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
Academic31
Sort By

Showing 31 of 1,261 notable people

0229 ACADEMIC

Thomas Füri

1947 - 2017

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0289 ACADEMIC

Michael Ambühl

Born 1951

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0321 ACADEMIC

Ueli Aebi

Born 1946

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0327 ACADEMIC

Andreas Engel

Born 1943

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0412 ACADEMIC

Stefan Trechsel

Born 1937

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0455 ACADEMIC

Rudolf Steck

1842 - 1924

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0522 ACADEMIC

Hans Brechbühler

1907 - 1989

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0526 ACADEMIC

Oliver Diggelmann

Born 1967

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0539 ACADEMIC

Stefan Hulfeld

Born 1967

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0566 ACADEMIC

Alfred E. von Overbeck

1925 - 2016

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0584 ACADEMIC

Alfred Bögli

1912 - 1998

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0631 ACADEMIC

Franz Oswald

Born 1938

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0672 ACADEMIC

Carl Alexander Krethlow

Born 1965

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0681 ACADEMIC

Pierre Lardy

1903 - 1958

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0734 ACADEMIC

Luc Mojon

1925 - 2011

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0750 ACADEMIC

Emanuel Abbühl

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0765 ACADEMIC

Peter Gilg

1922 - 2006

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0827 ACADEMIC

Matthias Winiger

Born 1943

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0874 ACADEMIC

Bernhard Stauffer

Born 1938

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0880 ACADEMIC

Martha Lux-Steiner

Born 1950

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0903 ACADEMIC

Klaus Aerni

1932 - 2014

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0924 ACADEMIC

Arnold Weber

1894 - 1976

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0944 ACADEMIC

Toni Reinhard

1917 - 1965

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0955 ACADEMIC

Emanuel Eduard Fueter

1801 - 1855

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0974 ACADEMIC

Johann Heinrich Otth

1651 - 1719

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0978 ACADEMIC

Albert Schaffter

1823 - 1897

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1012 ACADEMIC

Hans Strahm (Bibliothekar)

1901 - 1978

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1049 ACADEMIC

Johann Samuel Ith

1747 - 1813

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1170 ACADEMIC

Albrecht Tribolet

1794 - 1871

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1176 ACADEMIC

Lucie Dikenmann-Balmer

1902 - 1980

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1253 ACADEMIC

Walter Ludwig Wilhelm Lauterburg

1861 - 1938

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