History of Bratislava - Notable Historical Figures

Notable Historical Figures

This is a comprehensive list of historical figures who were born and/or lived in or visited Bratislava.

• Andrew III (see above 1291)
• Ján Bahýľ (1866–1916) – Slovak inventor, mainly focusing on flying machines
• Jozef Ignác Bajza (1755–1836) – see above, buried in the St. Martin's Cathedral in Pressburg
• Matthias Bel (1674–1749) – Hungarian-Slovak scientist, teacher at the Evangelic Lutheran Lyceum (see above) for 35 years
• Ján Levoslav Bella (1843–1936) – author of the first Slovak opera
• Anton Bernolák (1762–1813) – author of the first Slovak language standard (see above)
• Napoleon Bonaparte (see above 1805, 1809, 1811)
• Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490) – king of Hungary, founded the Universitas Istropolitana, conferred many privileges to Pressburg
• Georg Rafael Donner (1693–1741) – European sculptor, spent 11 years in Pressburg, author of the central sculpture in the St. Martin's Cathedral)
• Alexander Dubček (1921–1992) – Slovak politician and statesman, who lived in Bratislava
• Ernő Dohnányi (1877–1960) – also known as Ernst von Dohnányi, Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and educator born in Pressburg
• János Fadrusz (1858–1903) – sculptor born in Pressburg; he erected the Maria Theresa statue located on the former Coronation Hill in 1897, which was later destroyed in 1921
• Ferdinand V (see above 1848)
• Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) – gave many performances in Pressburg
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837) – a composer and virtuoso pianist born in Pressburg
• Gustáv Husák (1913–1991) – Slovak politician and the last communist president of Czechoslovakia born in Pressburg
• Janko Jesenský (1874–1945) – Slovak poet, writer and translator, who lived in Bratislava since 1929 and died there
• Karl Jetting (1730–1790) – the "Robinson of Pressburg", born in Pressburg, was shipwrecked many times and was living on an isolated island
• Wolfgang von Kempelen (1734–1804) – inventor, born in Pressburg
• Eduard Nepomuk Kozics (1829–1874) – important photographer
• Johann Sigismund Kusser (1660–1727) – founder of the Hamburg Opera, composer, born in Pressburg
• Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary of Jagiellon (1456–1516) – King of Bohemia and Hungary, spent most of his life in Pressburg
• Philipp Lenard (1862–1949) – physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905, born and raised in Pressburg
• Imi Lichtenfeld (1910–1998) – founder of the Israeli martial art Krav Maga, grew up in Pressburg / Bratislava
• Franz Liszt (1811–1886) – Hungarian composer, who played many concerts in Pressburg and was fond of the town
• Sigismund of Luxemburg (1368–1437) – Holy Roman Emperor, gave many important privileges to the town and had the Pressburg castle reconstructed
• Rodion Malinovsky (1898–1967) – Soviet leader of the troops that liberated Bratislava in April 1945, see above
• Franz Anton Maulbertsch (1724–1796) – Austrian painter working in Pressburg
• Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736–1783) – sculptor, who lived and died in Pressburg
• Samuel Mikoviny (1700–1750) – scientist and technician, founder of scientific cartography in Hungary, spent 10 years in Pressburg
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) – gave his only concert in Hungary in Pressburg
• Jozef Murgaš (1864–1929) – Slovak inventor, architect, botanist, painter, patriot, and one of the founders of radiotelegraphy, studied in Presssburg
• Oskar Nedbal (1874–1930) – composer and conductor, director of the Slovak National Theatre; (1923–1930) – conductor of the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra
• Adam Friedrich Oeser (1717–1799) – painter and sculptor, studied in Pressburg
• Ottakar II (see above 1271)
• Paracelsus (1493–1541) – chemist, scientist and doctor, visited Pressburg in 1537)
• Péter Pázmány (1570–1637) – archbishop of Esztergom, founded the University of Nagyszombat, built Jesuit colleges and schools in Pressburg
• Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849) – important Hungarian poet, who often visited Pressburg
• Alajos Rigele (1879–1940) – sculptor, born in Presssburg and author of many sculptures in Pressburg
• Johann Andreas Segner (1704–1777) – inventor of the (Segner wheel), doctor and professor, who was born and studied in Pressburg
• Franz Schmidt (1874–1939) – composer and teacher, born in Pressburg
• Ľudovít Štúr (1815–1856) – one of the most famous figures in modern Slovak history, leader of the Slovak national movement in the 19th century, creator of the present-day Slovak language standard (see above 1843), spent 20 years at the Evangelic Lutheran Lyceum (first as a student, then as a professor), deputy of the Hungarian diet in Pressburg, editor of the Slovak National Newspaper (Slovenskje národnje novini)
• Maria Theresa of Austria (1717–1780) – Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, spent much of her time in the Pressburg Castle, had the Castle walls demolished and the Castle restored (see above)
• Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1919) – one of the most important figures in modern Slovak history, astronomer, Slovak general of the French army, one of the creators of Czechoslovakia, studied and died in Pressburg (Bratislava ), the official name of the Bratislava Airport is "Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport"
• Július Satinský (1941–2002) – famous Slovak and Czechoslovak actor, spent his whole life in Bratislava
• Viktor Tilgner (1844–1896) – sculptor and professor in Vienna, born in Bratislava, many of his sculptures are in Pressburg (e.g., the Ganymedes Fountain and the Hummel Monument)
• Jozef Tiso (1887–1947) – president of the first Slovak Republic
• Rudolf Zahradník (born 1928) – important Czech chemist born in Bratislava
• Ludwig Schwarz (born 1940) – an Austrian bishop born in Bratislava
• Herta Däubler-Gmelin (born 1943) – German politician
• Paul Wittich (1877–1957) - labour leader in Pressburg around the First World War