Historical figures in Zurich
The atlas holds 24 people and 45 moments here, from 1591 to 2023. The most recorded lives are Albert Einstein, James Joyce and Thomas Mann. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Interwar Period and the Cold War.
Notable people
Albert Einstein
from 1895 to 1912
6 moments here
German-born theoretical physicist who transformed modern physics through special and general relativity, foundational work on quantum theory, and…
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
in 1974
1 moment here
Soviet and Russian novelist, essayist, historian, dissident, and Nobel laureate whose writings on Soviet political repression and the Gulag made him…
Bob Marley
in 1980
1 moment here
Jamaican singer, songwriter and guitarist whose work with the Wailers made reggae an international musical force.…
David Hilbert
in 1923
1 moment here
German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics whose career began in Königsberg and was centered at the University of Göttingen from 1895 until…
Dorothy Hodgkin
in 1956
1 moment here
English chemist and X-ray crystallographer Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin determined major biomolecular structures including penicillin, vitamin B12,…
Erwin Schrödinger
in 1921
1 moment here
Austrian-Irish theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate whose work on wave mechanics and the Schrödinger equation became foundational to quantum…
Federico Fellini
in 1993
1 moment here
Italian film director and screenwriter whose career developed from caricature and comic writing in Rimini and Rome into internationally influential…
Franz Kafka
in 1911
1 moment here
German-language Jewish Czech writer whose fiction transformed modern literature. Born and educated in Prague, Kafka trained as a lawyer and worked…
Friedrich Engels
in 1893
1 moment here
German philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, businessman, and Karl Marx’s lifelong collaborator.…
Giordano Bruno
in 1591
1 moment here
Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…
Hermann Hesse
in 1925
1 moment here
German-Swiss poet, novelist, essayist, and painter. Hesse’s documented life moved between Württemberg, Switzerland, Italy, and Southeast Asia:…
James Joyce
from 1904 to 1941
5 moments here
Irish novelist, poet, and critic whose life moved between Dublin, continental Europe, and Switzerland.…
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
in 1775
1 moment here
German poet, dramatist, novelist, scientist, theatre director, and statesman. Born in Frankfurt, Goethe studied in Leipzig and Strasbourg, practiced…
Lars Onsager
from 1925 to 1926
2 moments here
Norwegian-American physical chemist and theoretical physicist whose career took him from Norway and Switzerland to major American universities.…
Lev Landau
in 1930
1 moment here
Soviet theoretical physicist Lev Davidovich Landau was born in Baku, educated in Baku and Leningrad, and undertook formative research travel in…
Li Keqiang
in 2013
1 moment here
Chinese politician and economist who rose from rural labour in Anhui through the Communist Youth League, led Henan and Liaoning, served as vice…
Richard Wagner
in 1849
1 moment here
German composer, conductor, theatre director, and essayist whose movements included early work in German theatre, exile in Switzerland, stays in…
Rosa Luxemburg
from 1889 to 1893
3 moments here
Polish-born, naturalised-German Marxist theorist, socialist organiser, anti-war activist, and revolutionary.…
Satyendra Nath Bose
in 1953
1 moment here
Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician whose 1924 work founded Bose-Einstein statistics.…
Thomas Mann
from 1933 to 1955
5 moments here
German novelist, essayist, public intellectual, and 1929 Nobel laureate. Born in Lübeck, he lived principally in Munich before exile from Nazi…
Tina Turner
from 2000 to 2023
4 moments here
Tina Turner (Anna Mae Bullock) was an American-born Swiss singer, songwriter, actress, and author.…
Vladimir Lenin
from 1895 to 1917
3 moments here
Russian Marxist revolutionary, Bolshevik leader, political theorist, and founding head of government of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union.…
Winston Churchill
in 1946
1 moment here
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874–1965) was a British soldier, journalist, author and statesman whose career ranged from imperial campaigns in…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in 1766
1 moment here
Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to…
Moments
- 1591 Lectures in Zurich Giordano Bruno
- 1766 Concerts in Zurich Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1775 Stays in Zürich Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- 1849 Exile in Zürich Richard Wagner
- 1889 Arrival in exile at Zurich Rosa Luxemburg
- 1890 Studies at the University of Zurich Rosa Luxemburg
- 1893 Third International congress speech Rosa Luxemburg
- 1893 Second International congress address Friedrich Engels
- 1895 Takes Zurich Polytechnic examination Albert Einstein
- 1895 Met émigré Marxists in Zurich Vladimir Lenin
- 1896 Enrolls at the Zurich Polytechnic Albert Einstein
- 1896 Lives on Unionstrasse in Zurich Albert Einstein
- 1901 Substitute teacher in Winterthur Albert Einstein
- 1904 First Zurich stay James Joyce
- 1909 Lectures at University of Zurich Albert Einstein
- 1911 Stays at Erlenbach sanatorium Franz Kafka
- 1912 Returns to ETH Zurich as professor Albert Einstein
- 1915 Zurich residence during World War I James Joyce
- 1916 Relocated to Zurich Vladimir Lenin
- 1916 Seefeldstrasse residence James Joyce
- 1917 Departed Zurich for Russia Vladimir Lenin
- 1921 Move to the University of Zurich Erwin Schrödinger
- 1923 Lecture to the Physical Society David Hilbert
- 1925 Winter residence in Zurich Hermann Hesse
- 1925 Visit to Debye in Zürich Lars Onsager
- 1926 Research assistant at ETH Zürich Lars Onsager
- 1930 Work with Wolfgang Pauli in Zürich Lev Landau
- 1933 Settlement in Küsnacht Thomas Mann
- 1940 Final flight to Zurich James Joyce
- 1941 Death after ulcer surgery James Joyce
- 1946 Calls for European unity in Zurich Winston Churchill
- 1952 Permanent return to the Zürich area Thomas Mann
- 1953 Met Wolfgang Pauli in Zürich Satyendra Nath Bose
- 1954 Move to final house in Kilchberg Thomas Mann
- 1955 Transfer to Zürich hospital Thomas Mann
- 1955 Death in Zürich Thomas Mann
- 1956 Visit to Zurich Dorothy Hodgkin
- 1974 Family reunion in Zürich Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- 1980 Uprising Tour opening concert Bob Marley
- 1993 Angioplasty in Zürich Federico Fellini
- 2000 Retirement announcement concert Tina Turner
- 2013 Official visit to Switzerland Li Keqiang
- 2013 Marriage to Erwin Bach Tina Turner
- 2021 Rock Hall acceptance from home Tina Turner
- 2023 Death at home Tina Turner