ASTRONAUT
Sigmund Jähn
1937 - 2019

Sigmund Jähn
Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (German: [jɛ:n]; 13 February 1937 – 21 September 2019) was a German pilot, cosmonaut, and Generalmajor (equivalent to a Brigadier General in Western armies) in the National People's Army of the GDR. He was the first German to fly into space as part of the Soviet Union's Interkosmos program in 1978. He was the very last living East German holder of the title Hero of the German Democratic Republic when he died in 2019. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Sigmund Jähn is the 24th most popular astronaut (down from 21st in 2019), the 963rd most popular biography from Germany (up from 1,161st in 2019) and the most popular German Astronaut.
Sigmund Jähn is most famous for being the last person on Earth to have been born before the start of the 20th century.
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Among ASTRONAUTS
Among astronauts, Sigmund Jähn ranks 24 out of 556. Before him are Alan Shepard, Gherman Titov, Robert Crippen, Dennis Tito, William R. Pogue, and Anna Lee Fisher. After him are Harrison Schmitt, Jack Lousma, David M. Brown, Svetlana Savitskaya, Gerald Carr, and Owen Garriott.
Most Popular Astronauts in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsAlan Shepard
1923 - 1998
HPI: 70.55
Rank: 18
Gherman Titov
1935 - 2000
HPI: 70.40
Rank: 19
Robert Crippen
1937 - Present
HPI: 69.59
Rank: 20
Dennis Tito
1940 - Present
HPI: 69.35
Rank: 21
William R. Pogue
1930 - 2014
HPI: 68.92
Rank: 22
Anna Lee Fisher
1949 - Present
HPI: 68.71
Rank: 23
Sigmund Jähn
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 24
Harrison Schmitt
1935 - Present
HPI: 67.96
Rank: 25
Jack Lousma
1936 - Present
HPI: 67.90
Rank: 26
David M. Brown
1956 - 2003
HPI: 67.88
Rank: 27
Svetlana Savitskaya
1948 - Present
HPI: 67.55
Rank: 28
Gerald Carr
1932 - 2020
HPI: 66.77
Rank: 29
Owen Garriott
1930 - 2019
HPI: 66.76
Rank: 30
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1937, Sigmund Jähn ranks 58. Before him are Colin Powell, Roberta Flack, Angelo Badalamenti, Sajida Talfah, Abu Nidal, and Vladimir Arnold. After him are Hélène Cixous, Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Ferdinand Piëch, Mario Capecchi, Tsukasa Hosaka, and Fernando de la Rúa. Among people deceased in 2019, Sigmund Jähn ranks 58. Before him are John Tate, John Robert Schrieffer, Ágnes Heller, Lennart Johansson, Yasuhiro Nakasone, and Godfried Danneels. After him are Ferdinand Piëch, Fernando de la Rúa, Zhores Alferov, Kary Mullis, Tony Buzan, and Alan García.
Others Born in 1937
Go to all RankingsColin Powell
POLITICIAN
1937 - 2021
HPI: 69.03
Rank: 52
Roberta Flack
SINGER
1937 - 2025
HPI: 69.03
Rank: 53
Angelo Badalamenti
COMPOSER
1937 - 2022
HPI: 68.92
Rank: 54
Sajida Talfah
POLITICIAN
1937 - Present
HPI: 68.81
Rank: 55
Abu Nidal
EXTREMIST
1937 - 2002
HPI: 68.58
Rank: 56
Vladimir Arnold
MATHEMATICIAN
1937 - 2010
HPI: 68.43
Rank: 57
Sigmund Jähn
ASTRONAUT
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 58
Hélène Cixous
WRITER
1937 - Present
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 59
Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
POLITICIAN
1937 - 2023
HPI: 68.35
Rank: 60
Ferdinand Piëch
BUSINESSPERSON
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.28
Rank: 61
Mario Capecchi
BIOLOGIST
1937 - Present
HPI: 68.21
Rank: 62
Tsukasa Hosaka
SOCCER PLAYER
1937 - 2018
HPI: 68.18
Rank: 63
Fernando de la Rúa
POLITICIAN
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.17
Rank: 64
Others Deceased in 2019
Go to all RankingsJohn Tate
MATHEMATICIAN
1925 - 2019
HPI: 69.04
Rank: 52
John Robert Schrieffer
PHYSICIST
1931 - 2019
HPI: 68.66
Rank: 53
Ágnes Heller
PHILOSOPHER
1929 - 2019
HPI: 68.58
Rank: 54
Lennart Johansson
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2019
HPI: 68.58
Rank: 55
Yasuhiro Nakasone
POLITICIAN
1918 - 2019
HPI: 68.43
Rank: 56
Godfried Danneels
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1933 - 2019
HPI: 68.39
Rank: 57
Sigmund Jähn
ASTRONAUT
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 58
Ferdinand Piëch
BUSINESSPERSON
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.28
Rank: 59
Fernando de la Rúa
POLITICIAN
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.17
Rank: 60
Zhores Alferov
PHYSICIST
1930 - 2019
HPI: 67.85
Rank: 61
Kary Mullis
CHEMIST
1944 - 2019
HPI: 67.74
Rank: 62
Tony Buzan
WRITER
1942 - 2019
HPI: 67.54
Rank: 63
Alan García
POLITICIAN
1949 - 2019
HPI: 67.47
Rank: 64
In Germany
Among people born in Germany, Sigmund Jähn ranks 963 out of 7,253. Before him are August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818), Maria Sophia of Neuburg (1666), Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal (1857), Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755), Karl Bühler (1879), and Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (1823). After him are Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1792), Karl Abraham (1877), Georg Elser (1903), Hans-Valentin Hube (1890), Prince Augustus William of Prussia (1722), and Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (1173).
Others born in Germany
Go to all RankingsAugust Wilhelm von Hofmann
CHEMIST
1818 - 1892
HPI: 68.38
Rank: 957
Maria Sophia of Neuburg
COMPANION
1666 - 1699
HPI: 68.38
Rank: 958
Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal
POLITICIAN
1857 - 1943
HPI: 68.37
Rank: 959
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1755 - 1813
HPI: 68.37
Rank: 960
Karl Bühler
PSYCHOLOGIST
1879 - 1963
HPI: 68.37
Rank: 961
Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria
POLITICIAN
1823 - 1914
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 962
Sigmund Jähn
ASTRONAUT
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 963
Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen
COMPANION
1792 - 1854
HPI: 68.34
Rank: 964
Karl Abraham
PSYCHOLOGIST
1877 - 1925
HPI: 68.34
Rank: 965
Georg Elser
DESIGNER
1903 - 1945
HPI: 68.33
Rank: 966
Hans-Valentin Hube
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1890 - 1944
HPI: 68.33
Rank: 967
Prince Augustus William of Prussia
POLITICIAN
1722 - 1758
HPI: 68.31
Rank: 968
Louis I, Duke of Bavaria
POLITICIAN
1173 - 1231
HPI: 68.31
Rank: 969
Among ASTRONAUTS In Germany
Among astronauts born in Germany, Sigmund Jähn ranks 1. After him are Ulf Merbold (1941), Hans Schlegel (1951), Thomas Reiter (1958), Ernst Messerschmid (1945), Jean-Jacques Favier (1949), Klaus-Dietrich Flade (1952), Ulrich Walter (1954), Reinhold Ewald (1956), Gerhard Thiele (1953), Alexander Gerst (1976), and Matthias Maurer (1970).
Sigmund Jähn
1937 - 2019
HPI: 68.36
Rank: 1
Ulf Merbold
1941 - Present
HPI: 59.86
Rank: 2
Hans Schlegel
1951 - Present
HPI: 54.18
Rank: 3
Thomas Reiter
1958 - Present
HPI: 54.18
Rank: 4
Ernst Messerschmid
1945 - Present
HPI: 53.57
Rank: 5
Jean-Jacques Favier
1949 - 2023
HPI: 52.65
Rank: 6
Klaus-Dietrich Flade
1952 - Present
HPI: 52.50
Rank: 7
Ulrich Walter
1954 - Present
HPI: 50.04
Rank: 8
Reinhold Ewald
1956 - Present
HPI: 49.83
Rank: 9
Gerhard Thiele
1953 - Present
HPI: 49.30
Rank: 10
Alexander Gerst
1976 - Present
HPI: 47.34
Rank: 11
Matthias Maurer
1970 - Present
HPI: 46.32
Rank: 12