Famous People from Poland

90 notable historical figures from Poland, including leaders, artists, scientists, and other influential people.

John Paul II

1920 – 2005

264th pope of the Catholic Church (1978–2005)

Born May 18

Henryk Sienkiewicz

1846 – 1916

Polish writer, novelist, journalist, philanthropist and Nobel Prize laureate (1846–1916)

Born May 5

Adam Mickiewicz

1798 – 1855

Polish national poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator, and political activist (1798-1855)

Born December 24

Joseph Conrad

1857 – 1924

Polish-British writer (1857–1924)

Born December 3

Czesław Miłosz

1911 – 2004

Polish-American poet and Nobel laureate (1911–2004)

Born June 30

Wisława Szymborska

1923 – 2012

Polish poet, Nobel Prize winner (1923–2012)

Born July 2

Lech Kaczyński

1949 – 2010

Polish politician, democratic oppositionist, ministry of justice, president of Poland (1949–2010)

Born June 18

Isaac Bashevis Singer

1904 – 1991

Polish-American writer (1904–1991)

Born July 14

Roman Polanski

1933 – Present

French-Polish filmmaker (born 1933)

Born August 18

Donald Tusk

1957 – Present

Prime Minister of Poland (2007–2014; since 2023)

Born April 22

Andrzej Duda

1972 – Present

politician and lawyer, president of Poland from 2015 to 2025

Born May 16

Robert Lewandowski

1988 – Present

Polish association football player (born 1988)

Born August 21

Steve Wozniak

1950 – Present

American computer pioneer, inventor, computer engineer and programmer; co-founder of Apple Inc.

Born August 11

Stanisław Lem

1921 – 2006

Polish science fiction author, philosopher and futurologist, studied medical doctor (1921–2006)

Born September 12

Miroslav Klose

1978 – Present

German professional football manager and former player

Born June 9

Menachem Begin

1913 – 1992

Israeli politician and former Prime Minister (1913–1992)

Born August 16

Olga Tokarczuk

1962 – Present

Polish writer and activist (*1962)

Born January 29

Horst Köhler

1943 – 2025

German politician (CDU); president of Germany, 2004–2010

Born February 22

Lukas Podolski

1985 – Present

German association football player (born 1985)

Born June 4

Bronisław Komorowski

1952 – Present

Polish politician; President of Poland (2010–2015)

Born June 4

Wojciech Jaruzelski

1923 – 2014

Polish military and political official, leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 to 1989

Born July 6

Leonid Kravchuk

1934 – 2022

Ukrainian politician & 1rd President of Ukraine

Born January 10

Benoit Mandelbrot

1924 – 2010

Polish-born, French and American mathematician (1924–2010)

Born November 20

Georges Charpak

1924 – 2010

French physicist (1924-2010)

Born August 1

Nâzım Hikmet

1901 – 1963

Turkish communist poet, playwright and novelist (1902–1963)

Born November 30

Aleksander Kwaśniewski

1954 – Present

President of Poland from 1995 to 2005

Born November 15

Andrzej Wajda

1926 – 2016

Polish film director (1926–2016)

Born March 6

Arthur Rubinstein

1887 – 1982

Polish-American classical pianist (1887-1982)

Born January 28

Beata Szydło

1963 – Present

Polish politician, former Prime Minister of Poland, member of European Parliament

Born April 15

Mateusz Morawiecki

1968 – Present

17th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland

Born June 20

Irena Sendler

1910 – 2008

Polish resistance fighter and Holocaust rescuer (1910-2008)

Born February 15

Wojciech Szczęsny

1990 – Present

Polish association football player

Born April 18

Krzysztof Kieślowski

1941 – 1996

Polish film director and screenwriter (1941–1996)

Born June 27

Tadeusz Reichstein

1897 – 1996

Polish-Swiss chemist (1897-1996)

Born July 20

Zygmunt Bauman

1925 – 2017

Polish philosopher and sociologist (1925-2017)

Born November 19

Wilhelm Reich

1897 – 1957

Austrian-American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, sex educator and sociologist (1897–1957)

Born March 24

Juliusz Słowacki

1809 – 1849

Polish Romantic poet (1809–1849)

Born September 4

Karol Nawrocki

1983 – Present

Polish politician and historian, President of the Republic of Poland since 2025

Born March 3

Andrzej Sapkowski

1948 – Present

Polish novelist (born 1948)

Born June 21

Jakub Błaszczykowski

1985 – Present

Polish association football player

Born December 14

Leonid Hurwicz

1917 – 2008

Polish-American economist and mathematician (1917–2008)

Born August 21

Marek Grechuta

1945 – 2006

Polish singer and composer (1945-2006)

Born December 10

Bolesław Prus

1847 – 1912

Polish novelist (1847–1912)

Born August 20

Marija Gimbutas

1921 – 1994

Lithuanian-American archaeologist

Born January 23

Alfred Döblin

1878 – 1957

German expressionist novelist (1878–1957)

Born August 10

Vaslav Nijinsky

1889 – 1950

Polish-Russian ballet dancer and choreographer

Born March 12

Krzysztof Penderecki

1933 – 2020

Polish composer and conductor (1933–2020)

Born November 23

Joseph Rotblat

1908 – 2005

Polish-born British-naturalised physicist

Born November 4

Casimir III the Great

1310 – 1370

King of Poland from 1333 to 1370

Born April 30

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

1860 – 1941

Polish pianist, composer, supporter of Poland's independence movements, politician, Prime Minister of reborn Poland (1860–1941)

Born November 18

Tadeusz Mazowiecki

1927 – 2013

Polish politician and prime minister (1927-2013)

Born April 18

Stanisław Jerzy Lec

1909 – 1966

Polish writer (1909–1966)

Born March 6

Iga Świątek

2001 – Present

Polish tennis player

Born May 31

Zbigniew Boniek

1956 – Present

Polish association football player and manager

Born March 3

Józef Gosławski

1908 – 1963

Polish sculptor and medallic artist (1908–1963)

Born April 24

Ewa Kopacz

1956 – Present

Vice President of the European Parliament

Born December 3

Julius Axelrod

1912 – 2004

American biochemist (1912–2004)

Born May 30

Sławomir Mrożek

1930 – 2013

Polish dramatist and writer (1930-2013)

Born June 26

Łukasz Fabiański

1985 – Present

Polish association football player

Born April 18

Arkadiusz Milik

1994 – Present

Polish association football player

Born February 28

Ryszard Kapuściński

1932 – 2007

Polish journalist, photographer, poet and author (1932–2007)

Born March 4

Paul Wesley

1982 – Present

American actor (born 1982)

Born July 23

Jerzy Buzek

1940 – Present

Prime Minister of Poland (r. 1997–2001); President of the European Parliament (r. 2009–2012)

Born July 3

Leszek Kołakowski

1927 – 2009

Philosopher, historian of ideas (1927–2009)

Born October 23

Agnieszka Radwańska

1989 – Present

Polish tennis player

Born March 6

Alfred Tarski

1901 – 1983

Polish-American logician (1901-1983)

Born January 14

Tamara de Lempicka

1898 – 1980

Polish painter (1894-1980)

Born May 16

Martha Stewart

1941 – Present

American businesswoman, writer, TV personality (born 1941)

Born August 3

Emerson Fittipaldo

1946 – Present

Brazilian racing driver (born 1946)

Born December 12

Tomasz Kuszczak

1982 – Present

Polish footballer (born 1982)

Born March 20

Kamil Glik

1988 – Present

Polish association football player

Born February 3

Stephanie L. Kwolek

1923 – 2014

American chemist, inventor of Kevlar (1923–2014)

Born July 31

Władysław Szpilman

1911 – 2000

(1911-2000) Polish pianist, composer, Holocaust survivor

Born December 5

Piotr Świerczewski

1972 – Present

Polish association football player

Born April 8

Piotr Zieliński

1994 – Present

Polish association football player

Born May 20

Georg Forster

1754 – 1794

German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary (1754-1794)

Born November 27

Władysław Sikorski

1881 – 1943

Polish military and political leader (1881-1943)

Born May 20

Łukasz Piszczek

1985 – Present

Polish association football player

Born June 3

Jerzy Dudek

1973 – Present

Polish association football player (born 1973)

Born March 23