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 23 of 1,261 notable people

0038 BOTANIST

Carl Meissner

1800 - 1874

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0110 BOTANIST

Carl Adolf Otth

1803 - 1839

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0253 ACTIVIST

Julie von May (von Rued)

1808 - 1875

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0368 LAWYER

Christoph Albert Kurz

1806 - 1864

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0574 BOTANIST

Gustav Heinrich Otth

1806 - 1874

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0700 POLITICIAN

Ludwig von Fischer (Politiker, 1805)

1805 - 1884

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0739 THEOLOGIAN

Karl von Rodt

1805 - 1861

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0824 THEOLOGIAN

Gottlieb Ludwig Studer

1801 - 1889

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0885 PAINTER

Franz Friedrich Freudenberger

1804 - 1862

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0895 VICAR

Albert von Haller (Bischof)

1808 - 1858

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0904 PAINTER

Daniel David Burgdorfer

1800 - 1861

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0909 PAINTER

Heinrich von Arx

1802 - 1858

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0911 HISTORIAN

Moritz von Stürler

1807 - 1882

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0923 ENTREPRENEUR

Theophil L’Orsa

1807 - 1853

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0953 PAINTER

Ludwig Stantz

1801 - 1871

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0955 ACADEMIC

Emanuel Eduard Fueter

1801 - 1855

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0980 POLITICIAN

Carl Ludwig von Haller

1807 - 1893

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0990 POLITICIAN

Friedrich Fueter

1802 - 1858

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1064 CHEMIST

Ludwig Rudolf von Fellenberg

1809 - 1878

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1111 MILITAR

Emmanuel Han

1801 - 1867

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1113 VORSITZENDER

Karl Stettler-von Rodt

1802 - 1870

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1234 MERCHANT

Georg Emanuel Ludwig Ziegler

1807 - 1867

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1257 POLITICIAN

Johann Friedrich Stapfer (Jurist)

1800 - 1840

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