List of personalities of the city of Winterthur

Johann Caspar Weidenmann (1805–1850), painter, draftsman and copyist

This list contains personalities born in Winterthur as well as those who had their sphere of activity in Winterthur without having been born there. Both sections are sorted chronologically according to the year of birth. The list does not claim to be complete.

Personalities born in Winterthur

Monument to Jonas Furrer, the first Federal President of Switzerland

Until 1800

Johannes von Winterthur (around 1300 - 1348/49), Franciscan brother and chronicler
Hans Haggenberg (around 1450 - around 1515), painter
Laurentius Liechti (around 1489 - 1545), founder of the Liechti watchmaking dynasty
Alban Thorer (around 1489 - 1550), doctor, philologist, rector, translator and editor
Laurentius Bosshart (around 1490 - 1532), chronicler
Johannes Letter (1499–1528), author of the Counter Reformation
Erhard Liechti (around 1530 - 1591), watchmaker
Johann Wilhelm Stucki (1542–1607), Protestant theologian, philologist and historian
Ludwig Pfau I (around 1547 - 1597), founder of the Pfau stove-making dynasty
Melchior Steiner (1630–1690), merchant
Felix Meyer (1653–1713), painter
Hans Georg Steiner (1654–1734), cotton manufacturer and mayor of the city of Winterthur
Johann Ulrich Schellenberg (1709–1795), painter
Johann Georg Sulzer (1720–1779), philosopher
Johann Ludwig Aberli (1723–1786), painter
Anna Barbara Reinhart (1730–1796), mathematician
Anton Graff (1736–1813), portrait painter
Johann Heinrich Ziegler (1738–1818), doctor, chemist and entrepreneur
Johann Conrad Sulzer (1745–1819), 1st Protestant pastor
Christoph Kaufmann (1753–1795), namesake of the term " Sturm und Drang "
Johann Heinrich Troll (1756–1824), painter and graphic artist
Ulrich Hegner (1759–1840), writer
Johann Jakob Biedermann (1763–1830), painter, graphic artist and etcher
Hans Jacob Rieter (1766–1811), textile entrepreneur, murdered on the way back from the Frankfurt trade fair
Salomon Hegner (1789–1869), engineer

1801 to 1850

David Eduard Steiner

Jonas Furrer (1805–1861), politician, first Federal President of Switzerland
Johann Caspar Weidenmann (1805–1850), painter, draftsman and copyist
Johann Georg Deller (1808–1879), Winterthur building contractor
David Eduard Steiner (1811–1860), painter, etcher and lithographer
Heinrich Rieter (1814–1889), industrialist and politician
August Weckesser (1821–1899), history painter
Konrad Grob (1828–1904), lithographer and painter
Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer (1838–1920), numismatist
Rudolf Morf (1839–1925), trade unionist and politician
Robert Bindschedler (1844–1901), chemist and industrialist
Albert Jucker (1844–1885), entrepreneur
Emil Kaspar Studer (1844–1927), architect and professor

1851 to 1900

Robert Keller (1854–1939), teacher, rector and botanist
Jakob Christoph Heer (1859–1925), writer ¹
Charles EL Brown (1863-1924), machine designer ( Brown, Boveri & Cie )
Heinrich Wölfflin (1864–1945), art historian
Sidney Brown (1865–1941), machine designer and art collector
Karl Paul Täuber (1867–1948), precision mechanic and electrical engineer
Walter Furrer (1870–1949), architect and local politician
Arnold Corti (1873–1932), chemist and entomologist
Max Niedermann (1874–1954), classical philologist
Alfred Ernst (1875–1968), botanist
Richard Krzymowski (1875–1960), agricultural scientist
Joan Gamper (1877–1930), athlete and founder of FC Barcelona
Georg Reinhart (1877–1955), merchant and patron
Emil Klöti (1877–1963), Mayor of Zurich and a cantonal, national and council of states
Ernst Wetter (1877–1963), politician ¹
Ernst Bachmann (1879–1955), doctor
Heinrich Brockmann-Jerosch (1879–1939), botanist
Alfred Büchi (1879–1959), inventor of the exhaust gas turbocharger
Johannes Huber (1879–1948), lawyer and politician
Lebrecht Völki (1879–1937), architect
Hans Reinhart (1880–1963), poet, translator and patron
Albert Thellt (1881–1928), botanist
Emma Sulzer-Forrer (1882–1963), sculptor
Werner Reinhart (1884–1951), businessman and patron
Oskar Reinhart (1885–1965), art collector and patron
Walther Reinhart (1886–1975), musician, composer and author
Walter Baumgartner (1887–1970), theologian
Emil Brunner (1889–1966), Reformed theologian
Fritz Ernst (1889–1958), literary scholar and essayist
Hans Kägi (1889–1971), editor, theater correspondent and author
Ambrosius von Albertini (1894–1971), pathologist and professor
Jakob Flach (1894–1982), writer, puppeteer and painter
Fritz Bernhard (1895–1966), painter
Hans Morf (1896–1990), lawyer and federal civil servant
Willy Bretscher (1897–1992), journalist
Max Weiler (1900–1969), football player
Gustav Morf (1900–1978), doctor, psychologist, journalist and politician

1901 to 1925

Werner Ganz (1902–1995), historian, secondary school teacher and politician
Walter Weiler (1903–1945), football player
Hans Barth (1904–1965), journalist and philosopher
Karl Bernhard (1904–1993), biochemist and university professor
Georges Miez (1904-1999), Turner ¹
Willy Hess (1906–1997), musicologist and composer
Heinz Keller (1906–1984), curator
Albert Büchi (1907–1988), racing cyclist
Max Bill (1908–1994), architect, artist and designer
Erwin Hofer (1912–1995), politician
Hans Hutter (1913–2006), member of the International Brigades
Warja Lavater (1913–2007), graphic artist and illustrator
Voli Geiler (1915–1992), theater and film actress
Max Caflisch (1916-2004), typographer
Elisabeth Meyer-Marthaler (1916–2001), historian
Hans Affeltranger (1919–2002), painter and graphic artist
Robert Lienhard (1919–1989), sculptor and metal sculptor
Werner Weber (1919–2005), literary critic, writer and translator
Armin Hofmann (* 1920), graphic artist, set designer, sculptor and lecturer
Rudolf Ernst Keller (1920–2014), Germanist
Luigi Bühler (1921–2004), chess player and chess composer
Gottfried Egg (1921–2010), Jass expert, inventor of prize-winning
Erich A. Kägi (1921–2014), journalist and publicist
Arthur Bachmann (1922–1983), politician
Hans Heinrich Egger (1922–2011), film editor
Ulrich Gaudenz Müller (1922–2005), pioneer of computational linguistics
Rudolf Friedrich (1923–2013), lawyer and politician
Heiner Gross (1923–1993), youth writer
Fritz Bachmann (1924–2009), entomologist
Walter Gross (1924–1999), poet
Henri Schmid (1924–2009), painter and graphic artist
Bruno Stefanini (1924–2018), property owner and art collector
Peter Frei (1925–2010), ancient historian

1926 to 1950

Ernst Gebendinger (1926-2017), Turner
Hans Ruedi Sieber (1926–2002), painter and graphic artist
Georg Gerster (1928–2019), journalist, pioneer of aerial photography
Silvio Mattioli (1929–2011), painter, sculptor, iron and steel sculptor
Paul Späni (1929–1993), tenor and music teacher
Bruno Hunziker (1930–2000), politician, parliamentarian and business lawyer
Peter Spälti (1930–2010), politician and manager
Max Dünki (1932–2011), politician
Werner Hurter (* 1932), architect and artist
Heiner Gross (1923–1993), author of children's books
Richard R. Ernst (* 1933), chemist (Nobel Prize winner 1991)
Ursula Bagdasarjanz (* 1934), violinist
Hannes Keller (* 1934), computer pioneer, entrepreneur, diving pioneer and amateur pianist
Niklaus Wirth (* 1934), computer scientist
Serge Ehrensperger (1935–2013), writer
Hans Georg Kägi (1935–1966), painter and draftsman
Peter Arbenz (* 1937), development worker, politician (FDP) and civil servant
Karl Meli (1938–2012), wrestler
Rolf Bänninger (1938–2017), jazz drummer and businessman
Lisbeth Fehr (* 1938), politician
Marcel Rüedi (1938–1986), mountaineer
Leonhard Scheuch (* 1938), music publisher
Oscar Fritschi (1939–2016), politician
Peter Schellenbaum (1939–2018), psychoanalyst and non-fiction author
Hanspeter Danuser (1940–2000), historian and screenwriter
Willi Dolder (* 1941), photographer, nature photographer and travel writer
Michael Gempart (born 1941), actor
Markus Imhoof (* 1941), film director and screenwriter
Jean-Claude Zehnder (* 1941), organist and musicologist
Peter Baumberger (1942–2019), politician
Elsbeth Sigmund (* 1942), actress and teacher
Peter Bernhard (* 1943), racing car driver
Hans-Ulrich Brunner (1943–2006), painter
Peter Eicher (* 1943), Catholic theologian
Andreas Kappeler (* 1943), historian
Remo H. Largo (* 1943), pediatrician and specialist book author
Curt Treier (* 1944), jazz musician
Roger Girod (* 1945), lawyer and musician
Max Meili (* 1946), football player
Beat Raaflaub (* 1946), conductor
Martin Schwarz (* 1946), artist, author and publisher
Jürg Amann (1947–2013), writer
Ernst Wohlwend (* 1947), mayor
Peter Fässler-Weibel (1948–2011), couple and family therapist
Maja Ingold (* 1948), politician
Ernst Rutschmann (* 1948), football player
Markus Griesser (* 1949), astronomer and publicist
Werner Seifert (* 1949), CEO of Deutsche Börse AG 1993–2005
Bernard Thurnheer (* 1949), entertainer and sports presenter

1951 to 1975

Rolf Erb (1951–2017), entrepreneur
Jürg Häusermann (* 1951), professor for media analysis and production
Hans Peter Künzle (* 1951), jazz musician and university professor
Carl Kupferschmid (* 1951), triathlete
Hansjörg Aemisegger (* 1952), racing cyclist
Regine Aeppli (* 1952), politician
Peter Bieri (* 1952), politician
Franz Böni (* 1952), author
Viktor Giacobbo (* 1952), author, cabaret artist, presenter and actor
Reto Parolari (1952–2019), conductor
Rudolf Wachter (* 1954), classical philologist
Hans-Jakob Mosimann (* 1956), lawyer
Stefan Gubser (* 1957), actor
Katharina Henking (* 1957), visual artist
Markus Hutter (* 1957), entrepreneur and politician
Martin Buser (* 1958), sled dog athlete
Jean-Pierre Dürig (* 1958), architect
Christian Erb (* 1959), track and field athlete
Heinz Karrer (* 1959), manager and handball player
Mark Kuhn (* 1959), actor
Marlies Bänziger (* 1960), politician
Marco Rima (* 1961), actor and cabaret artist
Urs Engeler (* 1962), writer and publisher
Thomas Gottschall (* 1962), theologian
Janette Rauch (* 1962), actress
Reto Brennwald (* 1963), television presenter
Klodin Erb (* 1963), painter
Roger Bader (* 1964), ice hockey coach, national coach for Austria
Helen Keller (* 1964), lawyer
Maurice Pedergnana (* 1964), economist
Leta Peer (1964–2012), painter and photo artist
Dario Zuffi (* 1964), football player and coach
Thomas Steger (* 1966), business economist
Thomas Keller (* 1967), Professor of Information Systems
Corrado Filipponi (* 1968), extreme paddler, world record holder and travel photojournalist
Jürg Stahl (* 1968), politician
Hans-Ueli Vogt (* 1969), legal scholar and politician
Patrik Ramsauer (* 1970), soccer player
Haymo Empl (* 1971), writer and presenter
Ivan Engler (* 1971), director
Jeronim Perović (* 1971), historian and political scientist
Maurice Steger (* 1971), recorder player and conductor
Urs Villiger (* 1971), actor
Chantal Galladé (* 1972), politician
Michael Stauffer (* 1972), writer
René Weiler (* 1973), football player
Marc Zellweger (* 1973), football player
Giorgio Contini (* 1974), football player
Jürg Fleischer (* 1974), Germanist
Lorenzo Manta (* 1974), tennis player
Sébastien Singer (* 1974), cellist
Patrick Bettoni (* 1975), Italian-Swiss football player
Patric Della Rossa (* 1975), ice hockey player

From 1976

Simone Eisenring (* 1976), theater director
Patrick Meier (* 1976), figure skater
Natalie Rickli (* 1976), politician
Christoph Bottoni (* 1977), sailor
Oliver Roth (* 1977), musician
Michael Witness (* 1977), politician
Roman Graf (* 1978), writer
Simon Schoch (* 1978), snowboarder
Philipp Schoch (* 1979), snowboarder
Ruben Drole (* 1980), opera singer
Marcel Herzog (* 1980), soccer goalkeeper
Lea Saskia Laasner (* 1980), author
Adrian Wichser (* 1980), ice hockey player
Roger Rinderknecht (* 1981), BMX and mountain bike rider
Manuel Liniger (* 1981), handball player
Sven Helfenstein (* 1982), ice hockey player
Matthias Schoder (* 1982), ice hockey goalkeeper
Davide Callà (* 1984), football player
Alexandra Meyer (* 1984), artist and performer
Oliver Scheuner (* 1985), handball player
Louisa Lamour (* 1986), erotic and porn actress
Sebastian Bohren (* 1987), violinist
Carol Schuler (* 1987), actress and singer
Aurel Bringolf (* 1987), handball player
Michel Avanzini (* 1989), football player
Nicolas Müller (* 1989), squash player
Luca Zuffi (* 1990), soccer player
Steven Zuber (born 1991), football player
Moritz Bauer (* 1992), football player
Matthias Minder (* 1993), football player
Samir Leuppi (* 1993), wrestler
Mirco Müller (* 1995), ice hockey player

¹Born in the then independent municipality of Töss

Well-known residents of Winterthur

Elsbeth Stagel (around 1300 - around 1360), Dominican, mystic
Elisabeth of Hungary (around 1300), Hungarian countess, daughter of the Hungarian king Andreas III
Hugo von Hegi (around 1410 - 1493), last representative of the family «von Hegi»
Ambrosius Blarer , also Abrosius Blauerer (1492–1564), German reformer and hymn poet, died in Winterthur

Jos Murer , also Jodocus Maurer (1530–1580), Swiss glass painter, draftsman, cartographer, writer

Christoph Murer , also Christoph Maurer (1558–1614), Swiss glass painter

Johann Rudolf Schellenberg (1740–1806), Swiss painter, engraver

Johann Sebastian Clais (1742–1809), Swiss-German technician, entrepreneur

Joseph Philippe de Clairville (1742–1830), French botanist and entomologist

Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751–1792), writer

Johannes Aberli (1774–1851), medalist (Reformation medals on Zwingli (1819), lion monument in Lucerne (1821), carnelian of the Swiss Confederation (1815))

Johann-Conrad Appenzeller (1775–1850), reformed pastor and folk writer, 1799–1809 teacher at the city school of Winterthur

Johann Conrad Troll (1783–1858), Swiss educator and historian

Gottfried Semper (1803–1879), German architect, built the Winterthur town hall from 1865–1869

Ernst Methfessel (1811–1886), German composer

Carl Adams (1811–1849), German mathematician

Salomon Volkart (1816–1893), Swiss merchant

Heinrich Morf (1818–1899), educator, was orphanage director in Winterthur and taught at the grammar school and at the teachers' seminar

Theodor Kirchner (1823–1903), German composer, city organist in Winterthur from 1843 to 1862

Salomon Bleuler (1829–1886), Swiss politician, journalist

Johann Georg Schoellhorn (1837–1890), Swiss brewery owner

Hermann Goetz (1840–1876), German composer, worked as the city organist in Winterthur

Felix Paul Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (1863–1942), Austrian conductor, composer, writer

Fritz Schoellhorn (1863–1933), Swiss brewery owner

Johannes Ninck (1863–1939), German Protestant theologian, writer

Ernst Radecke (1866–1920), German musicologist, composer

Alfred Mombert (1872–1942), German writer (liberated from the Gurs concentration camp by Hans Reinhart in 1941)

Jakob Buchli (1876–1945), Swiss engineer

Albert Einstein (1879–1955), physicist and Nobel Prize winner

Heinrich Fehlmann (1880–1952), Swiss insurance company

Simon Ratnowsky , also Semjon Ratnowsky (1884–1945), Russian physicist

Carl Haensel (1889–1968), German writer, playwright and lawyer

Peter Meyer (1894–1984), German architect and art historian, professor for the systematics and aesthetics of modern architecture at the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich

Karl Matthaei (1897–1960), Swiss organ teacher and organ expert

Bernhard Henking (1897–1988), Swiss musician, composer

Emilie Bosshart (1897–1979), Swiss educator, politician

Emil Frei (1897–1987), national councilor and educator

Lothar Kempter (1900–2001), Swiss writer

Antonio Tusa (1900–1982), Swiss composer

Rudolf Zender (1901–1988), Swiss painter, graphic artist and draftsman

Markus Breitner (1902–1988), Swiss actor and theater director

Franz Bäschlin (1906–1975), Swiss editor, critic and translator

Walter Robert Corti (1910–1990), Swiss philosopher and publicist

Ernst Egli (1912–1999), Swiss visual artist

Andri Peer (1921–1985), Swiss writer

Aida Piraccini-Stucki (1921–2011), Swiss violinist and teacher

Hans Rudolf Christen (1924–2011), chemist

Willi Gohl (1925–2010), Swiss conductor, choir director and composer

Lilly Ronchetti (1928–1997), Swiss writer

Heinrich Bruppacher (1930–2010), Swiss visual artist

Alfred Auer (1937–2012), Swiss painter

Bendicht Fivian (1940–2019), Swiss painter

Rudolf Meyer (* 1943), Swiss composer, worked as an organist at the city church

Max E. Keller (* 1947), Swiss composer

Theres Wey (* 1954), Swiss painter

Christopher T. Hunziker (* 1956), Swiss architect and artist

Dominik Landwehr (* 1958), journalist, author, media and cultural worker

Britta Huttenlocher (* 1962), Swiss artist, grew up in Winterthur

Peter Stamm (* 1963), Swiss writer

Ralph Kunz (* 1964), Swiss Protestant Reformed pastor and since 2004 professor of practical theology at the University of Zurich

Anne-Sophie Mutter (* 1963), German violinist, came to Winterthur at the age of 11 to study with Aida Stucki (Winterthur Conservatory)

Azem Maksutaj (* 1975), Kosovar Thai boxer, 14-time world champion

Daniela Janjic (* 1984), Swiss author

Adrian Ramsauer (* 1959), Swiss lawyer, politician and author