List of Swiss people
This is a list of famous Swiss and notable people from or resident in Switzerland and cantons forming present-day Switzerland.
Table of contents |
Architecture
- Francesco Borromini (1599–1667), architect in Italy
- Mario Botta (born 1943), architect
- Le Corbusier, (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret), (1887–1965)
- Jacques Herzog (born 1950), architect
- William Lescaze (1896–1969)
- Pierre de Meuron (born 1950), architect
Art
- Jacques-Laurent Agasse (1767–1849), painter
- Cuno Peter Amiet (1868–1961)
- Albert Anker (1831–1910)
- Jean Arp (1886–1966), sculptor, painter, and poet
- François Bocion (1828–1890), painter
- Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901), painter
- Karl Bodmer (1809–1893), painter of the American West
- Frank Buchser (1828–1890), painter
- Alexandre Calame (1810–1864), painter
- Jean Crotti (1878–1958), painter
- Hans Erni (born 1909)
- Henry Fuseli, (Johann Heinrich Füssli), (1741–1825), painter
- Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966), sculptor, painter
- H. R. Giger (born 1940), illustrator
- Anton Graff (1736–1813), painter
- Eugène Grasset (1845–1917), decorative artist
- Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918), painter
- Max Huber (1919–1992), graphic designer
- Angelica Kauffmann (1741–1807), painter
- Paul Klee (1879–1940), painter
- Rudolf Koller (1828–1905), painter
- Niklaus Manuel (1484–1530), painter
- Roger Pfund (born 1943), painter, graphic designer
- James Pradier (1790–1852), sculptor
- Oskar Reinhart (1885–1965), collector
- Iris von Roten-Meyer (1917–1990), lawyer and artist
- Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002), sculptor, became Swiss in 1971
- Théophile Steinlen (1859–1923), painter and printmaker
- Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943), painter, sculptor
- Jean Tinguely (1925–1991), kinetic artist
- Rodolphe Toepffer (1799–1846)
- Félix Vallotton (1865–1925), painter
Aviation
- Oskar Bider (1891–1919)
- Henri Dufaux (1879–1980)
- Armand Dufaux (1883–1941)
- Walter Mittelholzer (1894–1937), pilot, director Ad Astra, Swissair
- Bertrand Piccard (born 1958), psychiatrist and balloonist
- Eduard Spelterini (1852–1931), balloonist
Linguistics
- Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913), linguist
Mathematics
- Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), mathematician and physicist
- Jakob Bernoulli (1654–1705), Swiss mathematician
- Johann Bernoulli (1667–1748), Swiss mathematician
- Armand Borel (1923–2003) mathematician
- Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), mathematician and geometer
- Michel Plancherel (1885–1967), mathematician
- Georges de Rham (1903–1990), mathematician
Military
- Pierre Victor Besenval_de_Bronstatt (1721–1791)
- Guillaume-Henri Dufour (1787–1875), General, geographer
- Joachim Forrer (1782–1833)
- Henri Guisan (1874–1960), General during WWII
- Hans Herzog (1819–1894), General 1870–1871
- Antoine-Henri Jomini (1779–1869), General, military writer
- Franz Ludwig Pfyffer_von_Wyher (1716–1802)
- Pius Segmüller (born 1944), commander Swiss Guard
- Theophil Sprecher_von_Bernegg (1850–1927)
- Ulrich Wille (1848–1925), General during WWI
- Christophe Keckeis, Chief of the Armed Forces 2004-
Music
- Ernest Ansermet (1883–1969), conductor
- Lys Assia (born 1926), singer
- Michel Corboz (born 1934), conductor
- Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950), musician, educator, developer of Eurhythmics
- Edwin Fischer (1886–1960), pianist and conductor
- Thomas Gabriel Fischer (born 19??), known as Celtic Frost's Tom Warrior
- Peter-Lukas Graf (born 1929), conductor
- Ernst Haefliger (born 1919), tenor
- Heinz Holliger (born 1929), oboe
- Arthur Honegger (1892–1955), composer
- Philippe Huttenlocher (born 1942), bass
- Frank Martin (1890–1974), composer
- Othmar Schoeck (1886–1957), composer
- Eric Tappy (born 1931), tenor
- Andreas Vollenweider (born 1953), harpist
- Alberich Zwyssig (1808–1854), priest, composer of the Swiss Psalm
Politics
- Élie Ducommun (1833–1906), 1902 Nobel Peace Prize
- Henri Dunant (1828–1910), 1901 Nobel Peace Prize
- Nicholas von der Flue (1417–1487), diplomat, hermit, Catholic saint
- Albert Gallatin (1761–1849), US Secretary of the Treasury, diplomat
- Albert Gobat (1843–1914), 1902 Nobel Peace Prize
- Jürg Jenatsch (1596–1639), pastor, Protestant politician
- Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793), revolutionary
- Napoleon III (1808-1873) (naturalized in 1832)
- Jacques Necker (1732–1804), statesman and finance minister of Louis XVI
- Charles Pictet de Rochemont (1755–1824), statesman, diplomat
- see also
Religion
- Jakob Abbadie (1654–1727), Protestant preacher
- Jacob Amman (17th century)
- Karl Barth (1886–1968)
- Theodore Beza (1519–1605), reformer in Geneva
- Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575), reformer in Zurich
- John Calvin (1509–1564), reformer in Geneva
- William Farel (1489–1565), reformer in Geneva
- Theodosius Florentini (1808–1865)
- Gaston Frommel (1862–1906)
- Karl Rudolf Hagenbach (1801–1874)
- Johann Jakob Herzog (1805–1882)
- Hans Küng (born 1928), Roman Catholic theologian
- Oswald Myconius (1488–1552)
- Philip Schaff (1819–1893)
- Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet (1797–1847), theologian and critic
- Johann Jakob Wettstein (1693–1754), theologian
- John Joachim Zubly, (Hans Joachim Züblin), (1724–1781), pastor, delegate to the Continental Congress
- Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), reformer in Zurich
Science
- Firmin Abauzit, (1679–1767), scientist
- Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, (1835–1910), American man of science
- Louis Agassiz (1807–1873), work on ice ages, glaciers
- Jacob Amsler (1823–1912), mathematician and inventor of measuring instruments
- Werner Arber (born 1929), 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Johann Georg Baiter (1801–1877), philologist
- Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (1840–1914) archaeologist
- Jean-François Bergier (born 1931), historian
- Eugene Bleuler (1857–1940), psychiatrist
- Felix Bloch (born 1905), 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Charles Bonnet (1720–1793), botanist
- Daniel Bovet (born 1907), 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Joost Bürgi (1552–1632), mathematician and watchmaker
- Johann Büttikofer (1850–1929), zoologist
- Jean-André Deluc (1727–1817), geologist
- Albert Einstein, (1879–1955), 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Richard R. Ernst (born 1933), 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Edmond H. Fischer (born 1920), 1992 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Auguste Forel (1848–1931), myrmecologist, psychiatrist, neurologist
- François-Alphonse Forel (1841–1912), pioneer in the study of lakes
- Conrad Gessner (1516–1565)
- Jules Gonin (1870–1935), ophthalmologist
- Charles-Edouard Guillaume (1861–1938), 1920 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777)
- Anna Heer (1863–1918), physician
- Walter Hess (1881–1973), 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Carl Hilty (1833–1909), jurist
- Albert Hofmann (born 1906)
- Eugen Huber (1849–1923), jurist
- François Huber (1750–1831), naturalist
- Paul Karrer (1889–1971), 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Emil Theodor Kocher (1841–1917), 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Michel Mayor (born 1942), astronomer
- Johannes von Müller (1752–1809), historian
- K. Alex Müller (born 1927), 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Paul Müller (1899–1965), 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Johann Caspar von Orelli (1787–1849)
- Paracelsus (1493–1541), (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), alchemist
- Wolfgang Pauli (1900–1958), 1945 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Jean Piaget (1896–1980), psychologist
- Auguste Piccard (1884–1962)
- Jacques Piccard
- Jean Piccard (1884–1963)
- François-Jules Pictet de la Rive (1809–1872), zoologist and paleontologist
- Raoul Pictet (1846–1929), physicist
- Vladimir Prelog (1906–1998), 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Didier Queloz (born 1966), astronomer
- Tadeus Reichstein (1897–1996), chemist, 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Heinrich Rohrer (born 1933), 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Leopold Ruzicka (1887–1976), 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740–1799), botanist
- Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, (1672–1733), Swiss savant
- Jack Steinberger (born 1921), 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Alfred Werner (1866–1919), 1913 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Niklaus Wirth (born 1934), computer scientist
- Kurt Wüthrich (born 1938), 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Daniel Albert Wyttenbach (1746–1820)
- Alexandre Yersin (1894–1943), physician, isolates the Yersinia pestis
- Rolf M. Zinkernagel (born 1944), 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Fritz Zwicky (1898–1974), astronomer
- Theodor Zwinger (1533–1588), scholar
Sports
- Paul Accola (born 1967), skiing champion
- Simon Ammann (born 1981), gold medallist in Ski jumping at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Denise Biellmann (born 1962), World champion figure skater
- Sepp Blatter (born 1935), FIFA president
- Roger Federer (born 1981), tennis champion
- Michela Figini (born 1966), Alpine skiing champion
- Arnold Gerschwiler (born ~1914), skater
- Hans Gerschwiler (born ~1921), World champion figure skater
- Jack Gerschwiler (1898–2000), coach
- Erika Hess (born 1962), Alpine skiing champion
- Martina Hingis (born 1980), professional tennis player
- Patrick Hürlimann (born 1963), Olympic curling champion
- Franz Krienbühl (1929–2002), speed skater
- Peter Lüscher (born 1956), Alpine skiing champion
- Lise-Marie Morerod (born 1956), Alpine skiing champion
- Marie-Thérèse Nadig (born 1954), Alpine skiing champion
- Marc Rosset (born 1970), tennis player
- Bernhard Russi (born 1948), Alpine skiing champion
- Vreni Schneider (born 1964), Alpine skiing champion
- Patty Schnyder (born 1978), professional tennis player
- Maria Walliser (born 1963), Alpine skiing champion
- Pirmin Zurbriggen (born 1963), Alpine skiing champion
Writers
- Peter Bichsel (born 1935)
- S. Corinna Bille (1912–1979), author, poet
- Ida Bindschedler (1854–1919), childbook author
- Hans Boesch (born 1926)
- Charles Victor de Bonstetten (1745–1832)
- Blaise Cendrars, (Frédéric Louis Sauser), (1887–1961), author
- Victor Cherbuliez (1829–1899), member of the Académie française
- Jacques Chessex (born 1934)
- Anne Cuneo (born 1936)
- Erich von Däniken (born 1935), Ancient Astronauts writer
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990), author and playwright
- Werner J. Egli (born 1943)
- Felix Epper (born 1967)
- Heinrich Federer (1866–1928)
- Martin Frank (born 1950)
- Max Frisch (1911–1991), author and architect
- Friedrich Glauser (1896–1938)
- Jeremias Gotthelf, (Albert Bitzius), (1797–1854), author
- Roger Graf (born 1958)
- Hermann Hesse (1877–1962), 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Meinrad Inglin (1893–1971)
- Zoë Jenny (born 1974)
- Gottfried Keller (1819–1890), Swiss author
- Ella Maillart (1903–1997)
- Niklaus Meienberg (1940–1993)
- Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825–1898)
- Adolf Muschg (born 1934)
- Suzanne Necker, née Suzanne Curchod, (1739–1794)
- Juste Olivier (1807–1876)
- Eugène Rambert (1830–1886)
- Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878–1947)
- Urs Richle (born 1965)
- Margrit Schriber (born 1939)
- Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998)
- Carl Spitteler (1845–1924), 1919 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Johanna Spyri (1827–1901), author of Heidi
- Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, (Madame de Staël), (1766–1817)
- Ugonna Wachuku (born 1971), Nigerian writer living in Geneva
- Otto F. Walter (1928–1994)
- Urs Widmer (born 1938)
- Johann David Wyss (1743–1818), author of The Swiss Family Robinson
- Yvette Z'Graggen (born 1920)
- Emil Zopfi (born 1943)
- Fritz Zorn, (Fritz Angst), (1944–1976), author of Mars
- Roland Zoss (born 1951)
- Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke (1771–1848)
Others
- Sadruddhin Aga Khan (1933–2003), UN High Commissioner for Refugees, longtime Swiss resident
- Othmar Ammann (1879–1965), civil engineer, bridge engineer to the New York Port Authority
- Ursula Andress (born 1936), actress
- Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867–1939), physician and Muesli inventor
- Johann Georg Bodmer (1786–1864), inventor
- Johann Jakob Bodmer (1698–1783)
- Abraham Louis Breguet (1747–1823), watchmaker
- Yul Brynner (1915?-1985), actor
- Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897), art historian
- Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784–1814), traveller and orientalist
- Elias Canetti (1905–1994), 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature, Swiss resident
- Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941), automobile engineer
- Étienne Clavière (1735–1793)
- Benjamin Constant (1767–1830)
- Jean Henri Dunant (1828-1910), who created the Red Cross
- Alfred Escher (1819–1882)
- Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth (1767–1823)
- Louis Favre (1826–1879), engineer
- Heinrich Federer (1866–1928), priest, author
- Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg (1771–1844)
- Beat Fischer_von_Reichenbach (1641–1698), held postal monopoly in Berne
- Bruno Ganz (born 1941), actor
- Salomon Gessner (1730–1788)
- Marie Grossholtz (1761–1850), known as Madame Tussaud
- Jeanne Hersch (1910–2000), philosopher
- Franz Hohler (born 1943)
- Irène Jacob (born 1966), actress
- Daniel Jean-Richard (1665–1741), watchmaker
- Carl Gustav (C.G.) Jung (1875–1961), psychiatrist, writer, philosopher
- Ingvar Kamprad (born 1926), founder of IKEA, lives in Lausanne since 1976
- Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801), pastor and physiognomist
- Max Miedinger (1910–1980), typeface designer, inventor of Helvetica
- Claude Nicollier (born 1944), pilot, astronaut
- Susanna Orelli (1845–1939)
- Hans A. Pestalozzi (1929–2004), social critic
- Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), pedagogue
- Eugène Rambert (1830–1886)
- Niklaus Riggenbach (1817–1899), engineer
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), philosopher, author
- Josias Simmler (1530–1576), theologian, historian
- Emil Steinberger (born 1933), comedian
- Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), mystic, philosopher and educator
- Philippe Suchard (1797–1884), chocolatier
- John Sutter (1803–1880), California settler
- Alain Tanner (born 1929), film director
- Peter Ustinov (1921–2004), British actor, longtime Swiss resident
- Caterina Valente (born 1931), singer, actress
Not included
- Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), from Alsace, not Switzerland
- Heidi, protagonist of the book by Johanna Spyri
- William Tell, legendary 14th century hero
See list of people by nationality for other lists of people by nationality, ethnicity, citizenship, language, or location.
Categories: Switzerland | Swiss people | Lists of people by nationality