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 89 of 1,536 notable people

0043 ACTOR

Jean-Luc Bideau

Born 1940

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0064 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Louis Schweitzer (businessman)

Born 1942

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0079 COMPOSER

Michel Tabachnik

Born 1942

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0107 ARTIST

John Armleder

Born 1948

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0138 WRITER

Daniel Odier

Born 1945

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0140 BALLET

Eva Evdokimova

1948 - 2009

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0184 WRITER

Daniel de Roulet

Born 1944

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0259 POLITICIAN

Christiane Brunner

Born 1947

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0303 HISTORIAN

Benjamin Isaac

Born 1945

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0344 POLITICIAN

Jean-Philippe Maitre

1949 - 2006

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0345 LAWYER

Bernard Bertossa

Born 1942

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0356 POLITICIAN

Chester G. Atkins

Born 1948

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0367 ARTIST

Ab'Aigre

1949 - 2006

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0406 COMPOSER

Gérard Zinsstag

Born 1941

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0423 SPORT

René Binggeli

1941 - 2007

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0433 PHILOLOGIST

André Hurst

Born 1940

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0487 LAWYER

Charles Poncet

Born 1946

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0537 ACTOR

Jean-Marc Stehlé

1941 - 2013

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0547 JUDGE

Bernard Corboz

1948 - 2013

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0592 WRITER

Jean-Noël Cuénod

Born 1948

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0597 HISTORIAN

Georges-Henri Soutou

Born 1943

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0599 PHYSICIST

Paul Mandel

Born 1942

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0635 POLITICIAN

Claude Haegi

Born 1940

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0652 THEOLOGIAN

Pierre Gisel

Born 1947

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0669 PIANIST

Alain Morisod

Born 1949

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0673 ACTOR

Jean-Charles Simon

Born 1948

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0675 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Daniel Thalmann

Born 1946

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0684 TEACHER

Catherine Queloz

Born 1948

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0691 ACTOR

Alain Chevallier

1940 - 1999

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0697 WRITER

Pierre-Pascal Rossi

1943 - 2016

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0704 OPERA

Nicole Buloze

1942 - 1991

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0705 PHILOSOPHER

Michael Krausz

Born 1942

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0722 HISTORIAN

Pierre de Senarclens

Born 1942

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0736 ACTOR

Armen Godel

Born 1941

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0752 POLITICIAN

John Dupraz

Born 1945

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0778 ACTOR

Maya Simon

Born 1945

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0779 ATHLETIC

Michel Portmann

Born 1941

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0795 WRITER

Claude Delarue

1944 - 2011

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0799 LAWYER

Denis Payot

1942 - 1990

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0805 PSYCHOLOGIST

André Bullinger

1941 - 2015

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0808 POLITICIAN

Jacques-Simon Eggly

Born 1942

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0830 SINGER

Béatrice Haldas

1944 - 1987

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0835 HISTORIAN

Olivier Fatio

Born 1942

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0836 PHOTOGRAPHER

Daniel Gendre

Born 1946

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0848 WRITER

Huguette Junod

Born 1943

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0867 THÉÂTRE

François Rochaix

Born 1942

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0901 POLITICIAN

Anne Mahrer

Born 1948

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0915 ARTIST

Gérald Ducimetière

Born 1940

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0917 BOTANIST

Rodolphe Spichiger

Born 1946

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0922 FILM

François Albera

Born 1948

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0934 PHOTOGRAPHER

Nicolas Faure

Born 1949

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0941 EGYPTOLOGIST

Michel Valloggia

Born 1942

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0991 WRITER

Michel Septfontaine

Born 1944

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0994 ARTIST

Muriel Olesen

Born 1948

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1066 OPERA

Audrey Michael

Born 1949

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1077 FILM

Jacques Siron

Born 1949

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1086 ECONOMIST

Pascal Diethelm

Born 1944

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1089 LAWYER

Anne Petitpierre

Born 1943

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1099 MUSIC

Raymond Thevenot

1942 - 2005

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1112 WRITER

Pierre-Laurent Ellenberger

1943 - 2002

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1137 PAINTER

Gilbert Piller

Born 1940

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1162 DIPLOMAT

Rodolphe Imhoof

Born 1947

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1182 WRITER

Jean-Marie Brandt

Born 1946

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1185 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jean-Jacques Dicker

Born 1944

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1196 WRITER

Gabrielle Chambordon

Born 1944

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1197 CELLIST

Daniel Grosgurin

Born 1949

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1218 LITERARY

Marie-Laure Ryan

Born 1946

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1240 DESIGNER

Walter Steiger

Born 1942

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1268 THEORIST

Elisha Pazner

1941 - 1979

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1293 JOURNALIST

Francine Buchi

Born 1949

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1300 WRITER

Michel de Preux

Born 1944

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1302 BOTANIST

Philippe Küpfer

Born 1942

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1306 PAINTER

Michel Dauvergne

Born 1949

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1342 SINGER

Thierry Fervant

Born 1945

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1357 FILM

Jean-Christophe Rosé

Born 1948

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1371 ACADEMIC

Claude Lecoultre

Born 1943

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1372 FILM

Simon Edelstein

Born 1940

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1396 DRIVER

Florian Vetsch (Rennfahrer)

Born 1941

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1398 PARLEMENT

Jacques Bœsch

Born 1949

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1403 JOURNALIST

Jean-François Duval

Born 1947

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1405 POLITICIAN

Jacques Pagan

Born 1942

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1418 POLITICIAN

Jean Spielmann

Born 1944

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1435 FOOTBALL

Jacques Barlie

Born 1941

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1445 FENCER

Denys Chamay

1941 - 2013

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1466 BANK

Jean-Pierre de Glutz

Born 1946

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1483 ASTRONOMER

Gilbert Burki

Born 1945

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1511 DRIVER

Bernard Chenevière

Born 1946

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1516 KOMMANDANT

Alain Rickenbacher

1945 - 2015

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1527 ESSAYIST

Martino Rizzotti

1946 - 2002

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