List of Famous people born in Thuringia, Germany

Otto Benndorf was a German-Austrian archaeologist who was a native of Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz. He was the father of physicist Hans Benndorf (1870–1953).

Georg Robert Döpel was a German experimental nuclear physicist. He was a participant in a group known as the "first Uranverein", which was spawned by a meeting conducted by the Reichserziehungsministerium, in April 1939, to discuss the potential of a sustained nuclear reaction. He worked under Werner Heisenberg at the University of Leipzig, and he conducted experiments on spherical layers of uranium oxide surrounded by heavy water. He was a contributor to the German nuclear weapon project (Uranprojekt). In 1945, he was sent to Russia to work on the Soviet atomic bomb project. He returned to Germany in 1957, and he became professor of applied physics and director of the Institut für Angewandte Physik at the Hochschule für Elektrotechnik, now Technische Universität, in Ilmenau (Thuringia).

Heinrich Christian Beck was a German actor and playwright.

Isabell Ost is a German speed skater. She competed in the women's 1500 metres at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Johann Friedrich Doles was a German composer and pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Rolf Hansen was a German film director. He directed 20 films between 1936 and 1960.