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 59 of 1,261 notable people

0004 TEACHER

Hans Albert Einstein

1904 - 1973

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0082 PHILOLOGIST

Max Lüthi

1909 - 1991

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0126 LAWYER

August R. Lindt

1905 - 2000

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0133 HISTORIAN

Jean-Rodolphe de Salis

1901 - 1996

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0134 COMPOSER

Walther Aeschbacher

1901 - 1969

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0147 LAWYER

Georges Brunschvig

1908 - 1973

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0150 AUTHOR

René Gardi

1909 - 2000

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0181 PAINTER

Hans Fischer (painter)

1909 - 1958

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0207 ATHLETIC

Willy Schärer

1903 - 1982

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0242 PAINTER

Albert Lindegger

1904 - 1991

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0272 PHOTOGRAPHER

Hans Steiner

1907 - 1962

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0285 MATHEMATICIAN

Alice Roth

1905 - 1977

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0288 PAINTER

Max von Mühlenen

1903 - 1971

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0311 BOBSLED

René Fonjallaz

1907 - 1993

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0322 JOURNALIST

Otto Pünter

1900 - 1988

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0343 POLITICIAN

Gertrud Haldimann

1907 - 2001

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0355 JUMPER

Werner Stuber

1900 - 1957

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0360 WRITER

Sophie Deroisin

1909 - 1994

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0365 PAINTER

Max Böhlen

1902 - 1971

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0405 DENTIST

Albert Gerber

1907 - 1990

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0431 SPORT

Gottlieb Wanzenried

1906 - 1993

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0466 ACTRIZ

Myriam Stefford

1905 - 1931

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0522 ACADEMIC

Hans Brechbühler

1907 - 1989

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0536 ANTIFASCHIST

Emilia Teumin

1905 - 1952

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0545 ART HISTORIAN

Paul Hofer (Kunsthistoriker)

1909 - 1995

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0556 ART HISTORIAN

Max Huggler

1903 - 1994

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0603 SCULPTOR

Karl Schenk (Künstler)

1905 - 1973

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0605 SCULPTOR

Walter Linck

1903 - 1975

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0612 PAINTER

Edmund Wunderlich

1902 - 1985

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0623 OFFICER

Hans Wilhelm Bracher

1903 - 1967

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0626 ACTOR

Willy Fueter

1909 - 1962

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0637 LAWYER

Luitpold Werz

1907 - 1973

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0651 LAWYER

Alfred Ernst (Offizier)

1904 - 1973

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0657 DIPLOMAT

Beat von Fischer

1901 - 1984

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0681 ACADEMIC

Pierre Lardy

1903 - 1958

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0704 POLITICIAN

Paul Dübi

1908 - 1989

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0708 WRITER

Erwin Heimann

1909 - 1991

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0724 DRAUGHTSWOMAN

Leo Deck

1908 - 1997

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0745 JOURNALIST

Hermann Böschenstein

1905 - 1997

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0753 MUSIC

Rudolf von Tobel

1903 - 1995

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0775 ACTOR

Hans Mahlau

1900 - 1981

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0790 WRITER

Gertrud Heizmann

1905 - 1992

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0866 PHYSICIST

Fritz Lüdi

1903 - 1963

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0887 WRITER

Bee Juker

1905 - 1998

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0940 BUSINESS

Fritz Bühler (Unternehmer)

1909 - 1980

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0965 AUTHOR

Hermann Wahlen

1901 - 1990

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0967 PRINTER

Emil Jenzer

1908 - 1995

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1012 ACADEMIC

Hans Strahm (Bibliothekar)

1901 - 1978

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1029 CIVIL SERVICE

Otto Zaugg

1906 - 1998

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1030 PHOTOGRAPHER

Willy Uttendoppler

1909 - 1991

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1043 JOURNALIST

Harry Gmür

1908 - 1979

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1045 PIANIST

Ernest Berner

1904 - 1966

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1062 BOBSLED

Gaston Fonjallaz

Born 1903

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1089 MILITAR

Horace Mallet

1905 - 1942

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1120 TECHNIKER

Walter Gerber (Elektrotechniker)

1902 - 1986

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1126 DESIGNER

Arthur Schraml

1907 - 1999

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1127 JOURNALIST

Joseph Mannheim

1904 - 1984

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1176 ACADEMIC

Lucie Dikenmann-Balmer

1902 - 1980

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1181 ESPERANTIST

Karl Max Liniger

1901 - 1965

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