List of people from Budapest

The following list includes notable people who were born, lived or resided in Budapest, Hungary and/or who became its honorary citizens, either during their lifetime or posthumously.

Academics

• Mihail G. Boiagi - grammarian and professor
• Raoul Bott - mathematician
• Gábor Döbrentei - philologist and antiquary
• Paul Erdős - mathematician
• Endre Fülei-Szántó - linguist
• John Harsanyi - economist, philosopher, and laureate of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics
• Theodor Herzl - journalist, political activist, and father of modern political Zionism
• Károly Kerényi - scholar
• János Kornai - economist
• Peter Lax - mathematician
• László Lovász - mathematician
• Michael Polanyi
• George Pólya - mathematician
• Sándor Scheiber - rabbi and scholar
• Thomas Sebeok - semiotician
• Thomas Szász - psychiatrist and activist
• Endre Szemerédi - mathematician
• Edit Tasnádi - literary translator and academic

Artists

• Andrea Bartha - set designer, costume designer, and visual artist
• Robert Capa - photographer
• Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka - painter
• Gábor Csupó - animator
• Béni Ferenczy - sculptor and graphic artist
• Árpád Feszty - painter
• André François - cartoonist
• Líviusz Gyulai - graphic designer
• Henrik Heintz - painter
• Miklós Izsó - sculptor
• Jenő Jendrassik - painter
• Ferenc Joachim - painter
• Ede Kallós - sculptor
• Lajos Kassák
• André Kertész - photographer
• Zsigmond Kisfaludi Stróbl - sculptor and visual artist
• Miklós Ligeti - sculptor and visual artist
• Imre Makovecz - architect
• János Manninger - photographer
• Ferenc Medgyessy - sculptor
• Ladislav Mednyánszky - painter and philosopher
• László Moholy-Nagy - painter and photographer
• Gustav Morelli - engraver and illustrator
• István Orosz - painter, printmaker, graphic designer, and animated film director
• George Pal - animator, director, and producer
• János Pásztor - sculptor
• Ferenc Rófusz - animator
• József Róna - sculptor and visual artist
• Albert Schickedanz - architect and painter
• Gyorgy Bp. Szabo - graphic designer and musician
• Dezső Váli - painter
• Victor Vasarely - visual artist
• András Vikár - architect and educator
• Tamás Waliczky - visual artist and animator
• Ze'ev - caricaturist and illustrator

Athletes

• Róbert Antal - water polo
• Barbara Bagócsi - handball
• Péter Bakonyi (born 1933) - fencing
• Péter Bakonyi (born 1938) - fencing
• Rudolf Bauer - discus throwing
• Tibor Benedek - water polo player and coach
• Gyula Bíró - football
• József Braun - footballer and manager
• Ákos Buzsáky - football
• Ibolya Csák - high jumper and gymnast
• Zoltán Czibor - football
• Tamás Darnyi - swimmer
• Krisztina Egerszegi - swimmer
• Ilona Elek - fencing
• Zsolt Erdei - boxing
• Jenő Fuchs - fencing
• Tamás Gábor - fencing
• János Garay - fencing
• Oszkár Gerde - fencing
• Aladár Gerevich - fencing
• Sándor Gombos - fencing
• Gyula Grosics - footballer and manager
• Béla Guttmann - footballer and manager
• Gábor Gyepes - football
• Alfréd Hajós - swimmer and footballer
• Nándor Hidegkuti - footballer and manager
• Gábor Horváth - kayaker and spring canoeist
• Gary Kallos - wrestling
• Ágnes Keleti - gymnast and coach
• Vilmos Kertész - football
• Ralph Klein - basketball player and coach
• Zsuzsa Körmöczy - tennis
• István Kovács - boxing
• Pál Kovács - fencing
• Zoltán Kovács - ice hockey coach and administrator
• Lily Kronberger - figure skating
• Imi Lichtenfeld - martial arts
• Zoltán Magyar - gymnastics
• Gyula Mándi - football
• Opika von Méray Horváth - figure skating
• Zoltan Nagy - professional wrestler
• Henrik Nádler - football
• László Papp - boxing
• Attila Petschauer - fencing
• Ferenc Puskás - football
• Béla Rajki-Reich - swimming and water polo coach
• László Schnell - ice hockey official
• Béla Sebestyén - football
• Gusztáv Sebes - football
• Zoltán Stieber - football
• László Szollás - figure skating
• Ildikó Rejtő - fencing
• Lajos Werkner - fencing
• George Worth - fencing

Authors

• Endre Ady - poet
• János Arany - poet
• Mihály Babits - poet, writer, and translator
• Dániel Berzsenyi - poet
• Péter Esterházy
• György Faludy - poet
• Ferenc Fejtő - journalist and political scientist
• Tamás Harle - journalist
• Attila József - poet
• József Kármán
• József Katona
• Ferenc Kazinczy
• Zsigmond Kemény
• András Kenessei - art historian, writer, and journalist
• Imre Kertész - author and laureate of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Ephraim Kishon - author and filmmaker
• Arthur Koestler - writer and journalist
• György Konrád - novelist
• Domokos Kosáry - writer and historian
• Imre Madách - writer and poet
• Sándor Márai
• Zsigmond Móricz
• András Petőcz - writer and poet
• Sándor Petőfi - poet and liberal revolutionary
• Magda Szabó - novelist
• László Teleki - writer and statesman
• Mihály Vörösmarty - poet and dramatist
• Zsuzsanna Budapest - writer, activist, playwright, and songwriter

Entertainment and Film

• András Arató - model and internet meme
• Gábor Bódy - director, screenwriter, theoretic, and actor
• Monique Covét - pornographic actress and fetish model
• Ágnes Csomor - actress
• Eva Gabor - actress and socialite
• Magda Gabor - actress and socialite
• Zsa Zsa Gabor - actress and socialite
• Mickey Hargitay - actor and 1955 Mr. Universe
• Géza Hofi - actor and comedian
• Harry Houdini - escapologist and stuntperson
• Miklós Jancsó - director and screenwriter
• Gyula Kabos - actor and comedian
• Flóra Kádár - actress
• Lajos Koltai - cinematographer and director
• David Merlini - escapologist and world record holder
• Barbara Palvin - model
• Pál Regős - theatre director and choreographer
• Ernő Rubik - inventor of the Rubik's cube
• Ilona Staller - pornographic actress, politician, and singer
• István Szabó - film director, screenwriter, and opera director
• Béla Tarr - filmmaker
• Mari Törőcsik - actress
• Ivan Tors - playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer
• Vilmos Zsigmond - cinematographer

Musicians

• Niki Belucci - DJ
• János Bihari - violinist
• Gábor Darvas - composer and musicologist
• Ernő von Dohnányi - composer, pianist, and conductor
• Antal Doráti - conductor and composer
• Péter Eötvös - composer, conductor, and teacher
• Tamás Erdélyi - drummer
• Ferenc Erkel - composer, conductor, and pianist
• Jakob Grün - violinist
• Péter Halász - conductor
• Pál Kadosa - composer
• Zoltán Kodály - composer, ethnomusicologist, and pedagogue
• Ildikó Komlósi - mezzo-soprano
• György Kurtág - composer and pianist
• Franz Liszt - composer and pianist
• Ervin Nyiregyházi - pianist
• Paul Alexander Nyiri - opera singer
• Tibor Paul - conductor
• Zoltán Peskó - conductor and composer
• Charles Reiner - pianist and educator
• András Schiff - pianist
• Gábor Szabó - guitarist
• Jenő Szenkár - conductor
• László Vidovszky - composer and pianist
• Márton Vizy - singer, songwriter, and composer

Politicians

• Gyula Andrássy - statesman
• Gábor Baross - statesman
• Étienne Davignon - diplomat, civil servant, vice-president of the European Commission
• Árpád Göncz - president of Hungary from 1990 to 2000
• Nicholas Greiner
• Gábor Harangozó
• Miklós Horthy - admiral and statesman
• Mihály Károlyi - president of Hungary from 1918 to 1919
• Lajos Kossuth
• László Kovács
• Béla Kun - communist revolutionary
• Tom Lantos
• Imre Nagy - leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
• István Széchenyi - noble and statesman
• István Tisza
• Miklós Wesselényi

Scientists

• Franz Alexander - psychoanalyst and physician
• Michael Balint - psychoanalyst
• Zoltán Lajos Bay - physicist, professor, and engineer
• Donát Bánki - engineer and inventor
• Georg von Békésy - biophysicist and laureate of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Medicine
• Ottó Bláthy - electrical engineer and inventor
• Miksa Déri - electrical engineer
• Loránd Eötvös - physicist
• Sándor Ferenczi - psychoanalyst
• Ábrahám Ganz - iron manufacturer, machine and technical engineer, entrepreneur
• Dennis Gabor - electrical engineer, physicist, and laureate of the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physics
• George de Hevesy - radiochemist and laureate of the 1943 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Máté Hidvégi - biochemist and inventor
• János Irinyi - chemist and inventor
• György Jendrassik - physicist and mechanical engineer
• Kálmán Kandó - engineer and inventor
• Theodore von Kármán - mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist
• Philipp Lenard - physicist and laureate of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Alexander Nadas - pediatric cardiologist
• John von Neumann - mathematician and physicist
• George Andrew Olah - chemist and laureate of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• John Polanyi - chemist and laureate of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Tivadar Puskás - inventor
• Alexander Radó - cartographer, geographer, and Soviet military intelligence agent
• István Rosztóczy - microbiologist and medical researcher
• Géza Róheim - psychoanalyst and anthropologist
• Gábor A. Somorjai - chemistry professor and researcher
• József Szabó von Szentmiklós - geologist
• Paul B. Szanto - pathologist
• Victor Szebehely - key figure in the development of the Apollo program
• Albert Szent-Györgyi - biochemist and laureate of the 1937 Nobel Prize in Medicine
• Leó Szilárd - physicist and inventor
• Mária Telkes - biophysicist and inventor
• Edward Teller - nuclear physicist
• Eugene Wigner - physicist, mathematician, and laureate of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Károly Zipernowsky - engineer
• Paula Zsidi - archeologist and museum director

Other notable people and honorary citizens

• Princess Viktória de Bourbon de Parme - lawyer, businesswoman, and royal
• Gyula Breyer - chess player
• Václav Havel- honorary citizen
• Kati Kovács – honorary citizen
• Andor Lilienthal - chess player
• Johann Löwenthal - chess player
• Géza Maróczy - chess player
• József Mindszenty - cardinal
• Susan Polgar - chess grandmaster
• Judit Polgár - chess grandmaster
• Zsófia Polgár - chess player, teacher, and artist
• Lajos Portisch - chess player
• Elvis Presley – honorary citizen
• Mordechai Efraim Fischel Sofer-Zussman - chief rabbi of Budapest
• George Soros - investor and philanthropist
• László Szabó - chess player
• Edward Teller – honorary citizen
• Lech Walesa – honorary citizen
• Raoul Wallenberg – honorary citizen