46.2001° N, 6.1500° E

GENEVE

Most Famous People Born in Geneve, Switzerland

Notable people
1,536
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1917
Most distinctive
Bank 6.0×

A Protestant republic that became, in the 19th century, the world's capital of banking and international diplomacy. Geneva's distinctive professions are bankers, theologians, botanists, pianists, photographers, and physicists — a combination that exists almost nowhere else. Rousseau was born here, Calvin made it the Protestant Rome, Henri Dunant founded the Red Cross here, and Saussure essentially invented modern linguistics at the university.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Geneve during each.

What Geneve Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Geneve's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (138).

Geneve over-indexes on bank6.0× the global rate.

Geneve under-produces football — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician138
  2. Writer106
  3. Painter105
  4. Actor67
  5. Football64
  6. Artist43
  7. Lawyer35
  8. Architect34
  1. Bank156.0×
  2. Theologian244.3×
  3. Botanist243.9×
  4. Pianist153.6×
  5. Driver163.4×
  6. Photographer243.2×
  7. Physicist203.1×
  8. Artist432.7×
  1. Football640.4×
  2. Singer200.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Geneve's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Art & Design
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All1,536
Sort By

Showing 86 of 1,536 notable people

0006 IMAM

Aga Khan IV

Born 1936

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0097 COMPOSER

Daniel Humair

Born 1938

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0102 CONDUCTOR

Andrei Volkonsky

1933 - 2008

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0113 PRESENTER

Fernando Schwartz

Born 1937

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0131 ARTIST

Emilie Benes Brzezinski

Born 1932

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0145 LAWYER

Jean-Pierre Cot

Born 1937

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0161 BIOGRAPHER

Ted Morgan (writer)

Born 1932

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0166 ORGANIST

Lionel Rogg

Born 1936

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0186 FILM

Michel Soutter

1932 - 1991

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0189 COMEDIAN

Bernard Haller

1933 - 2009

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0196 TEACHER

Gilbert Rist

Born 1938

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0201 MATHEMATICIAN

Michel Balinski

1933 - 2019

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0203 FOOTBALL

Roger Vonlanthen

Born 1930

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0205 ACTOR

Nelly Borgeaud

1931 - 2004

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0275 WRITER

Pierre Billon

Born 1937

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0300 DIPLOMAT

Raniero Vanni d'Archirafi

Born 1931

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0309 WRITER

Vahé Godel

Born 1931

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0319 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Ole Holsti

1933 - 2020

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0324 SKIER

Renée Colliard

Born 1933

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0327 ACTOR

Clotilde Joano

1932 - 1974

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0335 ECONOMIST

Carlos Tello Macías

Born 1938

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0361 PSYCHOLOGIST

Constance Kamii

Born 1931

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0392 JEWELLER

Gilbert Albert

1930 - 2019

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0404 JEWELLER

Gérald Genta

1931 - 2011

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0419 SKIER

Marina, Princess of Naples

Born 1935

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0474 DIPLOMAT

Manuel Tello Macías

1935 - 2010

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0517 BIOLOGIST

Daisy Roulland-Dussoix

1936 - 2014

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0533 WRITER

Catherine Safonoff

Born 1939

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0541 DIPLOMAT

Marcel André Boisard

Born 1939

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0548 BOTANIST

Hervé Maurice Burdet

Born 1939

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0574 ARCHITECT

Claude Schnaidt

1931 - 2007

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0576 PSYCHOANALYST

Florence Guignard

Born 1934

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0582 WRITER

Fernand Berset

1931 - 2011

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0593 SPORT

Jean-Jacques Tillmann

1935 - 2015

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0627 PHOTOGRAPHER

Éric Beynon

Born 1935

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0676 WRITER

Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller

1930 - 2016

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0699 BASKET

Jean-Pierre Voisin

1932 - 2014

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0717 WRITER

Laurence Deonna

Born 1937

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0719 AUTHOR

Gérard Bourgarel

1931 - 2012

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0738 SURGEON

Jean Siegfried

1931 - 2014

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0742 MOUNTAINEER

Ray Genet

1931 - 1979

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0750 SAILOR

Bernard Dunand

Born 1936

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0756 AUTHOR

Tatiana Fabergé

1930 - 2020

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0765 JOURNALIST

Daniel Cornu

Born 1939

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0776 SINGER

René Zosso

Born 1935

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0777 JOURNALIST

Guillaume Chenevière

Born 1937

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0782 HISTORIAN

Daniel Paunier

Born 1936

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0792 WRITER

Jean Vuilleumier

1934 - 2012

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0804 POLITICIAN

Alain Borner

1932 - 2019

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0812 WRITER

Lova Golovtchiner

Born 1938

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0818 ACADEMIC

Kalevi Holsti

Born 1935

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0844 COMPOSER

Jacques Guyonnet

1933 - 2018

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0857 WRITER

Michel Viala

1933 - 2013

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0864 HISTORIAN

Marcel Grandjean

Born 1930

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0877 ACADEMIC

Charles Grivel

1936 - 2015

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0954 PRODUCER

Alain Milhaud

1930 - 2018

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0962 PHOTOGRAPHER

Elga Heinzen

Born 1933

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0964 SCULPTOR

Daniel Polliand

Born 1938

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0976 BIOLOGIST

Claude Kordon

1934 - 2008

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0980 SCULPTOR

Albert Rouiller

1938 - 2000

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0982 VACCINE

Françoise Berthoud

Born 1939

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0984 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

André Donneur

Born 1938

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0996 ACTOR

Marie-Claire Olivia

Born 1931

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0998 FILM

Éric Schlumberger

1932 - 2018

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1019 ARTIST

Serge Candolfi

Born 1936

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1027 BUSINESS

Simone Tata

Born 1930

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1043 WRITER

John Dubouchet

Born 1937

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1049 ENTREPRENEUR

Philippe Stern (Unternehmer)

Born 1938

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1052 SOCIOLOGIST

Pierre Gilliand

1936 - 2009

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1079 PSYCHOANALYST

Thierry de Saussure

1934 - 2019

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1175 RACER

Marie Lambert

1935 - 1961

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1183 ACADEMIC

Charles F. Perdrisat

Born 1932

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1186 PHYSICIST

Gérard Emch

1936 - 2013

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1199 ARTIST

Chérif Defraoui

1932 - 1994

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1221 BUSINESS

Claude Sage

Born 1934

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1254 MUSIC

André Zumbach

1931 - 2004

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1274 MANAGER

Michel Crippa

1936 - 1999

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1298 FOOTBALL

Pierre Beetschen

1934 - 2017

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1373 PAINTER

Joseph Schäffler

1937 - 2018

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1409 WRITER

Claude Charles

Born 1930

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1429 JAZZ

Roger Zufferey

1936 - 2010

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1450 WRITER

Georges Turrian

Born 1932

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1460 SPORT

Paul Vittet

Born 1932

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1480 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Gérard Zimmermann

Born 1937

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1501 JAZZ

Jo Gagliardi

Born 1934

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1510 DIPLOMAT

Erik-Roger Lang

Born 1930

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