List of Swiss people
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This is a list of famous Swiss and notable people from or resident in Switzerland and cantons forming present-day Switzerland.
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Architecture
- Francesco Borromini (1599-1667), architect in Italy
- Mario Botta (born 1943), architect
- Le Corbusier, (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret), (1887-1965)
- Jacques Herzog (born 1950), architect
- William Lescaze (1896-1969)
- Pierre de Meuron (born 1950), architect
Art
- Jacques-Laurent Agasse (1767-1849), painter
- Cuno Peter Amiet (1868-1961)
- Albert Anker (1831-1910)
- Jean Arp (1886-1966), sculptor, painter, and poet
- François Bocion (1828-1890), painter
- Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), painter
- Karl Bodmer (1809-1893), painter of the American West
- Frank Buchser (1828-1890), painter
- Alexandre Calame (1810-1864), painter
- Jean Crotti (1878-1958), painter
- Hans Erni (born 1909)
- Henry Fuseli, (Johann Heinrich Füssli), (1741-1825), painter
- Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), sculptor, painter
- H. R. Giger (born 1940), illustrator
- Anton Graff (1736-1813), painter
- Eugène Grasset (1845-1917), decorative artist
- Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918), painter
- Max Huber (1919-1992), graphic designer
- Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807), painter
- Paul Klee (1879-1940), painter
- Rudolf Koller (1828-1905), painter
- Niklaus Manuel (1484-1530), painter
- Roger Pfund (born 1943), painter, graphic designer
- James Pradier (1790-1852), sculptor
- Oskar Reinhart (1885-1965), collector
- Iris von Roten-Meyer (1917-1990), lawyer and artist
- Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002), sculptor, became Swiss in 1971
- Théophile Steinlen (1859-1923), painter and printmaker
- Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943), painter, sculptor
- Jean Tinguely (1925-1991), kinetic artist
- Rodolphe Toepffer (1799-1846)
- Félix Vallotton (1865-1925), painter
Aviation
- Oskar Bider (1891-1919)
- Henri Dufaux (1879-1980)
- Armand Dufaux (1883-1941)
- Walter Mittelholzer (1894-1937), pilot, director Ad Astra, Swissair
- Bertrand Piccard (born 1958), psychiatrist and balloonist
- Eduard Spelterini (1852-1931), balloonist
Business
- Carl Franz Bally (1821-1899), founder of the Bally Shoe company
- Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823), watchmaker
- Georges Edouard Piaget, watchmaker
- Beat Fischer von Reichenbach (1641-1698), held postal monopoly in Berne
- Philippe Suchard (1797-1884), chocolatier
- William de Vigier (1912-2003), entrepreneur
Linguistics
- Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), linguist
Mathematics
- Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), mathematician and physicist
- Jakob Bernoulli (1654-1705), Swiss mathematician
- Johann Bernoulli (1667-1748), Swiss mathematician
- Armand Borel (1923-2003) mathematician
- Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), mathematician and geometer
- Michel Plancherel (1885-1967), mathematician
- Georges de Rham (1903-1990), mathematician
Military
- Pierre Victor Besenval_de_Bronstatt (1721-1791)
- Guillaume-Henri Dufour (1787-1875), General, geographer
- Joachim Forrer (1782-1833)
- Henri Guisan (1874-1960), General during WWII
- Hans Herzog (1819-1894), General 1870-1871
- Antoine-Henri Jomini (1779-1869), General, military writer
- Franz Ludwig Pfyffer_von_Wyher (1716-1802)
- Pius Segmüller (born 1944), commander Swiss Guard
- Theophil Sprecher_von_Bernegg (1850-1927)
- Ulrich Wille (1848-1925), General during WWI
- Christophe Keckeis, Chief of the Armed Forces 2004-
Music
- Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969), conductor
- Lys Assia (born 1926), singer
- Michel Corboz (born 1934), conductor
- Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950), musician, educator, developer of Eurhythmics
- Edwin Fischer (1886-1960), pianist and conductor
- Thomas Gabriel Fischer (born 19??), known as Celtic Frost's Tom Warrior
- Peter-Lukas Graf (born 1929), conductor
- Ernst Haefliger (born 1919), tenor
- Heinz Holliger (born 1929), oboe
- Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), composer
- Philippe Huttenlocher (born 1942), bass
- Frank Martin (1890-1974), composer
- Othmar Schoeck (1886-1957), composer
- Eric Tappy (born 1931), tenor
- Andreas Vollenweider (born 1953), harpist
- Alberich Zwyssig (1808-1854), priest, composer of the Swiss Psalm
Politics
- Élie Ducommun (1833-1906), 1902 Nobel Peace Prize
- Henri Dunant (1828-1910), 1901 Nobel Peace Prize
- Nicholas von der Flue (1417-1487), diplomat, hermit, Catholic saint
- Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), US Secretary of the Treasury, diplomat
- Albert Gobat (1843-1914), 1902 Nobel Peace Prize
- Jürg Jenatsch (1596-1639), pastor, Protestant politician
- Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), revolutionary
- Napoleon III (1808-1873) (naturalized in 1832)
- Jacques Necker (1732-1804), statesman and finance minister of Louis XVI
- Charles Pictet de Rochemont (1755-1824), statesman, diplomat
- see also
Religion
- Jakob Abbadie (1654-1727), Protestant preacher
- Jacob Amman (17th century)
- Karl Barth (1886-1968)
- Theodore Beza (1519-1605), reformer in Geneva
- Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), reformer in Zurich
- John Calvin (1509-1564), reformer in Geneva
- William Farel (1489-1565), reformer in Geneva
- Theodosius Florentini (1808-1865)
- Gaston Frommel (1862-1906)
- Karl Rudolf Hagenbach (1801-1874)
- Johann Jakob Herzog (1805-1882)
- Hans Küng (born 1928), Roman Catholic theologian
- Oswald Myconius (1488-1552)
- Philip Schaff (1819-1893)
- Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet (1797-1847), theologian and critic
- Johann Jakob Wettstein (1693-1754), theologian
- John Joachim Zubly, (Hans Joachim Züblin), (1724-1781), pastor, delegate to the Continental Congress
- Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), reformer in Zurich
Science
- Firmin Abauzit, (1679-1767), scientist
- Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, (1835-1910), American man of science
- Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), work on ice ages, glaciers
- Jacob Amsler (1823-1912), mathematician and inventor of measuring instruments
- Werner Arber (born 1929), 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Johann Georg Baiter (1801-1877), philologist
- Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (1840-1914) archaeologist
- Jean-François Bergier (born 1931), historian
- Eugene Bleuler (1857-1940), psychiatrist
- Felix Bloch (born 1905), 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Charles Bonnet (1720-1793), botanist
- Daniel Bovet (born 1907), 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Joost Bürgi (1552-1632), mathematician and watchmaker
- Johann Büttikofer (1850-1929), zoologist
- Jean-André Deluc (1727-1817), geologist
- Albert Einstein, (1879-1955), 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Richard R. Ernst (born 1933), 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Edmond H. Fischer (born 1920), 1992 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Auguste Forel (1848-1931), myrmecologist, psychiatrist, neurologist
- François-Alphonse Forel (1841-1912), pioneer in the study of lakes
- Conrad Gessner (1516-1565)
- Jules Gonin (1870-1935), ophthalmologist
- Charles-Edouard Guillaume (1861-1938), 1920 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777)
- Anna Heer (1863-1918), physician
- Walter Hess (1881-1973), 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Carl Hilty (1833-1909), jurist
- Albert Hofmann (born 1906)
- Eugen Huber (1849-1923), jurist
- François Huber (1750-1831), naturalist
- Paul Karrer (1889-1971), 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Emil Theodor Kocher (1841-1917), 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Michel Mayor (born 1942), astronomer
- Johannes von Müller (1752-1809), historian
- K. Alex Müller (born 1927), 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Paul Müller (1899-1965), 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Johann Caspar von Orelli (1787-1849)
- Paracelsus (1493-1541), (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), alchemist
- Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958), 1945 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Jean Piaget (1896-1980), psychologist
- Auguste Piccard (1884-1962)
- Jacques Piccard
- Jean Piccard (1884-1963)
- François-Jules Pictet de la Rive (1809-1872), zoologist and paleontologist
- Raoul Pictet (1846-1929), physicist
- Vladimir Prelog (1906-1998), 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Didier Queloz (born 1966), astronomer
- Tadeus Reichstein (1897-1996), chemist, 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Heinrich Rohrer (born 1933), 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Leopold Ruzicka (1887-1976), 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799), botanist
- Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, (1672-1733), Swiss savant
- Jack Steinberger (born 1921), 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Alfred Werner (1866-1919), 1913 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Niklaus Wirth (born 1934), computer scientist
- Kurt Wüthrich (born 1938), 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Daniel Albert Wyttenbach (1746-1820)
- Alexandre Yersin (1894-1943), physician, isolates the Yersinia pestis
- Rolf M. Zinkernagel (born 1944), 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Fritz Zwicky (1898-1974), astronomer
- Theodor Zwinger (1533-1588), scholar
Sports
- Paul Accola (born 1967), skiing champion
- Simon Ammann (born 1981), gold medallist in Ski jumping at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Denise Biellmann (born 1962), World champion figure skater
- Sepp Blatter (born 1935), FIFA president
- Roger Federer (born 1981), tennis champion
- Michela Figini (born 1966), Alpine skiing champion
- Arnold Gerschwiler (born ~1914), skater
- Hans Gerschwiler (born ~1921), World champion figure skater
- Jack Gerschwiler (1898-2000), coach
- Erika Hess (born 1962), Alpine skiing champion
- Martina Hingis (born 1980), professional tennis player
- Patrick Hürlimann (born 1963), Olympic curling champion
- Hugo Koblet, (1925-1964), cycling champion
- Franz Krienbühl (1929-2002), speed skater
- Peter Lüscher (born 1956), Alpine skiing champion
- Lise-Marie Morerod (born 1956), Alpine skiing champion
- Marie-Thérèse Nadig (born 1954), Alpine skiing champion
- Marc Rosset (born 1970), tennis player
- Bernhard Russi (born 1948), Alpine skiing champion
- Vreni Schneider (born 1964), Alpine skiing champion
- Patty Schnyder (born 1978), professional tennis player
- Maria Walliser (born 1963), Alpine skiing champion
- Pirmin Zurbriggen (born 1963), Alpine skiing champion
- Marcel Fischer (born 1978), Fencing champion, gold medallist in Athens Olympics
Writers
- Peter Bichsel (born 1935)
- S. Corinna Bille (1912-1979), author, poet
- Ida Bindschedler (1854-1919), childbook author
- Hans Boesch (born 1926)
- Charles Victor de Bonstetten (1745-1832)
- Blaise Cendrars, (Frédéric Louis Sauser), (1887-1961), author
- Victor Cherbuliez (1829-1899), member of the Académie française
- Jacques Chessex (born 1934)
- Anne Cuneo (born 1936)
- Erich von Däniken (born 1935), Ancient Astronauts writer
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990), author and playwright
- Werner J. Egli (born 1943)
- Felix Epper (born 1967)
- Heinrich Federer (1866-1928)
- Martin Frank (born 1950)
- Max Frisch (1911-1991), author and architect
- Friedrich Glauser (1896-1938)
- Jeremias Gotthelf, (Albert Bitzius), (1797-1854), author
- Roger Graf (born 1958)
- Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Meinrad Inglin (1893-1971)
- Zoë Jenny (born 1974)
- Gottfried Keller (1819-1890), Swiss author
- Ella Maillart (1903-1997)
- Niklaus Meienberg (1940-1993)
- Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825-1898)
- Adolf Muschg (born 1934)
- Suzanne Necker, née Suzanne Curchod, (1739-1794)
- Juste Olivier (1807-1876)
- Eugène Rambert (1830-1886)
- Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-1947)
- Urs Richle (born 1965)
- Margrit Schriber (born 1939)
- Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998)
- Carl Spitteler (1845-1924), 1919 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Johanna Spyri (1827-1901), author of Heidi
- Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, (Madame de Staël), (1766-1817)
- Ugonna Wachuku (born 1971), Nigerian writer living in Geneva
- Otto F. Walter (1928-1994)
- Urs Widmer (born 1938)
- Johann David Wyss (1743-1818), author of The Swiss Family Robinson
- Yvette Z'Graggen (born 1920)
- Emil Zopfi (born 1943)
- Fritz Zorn, (Fritz Angst), (1944-1976), author of Mars
- Roland Zoss (born 1951)
- Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke (1771-1848)
Others
- Sadruddhin Aga Khan (1933-2003), UN High Commissioner for Refugees, longtime Swiss resident
- Othmar Ammann (1879-1965), civil engineer, bridge engineer to the New York Port Authority
- Ursula Andress (born 1936), actress
- Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867-1939), physician and Muesli inventor
- Johann Georg Bodmer (1786-1864), inventor
- Johann Jakob Bodmer (1698-1783)
- Yul Brynner (1915?-1985), actor
- Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897), art historian
- Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784-1814), traveller and orientalist
- Elias Canetti (1905-1994), 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature, Swiss resident
- Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941), automobile engineer
- Étienne Clavière (1735-1793)
- Benjamin Constant (1767-1830)
- Jean Henri Dunant (1828-1910), who created the Red Cross
- Alfred Escher (1819-1882)
- Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth (1767-1823)
- Louis Favre (1826-1879), engineer
- Heinrich Federer (1866-1928), priest, author
- Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg (1771-1844)
- Bruno Ganz (born 1941), actor
- Salomon Gessner (1730-1788)
- Marie Grossholtz (1761-1850), known as Madame Tussaud
- Jeanne Hersch (1910-2000), philosopher
- Franz Hohler (born 1943)
- Irène Jacob (born 1966), actress
- Daniel Jean-Richard (1665-1741), watchmaker
- Carl Gustav (C.G.) Jung (1875-1961), psychiatrist, writer, philosopher
- Ingvar Kamprad (born 1926), founder of IKEA, lives in Lausanne since 1976
- Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801), pastor and physiognomist
- Max Miedinger (1910-1980), typeface designer, inventor of Helvetica
- Claude Nicollier (born 1944), pilot, astronaut
- Susanna Orelli (1845-1939)
- Hans A. Pestalozzi (1929-2004), social critic
- Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827), pedagogue
- Eugène Rambert (1830-1886)
- Niklaus Riggenbach (1817-1899), engineer
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), philosopher, author
- Josias Simmler (1530-1576), theologian, historian
- Emil Steinberger (born 1933), comedian
- Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), mystic, philosopher and educator
- John Sutter (1803-1880), California settler
- Alain Tanner (born 1929), film director
- Peter Ustinov (1921-2004), British actor, longtime Swiss resident
- Caterina Valente (born 1931), singer, actress
Not included
- Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), from Alsace, not Switzerland
- Heidi, protagonist of the book by Johanna Spyri
- William Tell, legendary 14th century hero
See list of people by nationality for other lists of people by nationality, ethnicity, citizenship, language, or location.
fr:Liste de Suisses célèbres it:Svizzeri celebri de:Liste der Schweizer Persönlichkeiten