Listed below are notable people who are either citizens of Bangladesh, born in the region of what is now Bangladesh, or of Bangladeshi origin living abroad. For brevity, people who fall into more than one category are listed in only one of them. For further information, see Bangladeshi people.
Leaders of independence movements British colonial period
Bipin Chandra Pal, one of the main architects of the Swadeshi movement.He also opposed the partition of Bengal by the British colonial government. Trailokyanath Chakravarty, Indian Independence activist, spent 30 years in Cellular Jail, later East Pakistani politician. Pulin Behari Das, revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. Kalpana Datta, revolutionary Ashwini Kumar Dutta, independence activist. organized Swadesh Bandhab Samiti to boycott British goods. Bhupendra Kumar Datta, born in Jessore, Jugantar. leader and revolutionary. Ganesh Ghosh, born in Chittagong, Indian independence activist, revolutionary, and politician Badal Gupta, born in Bikrampur, Dhaka, revolutionary and anti-colonial figure Benoy Basu, born in Bikrampur, Dhaka, revolutionary and anti-colonial figure Khwaja Salimullah, founder of the All-India Muslim League Haji Shariatullah, founder of the Faraizi Movement Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, born in Chittagong, lawyer and President of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee. Nawaab Syed Shamsul Huda, first Indian Muslim president of the reformed legislative council A. K. Fazlul Huq, Prime Minister of Bengal (1937–1943), Chief Minister of East Bengal (1954–1955) and Governor of East Pakistan (1956) Nawab Abdul Latif, educator and social worker Ananta Singh, revolutionary who participated in the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, last Prime Minister of Bengal (1946–1947), later Prime Minister of Pakistan (1956–1957) Haji Mohammad Danesh Bangladeshi politician and communist revolutionary Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, one of the founders of the Awami League. Surya Sen, revolutionary and leader of Indian independence movement Pritilata Waddedar, activist of the Indian independence movement titumir Revolutionary kaji Nazrul Islam, writer
Martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement, 1952
Rafiq Uddin Ahmed Abul Barkat Abdul Jabbar Abdus Salam Shafiur Rahman
Bangladesh War of Independence, 1971
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of Awami League and chief character of Bangladesh Liberation War. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, founder of Bangladesh Awami League, National Awami Party Chitta Ranjan Dutta, Sector Commander 4 Major Nazmul Huq, Commander Sector 7 (till August 1971) Jagat Joity Das (Bir Bikrom), founder of Das Party, martyred freedom fighter Ashalata Baidya, freedom fighter and the only female commander of an all-women guerrilla group during the Bangladesh Liberation War Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan, Bangladesh Government Chief Representative - Chakulia (Bihar) Guerilla Trng. Camp, BDF Sub-sector commander - Mankarchar (Sector 11), BDF Commander - Sector 11 (November 2–February 14, 1972) Major M.A. Manzur, Commander Sector 8 Bipul Bhattacharya, freedom fighter, vocalist of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra during Bangladesh liberation war Major Khaled Musharraf, BDF Commander Sector 2, Commander K-Force Colonel-in-Chief Muhammad Ataul Ghani Osmany, Commander-in-Chief, Bangladesh Forces, War of Independence, 1971. (Later promoted to General) Major Ziaur Rahman, Declarer (on behalf of Sheikh Mujib) of the Independence of Bangladesh on March 27, 1971. BDF Sector Commander Sector 1(April~May) and Central Sector - Sector 11 (June – October 10, 1971) and Z-Force Commander Major K.M Shafiullah, S Force commander Major Abu Taher, sub-sector commander - Mahendraganj (HQ 11), Interim Commander Sector 11 (October 10–November 2, 1971)
July Revolution, 2024 Nahid Islam Asif Mahmud Hasnat Abdullah Sarjis Alam
Scientists, engineers and educators
Nasima Akhter (born 1970), nuclear medicine researcher Abdullah Al Muti, scientist and science writer Maqsudul Alam, scientist and professor at University of Hawaiʻi Mir Masoom Ali, emeritus professor of statistics Arun Kumar Basak, scientist and professor emeritus of University of Rajshahi Anudvaipayan Bhattacharya, a lecturer of the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Dhaka, martyred in 1971. Abdus Suttar Khan invented more than forty different alloys for commercial application in space shuttles, jet engines, train engines and industrial gas turbines Jagadish Chandra Bose, a polymath, physicist, biologist, and botanist Amit Chakma, tenth president of the University of Western Ontario Govinda Chandra Dev, educator Pran Gopal Datta, physician, university administrator Harinath Dey, biochemist, research scientist and academic SM Faruque, microbiologist and scientist, researcher on Vibrio cholerae, which causes Cholera Debjani Ghosh, a Bangladeshi-born researcher of the University of Ulm. Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, educator and humanist. Pranab Kumar Chowdhury, pediatrician, academic Hiranmay Sen Gupta, professor of nuclear physics. Azizul Haque, mathematician known for his formula for the Henry Classification System of fingerprinting Tanzima Hashem, academic, Elsevier Foundation Award winner in 2017 M. Zahid Hasan, professor of quantum physics at Princeton University and scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Khandkar Manwar Hossain, statistician and founder of the Department of Statistics in Rajshahi University Saleemul Huq, Burtoni Award winner for contributing to climate change adaptation Fazle Hussain, professor of mechanical engineering at Texas Tech University; elected Fellow of National Academy of Engineering Abul Hussam, 2007 Grainger Challenge Prize winner for Sustainability Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, scientist and science writer Jamal Nazrul Islam, physicist and mathematician Jawed Karim, co-creator of YouTube and designer of PayPal's anti-fraud system Mohammad Ataul Karim, Bangladeshi American scientist Fazlur Rahman Khan, structural engineer and architect Sezan Mahmud, Medical Scientist and Educator, writer, Dean for EID, QU Netter School of Medicine. Ripon Nath, sound designer and recordist. Shuvo Roy, Bangladeshi-American biomedical engineer known for his work on the invention of an artificial kidney. professor at University of California, San Francisco. Prafulla Chandra Ray, chemist, educationist, historian, industrialist and philanthropist from Bengal. Bibhuti Roy, engineer and educationist Rakhal Chandra Das, physician Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy Senjuti Saha, scientist, Deputy Executive Director at the Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF). founder and leader of Building Scientists for Bangladesh Samir Kumar Saha, microbiologist and public health worker. Sukharanjan Samaddar, a university professor, educationalist, and martyred freedom fighter of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Dwijen Sharma, a naturalist and science writer. M. A. Naser, pioneer in engineering education in Bangladesh Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda, scientist, educationist and writer Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani, biomedical physicist Abdul Matin Patwari, electrical engineer, mathematician, vice-chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology Qazi Motahar Hossain, scientist, statistician, founder-director of Institute of Statistical Research and Training, University of Dhaka Omar Ishrak, investor, entrepreneur, executive chairman and chairman of the board, Medtronic; board chairman of INTEL Mohammad Kaykobad, computer scientist, educator, author and columnist, professor of computer science and engineering at BUET Lucina Uddin, American neuroscientist, born in Bangladesh
Educationists Arun Kumar Basak, professor of physics in University of Rajshahi. K. Maudood Elahi, Bangladeshi professor and the pro-vice chancellor at multiple universities and acting vice chancellor at Stamford University. Serajul Islam Choudhury, educationist, public intellectual Kaberi Gayen, academic, author, and social activist known for her views on the oppression of minorities and gender inequality in Bangladesh. Rasheda K Chowdhury, Bangladeshi academic, former Advisor of Caretaker Government, Bangladesh Santosh Chandra Bhattacharya, senior lecturer of the department of history at the University of Dhaka martyred on 14 December 1971. Pran Gopal Datta, distinguished physician and medical educator. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq, educationist, former professor of University of Dhaka Ajoy Roy, professor of physics at the University of Dhaka, best known for his human rights activism Syed Manzoorul Islam, educationist, former professor of University of Dhaka Rafiqul Islam, national professor, Bangladesh Jamilur Reza Choudhury, former professor, BUET, national professor, Bangladesh Anisuzzaman, professor, University of Dhaka, national professor, Bangladesh
Arts, culture, and literature
Hiralal Sen, founder of Indian cinema Dom Antonio, born in Bhushana in the Jessore-Faridpur, first writer of Bangla prose. Ahmed Sofa, writer, thinker, novelist Zainul Abedin, painter Humayun Ahmed, novelist and former professor of Chemistry, Dhaka University Tofail Ahmed, author and researcher of folk art Alaol, medieval poet Chandravati (poet), medieval Bengali poet, widely considered to be the first known female poet of Bengali language. Monica Ali, author of Brick Lane Syed Mujtaba Ali, Bengali author, academician, scholar and linguist Tahmima Anam, novelist and winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Rashid Askari, writer, fictionist, columnist, and academic Humayun Azad, writer and former professor of Bengali, Dhaka University Rafiq Azad, poet Manzoor Alam Beg, photographer and author Shishir Bhattacharjee, artist, political cartoonist, painter Rituraj Bhowmick, writer Munier Chowdhury, educator, dramatist and intellectual killed in 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, painter Jibanananda Das, poet, writer, and educationist, major figure of twentieth-century Bengali modernist poetry. Michael Madhusudan Dutt, poet and playwright Akhteruzzaman Elias, novelist and short story writer Dhruba Esh, cover artist and writer, 2022 Bangla Academy Literary Award winner for his contribution to children's literature. Vijay Gupta (poet), medieval poet from Barisal. Nirmalendu Goon, poet Abdul Hakim, medieval poet Marjana Chowdhury, Bangladeshi-American model, philanthropist and beauty queen Miss Bangladesh USA Sikdar Aminul Haq, poet Quamrul Hassan, artist Saad Z Hossain, writer Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, poet, essayist, translator and editor Abul Hussain, poet Mukunda Das, poet Jahanara Imam, writer and activist Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, writer and educator Kalidas Karmakar, painter Kazi Nazrul Islam, national poet of Bangladesh Mazharul Islam, architect, political activist Syed Jahangir, freelance artist of Bangladesh Adiba Jaigirdar, Bangladeshi-Irish writer Jasimuddin, poet Shahriyar Kabir, author and journalist Shahidullah Kaiser, educator, novelist and intellectual killed in 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh Kalidas Karmakar, artist specialized in viscosity printing. Abul Kashem, architect and educationist Nitun Kundu, artist, sculptor. Lalon Shah, mystic poet Al Mahmud, poet Sezan Mahmud, Writer, lyricist, filmmaker, medical scientist and educationist. Firoz Mahmud, contemporary visual artist, creator, painter Muhammad Muqim, 18th century Bengali poet Ghulam Murshid, author, scholar and journalist Adwaita Mallabarman, born in Brahmanbaria, Bengali writer and journalist. Barin Mazumder, classical musician Partha Pratim Majumder, Bangladeshi mime artist who is considered the "forerunner" of mime art in Bangladesh Ramendu Majumdar, actor, stage director and theater producer, former president of the International Theatre Institute Natyaguru Nurul Momen, cultural personality, advocated for theatrical and performing arts and secular literature