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 79 of 1,261 notable people

0015 CURATOR

Harald Szeemann

1933 - 2005

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0104 ENTREPRENEUR

Hansjörg Wyss

Born 1935

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0120 ECONOMIST

Max Liniger-Goumaz

1930 - 2018

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0143 PAINTER

Walter Wegmüller

1937 - 2020

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0146 WRITER

Maja Beutler

Born 1936

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0149 CONDUCTOR

Jürg Wyttenbach

Born 1935

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0162 FOOTBALL

Hansruedi Führer

Born 1937

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0168 ACTOR

Hans Heinz Moser

1936 - 2017

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0174 PAINTER

Werner Otto Leuenberger

1932 - 2009

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0204 SINGER

Jakob Stämpfli (bass)

1934 - 2014

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0206 PAINTER

Rolf Iseli

Born 1934

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0230 SCULPTOR

Christian Megert

Born 1936

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0232 COMPOSER

Jörg Ewald Dähler

1933 - 2018

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0239 PAINTER

Sandro del Prete

Born 1937

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0248 ENTREPRENEUR

Rolf Bloch

1930 - 2015

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0303 PHILOSOPHER

Henri Lauener

1933 - 2002

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0332 PASTOR

Bruno Bürki

Born 1931

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0391 JOURNALIST

Markus M. Ronner

Born 1938

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0407 WRITER

Ernst Eggimann

1936 - 2015

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0408 WRITER

Hanspeter Born

Born 1938

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0412 ACADEMIC

Stefan Trechsel

Born 1937

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0439 LITERARY

Michel Contat

Born 1938

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0451 WRITER

Urs Peter Schneider

Born 1939

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0471 ACTOR

Bernhard Stirnemann

1936 - 2011

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0484 LIEDERMACHER

Ruedi Krebs

Born 1938

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0489 PHILOLOGIST

Bernhard Böschenstein

1931 - 2019

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0495 WRITER

Katharina Zimmermann

Born 1933

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0500 BRYOLOGIST

Hélène Bischler

1932 - 2004

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0501 SCREENWRITER

Walther Kauer

1935 - 1987

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0510 WRITER

J. Konrad Stettbacher

1930 - 2016

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0516 LAWYER

Gregor Woschnagg

Born 1939

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0517 ECONOMIST

Jost Krippendorf

1938 - 2003

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0520 PAINTER

Bendicht Friedli

1930 - 2014

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0550 POLITICIAN

Victor Ruffy (Politiker, 1937)

1937 - 2016

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0559 HOCKEY

René Kiener

Born 1938

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0565 ACTOR

Marianne Chappuis

Born 1939

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0573 HOCKEY

Peter Stammbach

Born 1937

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0579 PHILOSOPHER

Iso Kern

Born 1937

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0589 ARTIST

Bernhard Lüthi

Born 1938

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0595 WRITER

Claude Frochaux

Born 1935

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0596 THEOLOGIAN

Franz Furger (Theologe)

1935 - 1997

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0610 ECONOMIST

Gerhard Kocher

Born 1939

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0617 SCULPTOR

Willy Weber (Künstler)

1933 - 1998

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0629 POLITICIAN

Arthur Liener

Born 1936

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0631 ACADEMIC

Franz Oswald

Born 1938

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0641 ART HISTORIAN

Christian Geelhaar

1939 - 1993

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0646 SKATER

Susi Wirz

Born 1931

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0664 LITHOGRAPHER

Bruno Wurster

1939 - 2003

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0667 JOURNALIST

Robert Stauffer

Born 1936

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0679 PHILOLOGIST

François Paschoud

Born 1938

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0695 EDUCATION

Zeno Zürcher

1936 - 2008

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0707 POLITICIAN

Jean-Pierre Bonny

Born 1931

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0737 BUSINESS

Jack Heuer

Born 1932

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0738 CHEMIST

Georges H. Wagnière

1933 - 2013

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0797 CINEMA

Fritz E. Maeder

1936 - 2018

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0841 BOTSCHAFTER

Franz Muheim (Diplomat)

1931 - 2020

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0843 MINERALOGIST

Toni Labhart

Born 1937

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0862 PHYSICIST

Heinrich Leutwyler

Born 1938

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0874 ACADEMIC

Bernhard Stauffer

Born 1938

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0903 ACADEMIC

Klaus Aerni

1932 - 2014

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0917 BOOKSELLER

Ruth Binde

Born 1932

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0928 TEACHER

Mark Zeugin

1930 - 2003

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0951 PHILOSOPHER

Beat Sitter-Liver

Born 1939

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0956 JOURNALIST

Eduard Nacht

1939 - 2016

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0968 ENGINEER

Friedrich Tinner

Born 1937

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0993 MUSIC

Roland Fink

Born 1937

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1078 DRAUGHTSWOMAN

Marietta Gullotti

Born 1931

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1086 SPORT

Silvia Glatthard

Born 1930

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1090 WRITER

Walter Zürcher

1934 - 2007

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1094 PHOTOGRAPHER

Rene Pauli

1935 - 1999

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1116 POLITICIAN

Ursula Bäumlin

Born 1938

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1130 ROWER

Heinrich Scherer

Born 1938

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1140 SPORT

Rolf Weber

Born 1934

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1150 ATHLETIC

Ernst Zaugg

Born 1934

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1172 MISSING

Ralph Zloczower

Born 1933

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1224 DRIVER

Jean-Pierre Aeschlimann

Born 1935

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1228 POLITICIAN

Rolf Schneider (Politiker)

Born 1936

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1249 DIPLOMAT

Pierre-Yves Simonin

Born 1937

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1258 IM RUHESTAND

Alessio Carissimo

Born 1935

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