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 52 of 1,261 notable people

0008 COMPOSER

Gottfried von Einem

1918 - 1996

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0022 PSYCHOLOGIST

Ralph Greenson

1911 - 1979

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0045 SKIER

Marc Hodler

1918 - 2006

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0057 PHYSICIST

Res Jost

1918 - 1990

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0060 MATHEMATICIAN

Beno Eckmann

1917 - 2008

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0106 CHEMIST

Hans Kuhn

1919 - 2012

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0118 LAWYER

Alexandre Hay

1919 - 1991

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0135 PIANIST

Kurt von Fischer

1913 - 2003

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0137 FOOTBALL

Paul Aeby

Born 1910

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0139 WRITER

Klaus Schädelin

1918 - 1987

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0341 DIPLOMAT

Harald Feller

1913 - 2003

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0386 EDUCATION

Arthur Bill

1916 - 2011

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0398 SKIER

Arnold Käch

1914 - 1998

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0443 BIOLOGIST

Hans Ris

1914 - 2004

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0487 WRITER

Michael Stettler

1913 - 2003

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0493 SCULPTOR

Marcel Perincioli

1911 - 2005

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0511 WRESTLER

Willy Lardon

1916 - 1992

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0551 HISTORIAN

Erich Gruner

1915 - 2001

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0584 ACADEMIC

Alfred Bögli

1912 - 1998

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0591 PAINTER

Kurt Wirth

1917 - 1996

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0630 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Hansjörg Bloesch

1912 - 1992

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0640 SPY

Guido Zembsch-Schreve

1916 - 2003

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0661 PHYSICIAN

Étienne Grandjean

1914 - 1991

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0668 PAINTER

Hugo Wetli

1916 - 1972

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0678 WRITER

Gabrielle Faure

1917 - 1996

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0697 LAWYER

Hans-Rudolf Kurz

1915 - 1990

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0698 ECONOMIST

Jürg Niehans

1919 - 2007

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0699 DIPLOMAT

Paul Jolles

1919 - 2000

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0723 NEUROLOGIST

Werner Bärtschi-Rochaix

1911 - 1994

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0730 WRITER

Charles Albert Walter Guggisberg

1913 - 1980

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0760 PAINTER

Karl Gerber

1912 - 1974

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0837 PSYCHIATRIST

Hans Walther-Büel

1913 - 2002

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0847 DIPLOMAT

Ferdinand Friedensburg (Diplomat)

1917 - 2009

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0858 LAWYER

Hans Ryffel (Rechtsphilosoph)

1913 - 1989

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0889 AUTHOR

Urs Oberlin

1919 - 2008

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0898 BOTANIST

Rudolf Salzmann

1912 - 1992

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0914 OFFICER

Hans Ulrich von Erlach

1910 - 2005

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0920 PRESENTER

Fritz Schäuffele

1916 - 1991

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0944 ACADEMIC

Toni Reinhard

1917 - 1965

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0989 PHYSICIAN

Robert Stämpfli

1914 - 2002

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0992 PHYSICIAN

Elsa Mühlethaler

1917 - 1998

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1033 POLITICIAN

Hans Burren

1915 - 1979

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1035 BASSIST

René Bertschy

1912 - 1999

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1039 OFFICER

Hans Wildbolz (Offizier)

1919 - 1997

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1063 POLITICIAN

Walter Schmidt (Politiker, 1912)

1912 - 1996

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1083 PSYCHOLOGIST

Annemarie Häberlin

1917 - 1996

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1131 ANAESTHETIST

Leo Havers

1919 - 1989

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1156 ENTREPRENEUR

Viktor Kleinert

1913 - 1990

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1160 DIPLOMAT

Douglas Heck

1918 - 1993

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1215 POLITICIAN

Arist Rollier

1919 - 1997

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1220 LAWYER

Fritz Heeb

1911 - 1994

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1247 DIPLOMAT

Hans Karl Frey

1916 - 1974

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