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
Sort By

Showing 29 of 1,261 notable people

0007 COMPOSER

Adolf Wölfli

1864 - 1930

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0056 BOTANIST

Eduard Fischer (mycologist)

1861 - 1939

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0065 PAINTER

Friedrich Eckenfelder

1861 - 1938

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0098 THEOLOGIAN

Hermann Kutter

1863 - 1931

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0102 WRITER

Rudolf von Tavel

1866 - 1934

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0154 PLAYWRIGHT

Otto von Greyerz

1863 - 1940

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0173 PAINTER

Ernst Kreidolf

1863 - 1956

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0218 PAINTER

Rudolf Münger

1862 - 1929

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0219 DIPLOMAT

Giacomo De Martino

1868 - 1957

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0275 PHYSICIST

Paul Gruner

1869 - 1957

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0323 ENGINEER

Hermann Lemp

1862 - 1954

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0387 FRIHERRE

Paul Nicolay

1860 - 1919

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0399 MILITAR

Walther von Bonstetten

1867 - 1949

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0479 COMPOSER

Robert Hermann (composer)

1869 - 1912

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0506 DIPLOMAT

Hermann Rüfenacht

1867 - 1934

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0529 PAINTER

Bertha Züricher

1869 - 1949

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0677 HISTORIAN

Wilhelm Hadorn

1869 - 1929

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0752 ARCHITECT

Albert Gerster

1864 - 1935

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0803 HISTORIAN

Wolfgang Friedrich von Mülinen

1863 - 1917

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0822 ARCHITECT

Henry Berthold von Fischer

1861 - 1949

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0888 OFFICER

Friedrich Moritz von Wattenwyl

1867 - 1942

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0910 PHYSICIAN

Max Walthard

1867 - 1933

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0946 POLITICIAN

Hans Lanz

1867 - 1941

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1011 CHEMIST

Paul Liechti

1866 - 1927

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1074 ARCHITECT

Joseph Conradi

1867 - 1936

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1123 INVENTOR

Emil Dick

1866 - 1948

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1125 POLITICIAN

Gustav König (Politiker)

1863 - 1934

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1171 ENTREPRENEUR

Hans Albert Rooschüz

1865 - 1919

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1253 ACADEMIC

Walter Ludwig Wilhelm Lauterburg

1861 - 1938

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