans for the Suez Canal)
* Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951), automotive engineer, designed the Volkswagen (the "people's car"), inventor of the hybrid car, contributed to the design of the Tiger I and Tiger II tanks (born in Austria-Hungary)
* Josef Ressel (1793–1857), inventor of the marine screw propeller, pneumatic post and ball bearing
* Theodor Scheimpflug (1865–1911), inventor of Scheimpflug photography
* Alois Senefelder (1771–1834), inventor of the printing technique of lithography
* Josef Singer (1923–2009), Israeli aeronautical engineer and President of Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
* Max Valier (1895–1930), rocketry pioneer
* Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858–1929), inventor of gaslight

### Philosophers

* Franz Brentano (1838–1917), philosopher and psychologist
* Martin Buber (1878–1965), philosopher
* Christian von Ehrenfels (1859–1932), philosopher
* Herbert Feigl (1902–1988), philosopher (member of the Vienna Circle)
* Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994), philosopher
* Philipp Frank (1884–1966), philosopher and physicist (member of the Vienna Circle)
* Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), philosopher (born in Prossnitz, Austria-Hungary)
* Wilhelm Jerusalem (1854–1923), philosopher, born in Drenitz, died in Vienna
* Hans Köchler (born 1948), philosopher, born in Schwaz
* Georg Kreisel (1923–2015), philosopher and mathematician
* Alexius Meinong (1853–1920), philosopher (theory of objects)
* Otto Neurath (1882–1945), socialist, economist and philosopher
* Karl Popper (1902–1994), philosopher (born in Austria, became British)
* Friedrich Waismann (1896–1959), mathematician, philosopher and physicist (member of the Vienna Circle)
* Otto Weininger (1880–1903), philosopher
* Felix Weltsch (1884–1964), journalist, philosopher, student of Christian von Ehrenfels
* Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), philosopher, born in Vienna

### Physicists, mathematicians and chemists

* Emil Artin (1898–1962), mathematician (Artin's conjecture)
* Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906), physicist, born in Vienna (Boltzmann constant)
* Fritjof Capra (born 1939), physicist, born in Vienna
* Carl Cori (1896–1984), born in Prague, Austria-Hungary, biochemist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947
* Carl Djerassi (1923-2015), chemist, inventor of the pill
* Christian Doppler (1803–1853), physicist, born in Salzburg (See Doppler effect)
* Paul Ehrenfest (1880–1933), physicist and mathematician
* Felix Ehrenhaft (1879–1952), maverick physicist
* Josef Finger (1841–1925), physicist and mathematician
* Heinz von Foerster (1911–2002), cyberneticist
* Kurt Gödel (1906–1978), mathematician (born in Austria-Hungary, became naturalized U.S. citizen)
* Hans Hahn (1879–1934), mathematician (member of the Vienna Circle)
* Friedrich Hasenöhrl (1874–1915), physicist
* Victor Franz Hess (1883–1964), physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
* Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727–1817), chemist
* Walter Kohn (1923–2016), Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1998
* Georg Kreisel (1923–2015), philosopher and mathematician
* Hans Kronberger (1920-1970), nuclear physicist
* Richard Kuhn (1900–1967), chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1938
* Robert von Lieben (1878-1913), physicist (Jewish father)
* Johann Josef Loschmidt (1821–1895), physicist and chemist
* Ernst Mach (1838–1916), physicist and philosopher (Mach number)
* Lise Meitner (1878-1968), physicist, discovered nuclear fission of uranium with * Otto Hahn, namegiver of element 109 * meitnerium
* Richard von Mises (1883–1953), physicist (younger brother of Ludwig von Mises)
* John von Neumann (1903–1957), mathematician (Hungarian, Budapest-born)
* Wolfgang Pauli (1900–1958), physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1945
* Max Ferdinand Perutz (1914–2002), chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1962
* Johanna Piesch (1898–1992), physicist, mathematician, pioneer in switching algebra
* Fritz Pregl (1869–1930), chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1923
* Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961), physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
* Heinrich Franz Friedrich Tietze (1880–1964), mathematician
* Victor Frederick Weisskopf (1908–2002), physicist; during World War II, worked at Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb; later campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons
* Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858–1929), chemist
* Gernot Zippe (1917–2008), physicist (developed Zippe-type centrifuge to extract uranium-235 for nuclear weapons)
* Richard Adolf Zsigmondy (1865–1929), chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1925 (Hungarian origin)

### Physicians

* Alfred Adler (1870–1937), psychiatrist, father of Individual Psychology
* Hans Asperger (1906–1980), pediatrician who studied autism, person for whom Asperger syndrome is named
* Leopold Auenbrugger (1722–1809), physician (method of percussion)
* Robert Bárány (1876–1936), physician, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Josef Breuer (1842–1925), physician (forerunner in psychoanalysis)
* Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow (1846–1891), physician and physiologist (studies of nerves and the brain)
* Viktor Frankl (1905–1997), psychiatrist, father of logotherapy
* Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), psychiatrist, father of psychoanalysis
* Karl von Frisch (1886–1982), physician, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Leo Kanner (1894–1981), child psychiatrist
* Helen Singer Kaplan (1929-1995), sex therapist
* Karl Landsteiner (1886–1943), physician, serologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Otto Loewi (1873–1961), pharmacologist (born in Germany, but spent 40 years of his life, from age 25, in Austria) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Karol Ignacy Lorinser (1796–1853), physician
* Franz Mesmer (1734–1815), physician, developed an early form of hypnotism
* Paracelsus (1493–1541), (real name: Theophrast von Hohenheim), alchemist and physician
* Clemens von Pirquet (1874–1929), pediatrician and scientist in bacteriology and immunology
* Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), psychiatrist
* Erwin Ringel (1921–1994), Austrian psychiatrist (presuicidal syndrome)
* Ignaz Semmelweis (1818–1865), physician (born in Hungary, Austria-Hungary)
* Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857–1940), physician, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1927

### Psychologists

* Alfred Adler (1870-1937), founding member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and founder of the school of individual psychology
* Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), psychiatrist and psychologist
* Anna Freud (1895-1982), Vienna-born child psychologist and daughter of Sigmund Freud
* Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Moravian-born founder of psychoanalysis and neurologist
* Marie Jahoda (1907-2001), psychologist
* Helen Singer Kaplan (1929-1995), sex therapist
* Melanie Klein (1882-1960), psychotherapy
* Heinz Kohut (1913-1981), psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
* Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), psychiatry and psychoanalysis
* Paul Watzlawick (1921–2007), communication theory

### Other scientists

* Othenio Abel (1875–1946), paleontologist
* Karl von Czyhlarz (1833–1914), Czech-Austrian jurist
* Sir Otto Frankel (1900-1998), geneticist
* Martin Gerzabek (born 1961), ecologist and soil scientist
* Helene Gröger-Wurm (1921–2005), Austrian-born Australian ecologist
* Hans Hass (1919–2013), biologist and diving pioneer
* Max Hecker (1879–1964), Austrian-born Israeli President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
* Eric Kandel (born 1929), neuroscientist, winner of 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Hans Kelsen (1881–1973), jurist (father of the Austrian constitution)
* Konrad Lorenz (1903–1989), zoologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Gregor Mendel (1822–1884), pioneer of genetics
* Karl Koller (1857-1944), ophthalmologist; first to use cocaine as an anaesthetic
* Julius Pokorny (1887–1970), linguist
* Leo Reinisch (1832–1919), linguist, Africanist and Egyptologist
* Rupert Riedl (1925–2005), zoologist

## Sports

* Margarete Adler (1896–1990), swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist (4x100m freestyle relay)
* David Alaba (born 1992), footballer, winner of 2012–13 UEFA Champions League with FC Bayern Munich
* Felix Baumgartner (born 1969), world record setting skydiver
* Gerhard Berger (born 1959), racing driver
* Richard Bergmann (1919–1970), seven-time world table tennis champion, ITTF Hall of Fame
* Hedy Bienenfeld (1907–1976), Austrian-American Olympic swimmer
* Albert Bogen (Albert Bógathy) (1882–1961), saber fencer, Olympic silver medalist
* Fritzi Burger (1910–1999), figure skater, two-time Olympic silver medalist, two-time World silver medalist
* Hans Dobida (1929–2025), inductee into the IIHF Hall of Fame
* Michaela Dorfmeister (born 1973), alpine skier
* Eva Duldig (born 1938), Austrian-born Australian and Dutch tennis player, author
* Erich Eliskases (1913–1997), chess grandmaster
* Robert Fein (1907–1975), Olympic Champion weightlifter
* Otto Fischer (1901–1941), footballer and coach
* Siegfried Flesch (1872–1939), sabre fencer, Olympic bronze medalist
* Toni Fritsch (1945–2005), soccer and football player who won the Super Bowl in 1972
* Michael Grabner (born 1987), NHL player
* Ernst Grünfeld (1893–1962), chess grandmaster
* Gunther (wrestler) (born 1987), professional wrestler signed to WWE
* Alfred Guth (1908–1996), Austrian-born American water polo player, swimmer, and Olympic modern pentathlete
* Hans Haas (1906–1973), Olympic champion weightlifter (lightweight), silver medalist
* Tunç Hamarat (born 1946), correspondence chess world champion (2004)
* Ernst Happel (1925–1992), football player and coach
* Judith Haspel (born "Judith Deutsch"; 1918–2004), held every Austrian women's middle and long-distance freestyle record in 1935
* Otto Herschmann (1877–1942), two-time Olympic silver medalist (in saber fencing/team sabre and 100m freestyle)
* Hansi Hinterseer (born 1954), skier, singer, actor, entertainer
* Nickolaus Hirschl (1906–1991), two-time Olympic bronze medalist in wrestling (heavyweight freestyle and Greco-Roman), shot put and discus junior champion, weightlifting junior champion, and pentathlon champion
* Felix Kaspar (1915–2003), figure skater, Olympic bronze medalist
* Franz Klammer (born 1953), Olympic alpine ski champion
* Alfred König (1913–1987), Austrian-Turkish Olympic sprinter
* Hans Krankl (born 1953), football player and coach
* Ruth Langer (1921–1999), Austrian national champion swimmer who refused to attend the 1936 Summer Olympics, along with Judith Haspel and Lucie Goldner
* Niki Lauda (1949–2019), Formula One race car driver and aviation entrepreneur
* Fritzi Löwy (1910–1994), Austrian Olympic swimmer
* Hermann Maier (born 1972), Olympic alpine ski champion
* Alex Manninger (born 1977), professional footballer for Arsenal F.C., winner of 1997–98 FA Premier League title
* Klara Milch (born 1970), swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist (4x100m freestyle relay)
* Uberto De Morpurgo (1896–1961), Austrian-born Italian tennis player
* Annemarie Moser-Pröll (born 1953), alpine skier
* Thomas Muster (born 1967), tennis champion
* Paul Neumann (1875–1932), Olympic champion swimmer (500m freestyle)
* Fred Oberlander (born 1996), wrestler; world champion (freestyle heavyweight); Maccabiah champion
* Eva Pawlik (1927–1983), European figure skating Champion, World and Olympic runner-up, show star, actress, the world's first female sports commentator on TV (from 1962–1972)
* Felix Pipes (1887–1983), tennis player, Olympic silver medalist (doubles)
* Maxim Podoprigora (born 1978), Olympic swimmer
* Jakob Pöltl (born 1995), basketball player; played two seasons of U.S. college basketball at Utah before declaring for the 2016 NBA draft
* Ellen Preis (1912–2007), foil fencer, three-time world champion (1947, 1949, and 1950), Olympic champion, 17-time Austrian champion
* Herbert Prohaska (born 1955), football player and coach
* Roland Ratzenberger (1960–1994), race car driver, Formula One driver
* Jochen Rindt (1942–1970), race car driver, 1970 Formula One World Champion (posthumous)
* Marcel Sabitzer (born 1994), footballer
* Toni Sailer (1935–2009), Alpine skier, earned the Triple Crown of Alpine Skiing (by winning all three gold medals) at 1956 Olympic Games
* Otto Scheff (born "Otto Sochaczewsky"; 1889–1956), Olympic champion swimmer (400m freestyle) and two-time bronze medalist (400m freestyle, 1,500m freestyle)
* Max Scheuer (1895–1941), footballer; national team
* Werner Schlager (born 1972), 2003 Table Tennis World Champion
* Carl Schlechter (1874–1918), chess grandmaster
* Gregor Schlierenzauer (born 1990), ski jumper, Olympic bronze medalist, World and 4 Hills Tournament champion
* Heinrich Schönfeld (1900–1976), football player
* Matthias Sindelar (1903–1939), footballer
* Wilhelm Steinitz (1836–1900), winner of first-ever world chess championship in 1886
* Josephine Sticker (1894–1963), swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist (4x100m freestyle relay)
* Rudolf Spielmann (1883–1942), chess grandmaster
* Herma Szabo (1902–1986), Olympic and five-time World figure skating champion
* Dominic Thiem (born 1993), top-20 tennis player and Grand Slam Champion (Men's Singles, US Open 2020)
* Nicole Trimmel (born 1982), kickboxing champion
* Thomas Vanek (born 1984), NHL hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens
* Anita Wachter (born 1967 in Schruns), Olympic alpine ski champion
* Otto Wahle (1879–1963), swimmer, two-time Olympic silver medalist (1,000m freestyle, 200m obstacle race) and Olympic bronze medalist (400m freestyle); inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame
* Walter Wasservogel (1919–1993), inductee into the IIHF Hall of Fame

## Writers

* Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–1973), poet
* Hermann Bahr (1863–1934), playwright, novelist
* Ludwig Bemelmans (1898–1962), author of the Madeline books
* Thomas Bernhard (1931–1989), dramatist, novelist, poet, born in Cloister Heerlen, Netherlands
* Hermann Broch (1886–1951), novelist
* Max Brod (1884–1968), writer, born in Prague, Austria-Hungary, (Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic), wrote in German
* Heimito von Doderer (1896–1966), writer, born in Hadersdorf-Weidlingau near Vienna
* Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916), writer (style: psychological novelist)
* Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872), poet, Vienna
* Robert Hamerling (1830–1889), poet
* Peter Handke (born 1942), author, born in Griffen (Carinthia)
* Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929), dramatist, writer
* Martin Horváth (born 1967), writer
* Franz Kafka (1883–1924), novelist, born in Prague, Austria-Hungary
* Marie-Thérèse Kerschbaumer (born 1936), novelist, poet
* Werner Kofler (1947–2011), novelist and dramatist
* Karl Gottfried Ritter von Leitner (1800–1890), poet, writer, born in Graz
* Alexander Lernet-Holenia (1897–1976), novelist, poet, dramatist, critic
* Olga Misař (1876–1950), peace activist, feminist, writer
* Robert Musil (1880–1942), writer
* Johann Nestroy (1801–1862), playwright
* Christine Nöstlinger (1936–2018), writer (especially literature for children)
* Ferdinand Raimund (1790–1836), writer and dramatist
* Christoph Ransmayr (born 1954), writer
* Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), poet and novelist, born in Prague, (Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic)
* Peter Rosegger (1843–1918), writer, teacher & Styrian hero and visionary
* Joseph Roth (1894–1939), novelist
* Arthur Schnitzler (1862–1931), novelist and playwright
* Adalbert Stifter (1805–1868), poet and artist
* Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914), writer and pacifist Nobel Peace Prize winner, born in Prague, (Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic)
* Georg Trakl (1887–1914), poet
* Josef Weinheber (1892–1945), poet and essayist
* Marion Wiesel (born Mary Renate Erster; 1931–2025), Austrian-American Holocaust survivor, humanitarian, writer, and translator

## People of the Nazi Party and regime

* Stefan Zweig (1881–1942), novelist and playwright
* Amon Göth (1908–1946), commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp and executed Nazi war criminal
* Aribert Heim (1914–1992), physician ("Dr. Death") in the Mauthausen concentration camp
* Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), leader of the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany
* Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903–1946), high ranking SS officer and Nazi war criminal
* Arthur Seyss-Inquart (1892–1946), Reich Commissioner of the Netherlands

## Other notables

* Maria Altmann (1916–2011), niece of Adele Bloch-Bauer
* Oscar Baumann (1864–1899), explored the interior of German East Africa (present-day Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi)
* Robert Bernardis (1908–1944), resistance fighter during WW2 (July 20 Plot)
* Edward Bernays (1891–1995), Austrian-American pioneer in public relations, referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations"
* Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), subject of famous painting by Gustav Klimt
* Josef Fritzl (born 1935), notorious rapist
* Hugo Haberfeld (1875–1946), Jewish art dealer and gallery owner
* Otto von Habsburg (1912–2011), politician, writer, heir to the thrones of Austria-Hungary
* Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), "father of Zionism", lived most of his life in Austria
* Alois Hitler (1837–1903), father of Adolf Hitler
* Klara Hitler (1860–1907), mother of Adolf Hitler
* Andreas Hofer (1767–1810), Tyrolian freedom fighter (against Napoleon)
* Sylvie di Giusto, professional Speaker, Consultant and Author
* Heinrich Kanner (1864–1930), journalist and editor of the newspaper "Die Zeit" in the k.u.k. Monarchy
* Alma Mahler (1879–1964), wife and muse to Mahler, Gropius, Werfel
* Andreas Maislinger (born 1955), founder of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
* Erna Patak (1871–1955), Zionist, social worker
* Julius von Payer (1841–1915), polar explorer
* Wolfgang Puck (born 1949), celebrity chef and restaurateur
* Max Reinhardt (1873–1943), renowned theatre director
* Sister Maria Restituta (1894–1943), nun and nurse murdered by the Nazis
* Günther Schifter (1923–2008), radio personality
* Oskar Schindler (1908–1974), industrialist and famous World War II hero (saved his Jewish factory workers from Auschwitz), born in Svitavy, Moravia
* Otto Skorzeny (1908–1975), Nazi commando (rescuer of Benito Mussolini)
* Wolfgang Streitenberger (born 1952), European Commission senior official
* Carl Szokoll (1915–2004), resistance fighter ("saviour of Vienna"), author and film producer
* Georg Ludwig von Trapp (1880–1947), head of The Sound of Music family
* Franz Viehböck (born 1960), cosmonaut
* Hede von Trapp (1877–1947), painter artist
* Karl Weyprecht (1838–1881), polar explorer
* Simon Wiesenthal (1908–2005), pre-eminent Nazi hunter
* Walter Wolf (born 1939), business person