Leading Figures in History

Discover the people who shaped our world — from rulers and scientists to artists and activists.

21509 persons found

Otto I of Olomouc

Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

German duke (c. 1204–1252)

Otto I, Duke of Merania

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 to 1218

Otto Jahn

b. 1813

German philologist, archaeologist, and musicologist (1813–1869)

Otto Jespersen

Danish linguist (1860–1943)

Otto Klemperer

b. 1885

Conductor and composer (1885–1973)

Otto Kretschmer

b. 1912

German naval officer (1912–1998)

Otto Lilienthal

b. 1848

German aviation pioneer (1848–1896)

Otto Loewi

b. 1873

German pharmacologist (1873–1961)

Otto Luening

b. 1900

German-American composer and conductor (1900–1996)

Otto Mears

Colorado pioneer, road builder and entrepreneur (1840 – 1931)

Otto Muehl

Austrian artist

Otto Nicolai

b. 1810

19th-century German composer and conductor

Otto of Greece

b. 1815

King of Greece from 1832 to 1862

Otto Piene

b. 1928

German-American artist (1928–2014)

Otto Porter Jr.

b. 1993

American basketball player (born 1993)

Otto Preminger

Austrian-American director, producer, and actor (1905–1986)

Otto Rank

b. 1884

Austrian psychoanalyst (1884–1939)

Otto Skorzeny

b. 1908

Austrian Waffen-SS officer (1908–1975)

Otto Staudinger

b. 1830

German entomologist and a natural history dealer

Otto the Great

Holy Roman Emperor from 962 to 973

Otto von Guericke

German scientist, inventor, and politician (1602-1686)

Otto Warmbier

American imprisoned in North Korea (1994–2017)