Josef Anton Henne was a Swiss historian and politician active during the formative phase of the modern Swiss state.

Josef Barák was a Czech politician, journalist, and poet. He was a member of the Májovci literary group.

Josef Burg was an award-winning Jewish Soviet Yiddish writer, author, publisher and journalist.

Josef Čapek was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek.

Josef Dobrovský was a Czech philologist and historian, one of the most important figures of the Czech National Revival along with Josef Jungmann.

Josef Hora was a Czechoslovak poet, literary critic and journalist.

Josef Jarno was an Austrian actor and theatre director. He was the older brother of opera composer Georg Jarno.

Josef Jiří Kolár was a Czech theatrical actor, director, translator, and writer.

Josef Julius Wecksell was a Finnish poet and playwright.

Josef Jungmann was a Czech poet and linguist, and a leading figure of the Czech National Revival. Together with Josef Dobrovský, he is considered to be a creator of the modern Czech language. The literary award for the best translation into Czech is named after him.