46.9480° N, 7.4474° E

BERN

Most Famous People Born in Bern, Switzerland

Notable people
1,261
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1934
Most distinctive
Author 2.7×

A Swiss federal capital whose bench is unusually literary and unusually scholarly for its size. Bern's distinctive professions are authors, academics, ice hockey players, architects, photographers, historians, painters, and diplomats — a combination that reflects both the federal civil service and a long Bernese tradition of humanistic learning. Paul Klee, Albrecht von Haller, and Friedrich Dürrenmatt all belong here; Einstein was not a son but wrote his 1905 miracle year in a Bern patent office.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Bern during each.

What Bern Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Bern's biggest profession — 12% of all notables (156).

Bern over-indexes on author2.7× the global rate.

Bern under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Politician156
  2. Writer77
  3. Painter66
  4. Actor64
  5. Hockey36
  6. Football34
  7. Academic31
  8. Historian30
  1. Author292.7×
  2. Academic312.4×
  3. Hockey362.4×
  4. Architect262.3×
  5. Photographer142.3×
  6. Historian302.3×
  7. Painter662.0×
  8. Diplomat141.9×
  1. Football340.3×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Bern's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All1,261
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Showing 19 of 1,261 notable people

0101 WRITER

Julie Bondeli

1732 - 1778

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0278 HISTORIAN

Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller

1735 - 1786

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0307 POLITICIAN

Franz Rudolf Frisching

1733 - 1807

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0375 WRITER

Jean-Rodolphe Sinner de Ballaigues

1730 - 1787

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0465 POLITICIAN

Albrecht von Mülinen

1732 - 1807

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0543 MILITAR

Guillaume-Bernhard de Muralt

1737 - 1796

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0719 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Friedrich Samuel Schmidt

1737 - 1796

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0740 DIPLOMAT

Franz Rudolf von Schwachheim

1731 - 1804

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0767 POLITICIAN

Daniel von Fellenberg

1736 - 1801

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0773 POLITICIAN

Johann Friedrich von Ryhiner

1732 - 1803

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0792 MILITAR

Rodolphe de Diesbach

1734 - 1797

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0839 POLITICIAN

Karl Albrecht von Frisching

1734 - 1801

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0958 MISSING

Johannes Äbersold

1737 - 1812

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1101 HISTORIAN

Isaak Gottlieb Walther

1738 - 1805

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1188 THEOLOGIAN

Samuel Anton Wilhelmi

1730 - 1796

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1214 MILITAR

Johann Rudolph Müller von Andolfingen

1737 - 1793

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1226 DIPLOMAT

Frédéric-Samuel Schmidt de Rossan

1737 - 1796

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1232 BUSINESS

Gottlieb Fischer (Landvogt, 1736)

1736 - 1797

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1233 MAGISTRAT

Johannes von Jenner

1735 - 1787

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