List of Swiss people - Definition and Overview

This is a list of famous Swiss and notable people from or resident in Switzerland and cantons forming present-day Switzerland.

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

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

Music

• Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969), conductor
• Lys Assia (born 1926), singer
• Michel Corboz (born 1934), conductor
• Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950), musican, 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
  • List of members of the Swiss Federal Council
  • List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation
  • List of Federal Chancellors of Switzerland
  • List of Presidents of the Swiss National Council
  • List of Presidents of the Swiss Council of States
  • List of Presidents of the Swiss Diet (before 1848)

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)
• 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
• 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

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)
• Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823), watchmaker
• 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)
• Beat Fischer_von_Reichenbach (1641-1698), held postal monopoly in Berne
• 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
• Philippe Suchard (1797-1884), chocolatier
• 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.