List of Basel personalities
This list includes personalities from the Swiss cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft . This includes people born in the area of the cantons as well as personalities who have spent an important part of their life there.
A.
- Urs Allemann (* 1948), writer
- Alfred Altherr (1843–1918), Evangelical Reformed clergyman and writer
- Johann Amerbach (around 1440–1513), printer and publisher
- Georg von Andlau , Dompropst, † 1466, first rector of the University of Basel
- Hieronymus Annoni (1697–1770), theologian and hymn poet
B.
- Arnold Baader (1842–1888), doctor, patron and sponsor
- Johann Jakob Baader (1840–1879), doctor, country a. National Council
- Martin Bachofen (1727–1814), silk ribbon manufacturer and dealer, art collector
- Natascha Badmann (* 1966), triathlete
- Arnold von Bärenfels († 1414 ), knight and mayor
- Johannes von Bärenfels († 1495), politician and mayor
- Konrad von Bärenfels († 1372), politician and mayor
- Johann Jakob Balmer (1825–1898), mathematician and physicist
- Karl Barth (1886–1968), theologian
- Baschi (Sebastian Bürgin, * 1986), pop singer
- Caspar Bauhin (1560–1624), botanist
- Hieronymus Bauhin (1637–1667), doctor
- Johann Caspar Bauhin (1606–1685), doctor and botanist
- Fritz Baumann (1886–1942), painter
- Hermann Baur (1894–1980), architect
- Carl Albrecht Bernoulli (1868–1937), theologian and writer
- Christoph Bernoulli (1782–1863), natural scientist and economist
- Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), mathematician and physicist
- Hans Bernoulli (1876–1959), architect and town planner
- Jakob I Bernoulli (1655–1705), mathematician and physicist
- Johann I Bernoulli (1667–1748), mathematician
- Johann Jakob Bernoulli (1831–1913), archaeologist
- Melchior Berri (1801-1854), architect
- Emil Beurmann (1862–1951), writer, draftsman and painter
- Ernst Beyeler (1921–2010), gallery owner and founder of the foundation
- Oskar Bider (1891-1919), aviation pioneer
- Franz Biffiger (* 1939), architect and jazz musician
- Black Tiger (born 1972), hip-hop artist
- Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901), artist
- Edgar Bonjour (1898–1991), historian
- Thüring Bräm (* 1944), conductor and composer
- Rainer Brambach (1917–1983), writer
- Philippe-Sirice Bridel (1757–1845), author, local researcher and clergyman, pastor in Basel
- Ernst Brenner (1856–1911), politician
- Isaak Bruckner (1686–1762), geographer and mechanic
- Aymo Brunetti (* 1963), economist
- Emanuel Büchel (1705–1775), draftsman and watercolorist
- Hans Balthasar Burckhardt (1676–1740), businessman and politician
- Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897), cultural historian
- Martin Burckhardt (1921–2007), architect
- Burkhard von Fenis (around 1040–1107), Bishop of Basel
- Adolf Busch (1891–1952), violinist and composer
- Johann Buxtorf (1663–1732), theologian and orientalist
- Johann Buxtorf the Elder (1564–1629), theologian and linguist
- Johann Buxtorf the Younger (1599–1664), theologian and orientalist
- Johann Jakob Buxtorf (1645–1704), theologian and orientalist
- Johann Rudolf Buxtorf (1747–1831), theologian
C.
- Sebastian Castellio (1515–1563), humanist
- Massimo Ceccaroni (* 1968), footballer
- Arthur Cohn (* 1927), film producer
- Carlo Conti (* 1954), politician
D.
- David Degen (born 1983), footballer
- Philipp Degen (* 1983), footballer
- Eren Derdiyok (* 1988), footballer
- Bernhard Duhm (1847–1928), theologian
- Adelheid Duvanel (1936–1996), writer
E.
- Alice Eckenstein (1890–1984), assistant to the Red Cross during the First World War
- Werner Edelmann (* 1941), former president of FC Basel
- Johann Puliant von Eptingen († 1402), Mayor of Basel
- Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469–1536), humanist
- Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), mathematician
- Christoph Eymann (* 1951), politician
F.
- Kurt Fahrner (1932–1977), painter and action artist
- Servatius Fanckel (* around 1450–1508), German clergyman, Dominican and definitor of the provincial chapter
- Roger Federer (* 1981), tennis player
- Hans von Flachslanden (1412–1476), mayor and mediator for founding the university
- Sebastian Franck (1499–1542) chronicler, publicist, geographer and theologian
- Alexander Frei (* 1979), football player and official
- Emil Frey (1838–1922), politician
- Johann Froben (around 1460–1527), printer and publisher
G
- Johannes Gast (around 1500–1552), Protestant clergyman and chronicler
- Max Geiger (1922–1978), Protestant clergyman and university professor
- Pamphilus Gengenbach (around 1480–1524 or 1525), author of carnival games
- Trudi Gerster (1919–2013), storyteller, actress and politician
- Andreas Gerwig (1928–2014), politician
- Max Gerwig (1889–1965), lawyer
- Eduard Gruner (1905–1984), engineer, visionary of the Gotthard Base Tunnel
- Gustav IV Adolf (1778–1837), King of Sweden
- Stephan Gutzwiller (1802–1875), politician
- Thomas Gyrfalk (1559), reformer
H
- Johann Wilhelm Haas (1698–1764) type founder (Haas' type foundry)
- Gianna Hablützel-Bürki (* 1969), sword fencer
- Parwin Hadinia (* 1965), dancer and choreographer
- Emanuel Handmann (1718–1781), portrait painter
- Emil Handschin (1928–1990), ice hockey player
- Johann Peter Hebel (1760–1826), poet, theologian, educator
- Heinrich von Thun († 1238), Bishop of Basel
- Joseph Heintz (1564–1609), painter
- Hans Herbst (1470–1552), painter
- Herzog & de Meuron (Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, both * 1950), architects
- Eva Herzog (* 1961), politician
- Albert Hofmann (1906–2008), chemist
- Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 / 1498–1543), painter
- Heinz Holliger (1939), oboist, conductor and composer
- Franz Xaver von Hornstein (1892–1980), Catholic clergyman, pastoral theologian and university professor
- Johannes Hospinianus (1515–1575), philosopher
- Helmut Hubacher (1926–2020), politician
I.
- Isaak Iselin (1728–1782), philosopher of history
J
- René C. Jäggi (* 1948), entrepreneur
- Arminio Janner (1886–1949), university professor and publicist
- Matthyas Jenny (* 1945) literary activist
- Zoë Jenny (* 1974), writer
- David Joris (1501 / 02–1556), Anabaptist leader
K
- Max Kämpf (1912–1982), painter and draftsman
- César Keizer (1925–2007), cabaret artist
- Eugen Keller (1880–1948), theater director, actor and director
- Michael Koch (* 1982), actor and director
- Konrad von Würzburg (between 1220 and 1230–1287), poet
- Georg Kreis (* 1943), historian, former head of the European Institute in Basel and President of the Federal Commission against Racism
- Karl Küchlin (1864–1935), builder and director of the Küchlin Varieté Theater
- Urs Küry (1901–1976), Christian Catholic bishop
L.
- Jürg Laederach (1945–2018), writer
- Ralph Lewin (* 1953), politician and economist
M.
- Peter Malama (1960–2012), politician and national councilor
- Bruno Manser (* 1954, lost 2000), ethnologist and environmental activist
- Christoph Merian (1800–1858), large landowner and founder of the foundation
- Emanuel Merian (1732–1818), Protestant clergyman and antistes in Basel
- Matthäus Merian (1593–1650), engraver and publisher
- Philipp Merian (1773–1848), philanthropist and founder of the foundation
- Andreas Merian-Iselin (1742–1811), politician
- EY Meyer (* 1946), writer
- Hannes Meyer (1889–1954), architect and urbanist
- Traugott Meyer (1895–1959), writer
- Friedrich Miescher (1844–1895), physician and professor at the University of Basel
- Rudolf Miescher (1880–1945), politician and officer
- -minu (* 1947), writer, TV presenter and city original
- Armin Mohler (1920–2003), writer and journalist
- Silvio Morger (* 1984), jazz musician
- Guy Morin (born 1956), politician
- Elisabeth Müller (actress, 1926) (1926–2006), actress
- Konrad Münch von Landskron († 1353), Mayor of Basel
- Sebastian Münster (1488–1552), cosmographer and Hebraist
- Stefan Mutter (* 1956), racing cyclist
N
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philosopher
O
- Peter Ochs (1752–1821), politician
- Karl Odermatt (* 1942), football player
- Johannes Oekolampad (1482–1531), reformer
- Gisela Oeri (* 1955), patron
- Alexander Markowitsch Ostrowski (1893–1986), mathematician
P
- Alfred Pauletto (1927–1985), painter
- Johannes Petri (1441–1511), printer
- Felix Platter (1536–1614), medic
- Thomas Platter the Younger (1574–1628), botanist and physician
- Adolf Portmann (1897–1982), biologist
- Fritz Pümpin (1901–1972), painter and archaeologist
R.
- Beat Raaflaub (* 1946), conductor
- Tristan Rain (* 1972), visual artist
- Burkhard Werner von Ramstein († 1332), Mayor of Basel
- Alfred Rasser (1907–1977), cabaret artist, actor and politician
- René Regenass (* 1935), writer and visual artist
- Tadeus Reichstein (1897–1996), chemist, Nobel Prize winner
- Hans Rémond (* 1932), painter
- Adolph Rickenbacher (1887–1976), co-inventor of the electric guitar
- Wibrandis Rosenblatt (1504–1564), wife of three reformers
- Carl Roschet (1867–1925), painter and heraldist
- Jacques Rossel (1915–2008), Protestant clergyman and President of the Basel Mission
- Karl Ludwig Roth (1811–1860), classical philologist
- Trudi Roth (1930–2016), cabaret artist and actress
S.
- Maja Sacher (1896–1989), founder of the foundation
- Paul Sacher (1906–1999), conductor and patron
- Jörg Schild (* 1946), politician
- Achilles Schlöth (1858–1904), sculptor
- Ferdinand Schlöth (1818-1891), sculptor
- Barbara Schneider (* 1953), politician
- Amalie Schneider-Schlöth (1839–1888), author of the Basel cooking school
- Christian Friedrich Schönbein (1799–1868), discoverer of ozone, gun cotton and the principle of the fuel cell, honorary citizen of Basel
- Albert Schweizer (1885–1948), landscape painter
- Fritz Senn (* 1928), publicist and James Joyce specialist
- Paul Speiser (1846–1935), lawyer and politician
- Carl Spitteler (1845–1924), writer
- Christian Friedrich Spittler (1782–1867), founder of the Basel Mission
- Hartmann Stähelin (1925–2011), pharmacologist and microbiologist
- Hans Joachim Stoebe (1909–2002), German Protestant clergyman and university professor
- Marco Streller (* 1981), footballer
- Moritz Suter (* 1943), Crossair founder
T
- Leonhard Thurneysser (1531–1596), alchemist
- Hans Martin Tschudi (* 1951), politician, councilor
- Hans-Peter Tschudi (1913–2002), politician, government councilor, councilor of states, federal councilor
V
- Lukas Vischer (1926–2008), theologian
- Ueli Vischer (* 1951), lawyer and politician
W.
- Franz Weber (1927–2019), environmental activist
- Mäni Weber (1935–2006), moderator and radio reporter
- Samuel Werenfels (1657–1740), theologian
- Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette (1780–1849), theologian
- Johann Rudolf Wettstein (1594–1666), diplomat and mayor of Basel
- Urs Widmer (1938–2014), writer
- Hans Wieland (1825–1864), career officer
- Konrad Witz (1400–1446), painter
- Hans Wyprächtiger (1929–2006), actor
Y
- Hakan Yakin (born 1977), footballer
- Murat Yakin (* 1974), footballer
Z
- Rolf Zinkernagel (* 1944), immunologist
- Peter Zumthor (* 1943), architect
- Theodor Zwinger the Elder (1533–1588), scholar
- Theodor Zwinger the Younger (1597–1654), pastor and theologian