Famous Axel's

Axel Poulsen
Norwegian ice scater of the 1890's. He invented the jump known as the "axel".
Axl (sic) Rose
Lead Singer for the Band "Guns'n'Roses".
Axel Schultz
German boxer, beat George Foreman in a heavyweight title fight on April 22,1995, but the judges didn't think so.
Axel Springer
German publishing magnate. The Springer in "Springer-Verlag".
Axel Munthe
(1857-1949) Swedish writer and physician, author of the wonderful book: "The Story of San Michele". His villa on the island of Capri can be visited. Axel Munthe was born in Oskarshamn, Sweden. His family originally had Flemish origin and had settled in Sweden during the 16th century. Munthe studied medicine at the University of Uppsala (1874-80) and in France at Monpellier, Paris (1880), becoming the youngest M.D. created at Monpellier. The book has a cult following- last I looked the US version was out of stock at Amazon. Typical Comment: "One of my favorite books, I re-read it almost once a year. It is not for everyone, it is for those who love to dream, who can be whisked away to a fantasy world by a skilled storyteller . . . for those who can be enchanted by goblins who give good advice, raven's blood in a child's milk, owls who prevent adultery, and housemaids who resemble vampires. It is for those who love animals and have their doubts about humans. "

Selected bibliography: (from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/munthe.htm)

Axel Fredrik Cronstedt
Swedish chemist and mineralogist , b. Dec. 23, 1722, d. Aug. 19, 1765, discovered (1751) nickel and was the first to classify minerals according to their chemical properties. He developed techniques for using a blowpipe as a source of very hot flame in mineral analysis.
Erik Axel Karlfeldt
Swedish poet, b. July 20, 1864, d. Apr. 8, 1931, was one of the principal figures of modern Swedish literature. Elected to the Swedish Academy in 1904, he was posthumously honored with the Nobel Prize for literature in 1931. A poet of his native Dalarna province, Karlfeldt was known for his sensitivity to nature and familiarity with local peasant traditions, qualities that characterize Fridolins visor (Fridolin's Songs, 1898) and Fridolins lustgård (Fridolin's Pleasure Garden, 1901). Selections from his poetry were translated in Arcadia Borealis (1938).
Aksel Sandemose
[sannæ-] 1899-1965, norsk författare av dansk härkomst. (norwegian author of Danish extraction.) Under 1920-talet gjorde Sandemose vidsträckta resor som sjöman, vilket starkt präglade hans tidigaste, på danska utgivna böcker, t ex romanen Ross Dane (1928). 1931 flyttade han till Norge och övergick då till att skriva på norska. Hans första "norska" bok var En sjöman går i land (1931, sv 1935), följd av En flykting korsar sitt spår (1933, sv 1934), en av de mest hatfulla skildringarna av instängt småstadsliv i den nordiska litteraturen. Småskurenheten och avunden i barndomsstaden sammanfattade han i Jantelagen, vars första bud löd: "Du ska inte tro att du är något". Sandemoses senare verk kännetecknas både av hans av psykoanalysen påverkade människosyn och av hans hänsynslösa självutlämnande. En central plats i hans författarskap intar Det gångna är en dröm (1944, sv s å) och trilogin Varulven (1958, sv 1959), Murarna runt Jeriko (1960, sv 1961) och Felicias bröllop (1961, sv 1962).
Axel von Fersen
1755-1810 "greve", "Rismarsalk" (1801) General (1809) A Swede (of course) During the French Revolution he was the Swedish king«s (Gustav the Third) personal agent at the French court. He was also queen Marie Antionette's lover. He was part of a coup against the king of Sweden 1809 - he was killed (assasinated) in 1810 in Stockholm.
Axel Merckx
Axel Merckx (born August 8 1972, Uccle, Belgium), the son of the legendary Eddy Merckx, has been a professional road bicycle racer since November 1993. In 1995 he joined Team Motorola as a team-mate of the young Lance Armstrong. As of 2005, he rides with Davitamon-Lotto but in the 2006 season he will ride with Phonak.

Despite several strong years of racing, including winning the Belgian national championship in 2000, Axel is probably still more famous for being the son of five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx than for any of his cycling exploits. Despite being overshadowed by his father's formidable record, Axel has repeatedly vowed to make his mark by accomplishing feats Eddy never managed - including a Tour de France stage win at the top of Alpe d'Huez and a win in the Paris-Tours World Cup race - but has yet to make good on these promises. He has a large number of fans in Belgium, and would undoubtedly engender a great deal more goodwill if he were ever to achieve either of those elusive wins.

A good climber, Axel is probably at his best in the mid-altitude mountain ranges, notably the Massif Central and the Ardennes. His favorite race, and the one he feels best in, is Li¸ge-Bastogne-Li¸ge. He is also always aiming for a Tour de France stage win, and can often be found in long breaks. His sprinting capacities are not that strong, so he is often beaten at the finish.

Axel Merckx won the bronze medal in the road cycling race during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, thus getting a result his father never accomplished.

Axel married Canadian triathlete Jodi Cross in 1997, and currently resides in Monaco. He has two children, Axana and Athina Grace (born June 30, 2005).

(from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Merckx)

Fictional Axel's

Axel Foley
Eddie Murphy's character in "Beverley Hills Cop".
Axel Fusco
A wolverine in the comic strip "The Fusco Brothers".
Axel Olson
"The Great Axel Olson", a barnstorming pilot in the movie "The Great Waldo Pepper"
Axel ???
in the movie "The Deer Hunter".
Axel
a grasshopper in the movie "A Bug's Life".