Top 10 Famous German Americans

George W. Bush. Author Eric Draper, White House. Wikimedia

Top 10 Famous German Americans

American citizens of German descent are known as German Americans. They make up the largest ethnic ancestry group in the country, making up 17% of the total population. The American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau found that the German American population is the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups. Of all people with German ancestry worldwide, German Americans make up around one-third of the total.

In Pennsylvania and New York, the first significant numbers appeared in the 1680s. Since then, the country has received eight million immigrants from Germany. The 19^th century saw a significant increase in immigration. Interestingly,  the peak years were between 1840 and 1900, when the majority of immigrants to the United States were German.

California and Pennsylvania have the largest populations of German origin. The population is more than six million German Americans residing in the two states.

In the United States, more than 50 million people claim German ancestry. Some of them arrived seeking religious or political freedom, others for economic opportunities greater than those in Europe. Moreover, for the chance to start afresh in the New World.

Nearly every American county is home to people of German heritage. In practically every field, including science, architecture, entertainment, and the economic sector, German Americans and German immigrants have had a significant impact.

Here are the Top 10 Famous German Americans

1. Dankmar Adler

Adler was born in Stadtlengsfeld, Germany. His mother, Sara Eliel, died when he was born. They relocated to the United  States in 1854 with his father, Liebman.

 They settled in Detroit. Then they relocated to Chicago. Before leaving school to work as a draftsman, Adler completed some elementary-level coursework in Ann Arbor and the City of Detroit.

He is best known for his fifteen-year collaboration with Louis Sullivan, during which they created three iconic skyscrapers: the Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Missouri (1891), the Chicago Stock Exchange Building (1894), and the Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York. These buildings boldly addressed their steel skeleton through their exterior design (1896).

Dankmar Adler’s legacy goes far beyond his designs, lasting buildings, and writings on architectural theory.  

2. Alfred Eisenstaedt

Alfred Eisenstaedt. Author William Waterway Marks. WIKIMEDIA

Eisenstaedt was born in Dirschau (Tczew) in West Prussia, Imperial Germany in 1898. Eisenstaedt’s family was Jewish. He started his work in Germany before World War II.

Eisenstaedt was fascinated by photography from his youth and began taking pictures at age 11 when he was given his first camera, an Eastman Kodak Folding Camera with roll film.  Oppression in Hitler’s Nazi Germany caused them to emigrate to the U.S. They arrived in 1935 and settled in New York, where he subsequently became a naturalized citizen and joined fellow Associated Press émigrés Leon Daniel and Celia Kutschuk in their PIX Publishing photo agency.

 He rose to fame as a staff photographer for Life magazine. More than 90 of his images appeared on the covers of Life, and more than 2,500 of his photo essays were printed.

Eisenstaedt preferred the smaller hand-held Leica as opposed to the majority of news photographers at the time who relied on much larger and less portable 4”5” press cameras with flash attachments. The smaller one gave him more speed and flexibility when shooting news events or capturing candid shots of people in action. The fact that he frequently used natural light rather than relying on flash lighting made his images stand out as well.  His title as the “dean of today’s miniature-camera experts” was given to him by Life in 1944.

3. Caspar Butz 

Caspar Butz. Author Gustav Adolf Zimmermann. WIKIMEDIA

Butz was a German American journalist and politician born in Hagen, Kingdom of Prussia on October 23, 1825.  He was a member of the Forty Eight who came to America in 1851 and initially settled in Boston.

He was a journalist by profession, but he quickly got involved in politics and joined the newly formed Republican Party. He worked as a political writer for the Frémont and Lincoln campaigns. In 1858, Butz was chosen to serve alongside Ebenezer Peck in the Illinois House of Representatives as the representative for the 57^th District.

Butz was a prominent figure in American German-language journalism. He held a variety of positions at a number of journals, including the Michigan Tribune and the Illinois Staats-Zeitung, the latter of which he temporarily owned.

4. Julian Ritter

Ritter was born on September 19, 1909, as Julian Stawski in Hamburg, Germany. The only child of an aspiring Polish actress.

As a young adult, Ritter settled in Los Angeles. He worked as a dishwasher, an errand boy, and an order clerk throughout this time. A freelance artist who also painted lampshades.

After relocating to Chicago, Ritter developed a serious interest in art. He eventually got a scholarship to the Art Center School after returning to Los Angeles (now, Art Center College of Design). Under the instruction of Stanley Reckless, he learned the basics of figure painting.

Ritter painted a variety of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, and intricate compositions in addition to his well-known oil paintings of nudists, clowns, and portraits. He also worked in other media, such as pen-and-ink with watercolor, charcoal, and Conté crayons. Moreover, he enjoyed sketching caricatures and frequently sent drawings to friends rather than letters. Throughout his lifetime, Ritter’s fashion sense evolved.

5. John Peter Altgeld

John Peter Altgeld. Author Ann Arbor. WIKIMEDIA

The first child of John P.  and Mary Altgeld. Altgeld was born in the German Westerwald town of Selters. When he was three months old, his parents took him with them when they departed Germany.

He was an American politician who served as Illinois’ 20^th governor from 1893 to 1897. Since the 1850s, he was the state’s first Democrat governor. Altgeld, a prominent member of the Progressive movement, approved laws governing industrial safety and child labor.

Moreover, he released three of the men convicted in the Haymarket Affair and refused requests in 1894 to use force to put an end to the Pullman strike. He led the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in 1896, which was in opposition to President Grover Cleveland and the Bourbon Democrats. In 1896, he lost his bid for reelection after a heated, protracted campaign.

6. Gideon Adlon

Gideon Adlon. Author Daniel Benavides. Wikimedia

 Adlon was born in Los Angeles and is a citizen of both the United States and Germany thanks to her father. She is the eldest child of filmmaker Felix O. Adlon and actress Pamela Adlon.

 Adlon made her professional acting debut in an episode of the FX comedy-drama Louie in 2011. The series also starred her mother Pamela.

 She is most recognized for her leading performances in the drama The Mustang (2019), the horror movie The Craft: Legacy, and the comedy Blockers from 2018. (2020). Adlon also appeared in the drama series The Society on Netflix (2019). In the video game The Walking Dead: The Final Season, she played the role of Violet (2018).

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 7. George Antheil

George Antheil. Author Berenice Abbott. Wikimedia

Antheil was raised in a family of German immigrants in Trenton, New Jersey, as George Johann Carl Antheil. Antheil attended the Trenton public schools for his education.

 He was raised bilingually, began writing poetry, prose, and music at a young age, and never received a high school diploma or a college degree. In fact, he failed to graduate from Trenton Central High School in 1918.  He was an avant-garde musician from the United States who also wrote, invented, and played the piano. His modernist compositions explored the musical, industrial, and mechanical sounds of the early 20^th century.

Antheil spent the majority of the 1920s in Europe before moving back to the United States in the 1930s. He then devoted the majority of his time to writing music for movies and, eventually, television. His style evolved as a result of this work to become more tonal. Antheil was a man of many talents and interests, and he was always changing. He also penned an autobiography, a mystery book, newspaper, and music essays, as well as magazine articles, one of which properly anticipated the course and result of World War II.

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8. Florence Harding

Florence Kling Harding. Author Underwood & Underwood Studios. WIKIMEDIA

On August 15, 1860, Florence Mabel Kling was born in Marion, Ohio, above her father’s hardware store at 126 South Main Street. Florence was the oldest of Amos Kling’s three children. He was a well-known Marion accountant and businessman of German descent.

As the 29^th president of the United States, Warren G. Harding’s wife, Florence Harding served as the country’s first lady from 1921 until 1923. She had a significant impact on her husband’s business and political career due to her dynamism, independence, and popularity.

 She was known as The Duchess, she adapted well to the White House, where she gave notably elegant parties. The backgrounds of many of the women who came before Florence Mabel Kling at the White House were noticeably different.

 9. George Bush

Official photograph portrait of U.S. President George W. Bush.Author Eric Draper. WIKIMEDIA

George Bush is another well-known German American. He was born on July  6, 1946, at Grace New Haven Hospital in New Haven Connecticut.  His parents were George Herbert Walker  Bush and Barbara.  His father was Ronald Reagan’s vice president from 1981 to 1989 and the 41^st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and German ancestry.

He Is an American retired politician who served as the 43^rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party. Bush previously served as the 46^th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

 10. Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger at the 2009 premiere of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Author David Shankbone.Wikimedia

This is another prominent German  American. He was the nation’s Secretary of State and National Security Advisor during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He is an American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant of German descent.

Having fled Nazi Germany with his family as a Jew in 1938, Kissinger was a bright student who graduated from Harvard College with a BA degree summa cum laude in 1950 after studying under William Yandell Elliott. At Harvard University, he earned his MA in 1951 and his Ph.D. in 1954, respectively. Kissinger was controversially awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in brokering a cease-fire in Vietnam.

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