This is a list of notable Swiss Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Swiss American or must have references showing they are Swiss American and are notable.
Peter Luginbill (1818–1886), born in France as the son of Mennonite parents exiled from the Emmental, early settler in Indiana and founder of the city of Berne
John Sutter (1803–1880), born in Germany of a Swiss father, Californian famous for his association with the California Gold Rush (in that gold was discovered by James W. Marshall in Sutter's Mill) and for establishing Sutter's Fort in an area that would later become the capital of California, Sacramento[1]
Robert Abplanalp (1922–2003), businessman, inventor of the aerosol valve
Steve Ballmer (born 1956), businessman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation
Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919), industrialist and art patron, once known as "America's most hated man".[4] as per CNBC one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time".[5]
Mike Thompson (born 1951), California House of Representatives
William Wirt (1772–1834), author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence; Swiss father.[29]
Henry Bouquet, prominent Army officer in the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War[30]
Edward Walter Eberle (1864–1929), admiral in the United States Navy, served as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy and third Chief of Naval Operations[31]
Al Ulmer (1916-2000), a major head of U.S. intelligence operations during World War II and part of the Cold War
Henry Wirz (1822–1865), only Confederate soldier executed in the aftermath of the American Civil War for war crimes[32]
Felix Zollicoffer (1812–1862), newspaperman, three-term US Congressman from Tennessee, officer in the United States Army, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War
Religion
Henry B. Eyring (born 1933), educator, Stanford University professor, Presiding Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Louis Agassiz (1807–1873), zoologist, glaciologist, and geologist, the husband of educator Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, and one of the first world-class American scientists[33]
Robert Frank (1924–2019), important figure in American photography and film[37]
Albert Einstein (1879–1955), theoretical physicist widely regarded as the most important scientist of the 20th century and one of the greatest physicists of all time[38]
Henry Eyring (1901–1981), Mexican born American, theoretical chemist, associate of Albert Einstein
Eddie Rickenbacker (1890–1973), automobile race car driver and automotive designer, hero of World War I, government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation[41]
Louis Sullivan (1856–1924), American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers"[42]
Max Theiler (1899–1972), virologist, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing a vaccine against yellow fever
Sports
Valeri Bure (born 1974), former ice hockey player, naturalized American citizen
Chesley Sullenberger (born 1951), airline transport pilot who successfully carried out the emergency ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, saving the lives of the 155 people on the aircraft[50]
^"Credit Suisse". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2006-07-12. "The legendary Swiss manager has been tasked with bringing fresh momentum to the sputtering engine of the world's largest automobile group."
^[10] "Though Swiss by birth, Frank traveled the world before settling in the United States in 1953."
^[11] "After his graduation in the spring of 1900, he became a Swiss citizen, worked for two months as a mathematics teacher, and then was employed as examiner at the Swiss patent office in Bern."
^"Louis Sullivan". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved January 18, 2024. His Irish-born father and Swiss-born mother had immigrated to the United States in 1847 and 1850, respectively
^[13] "Martin Buser, a long-time Swiss citizen, is scheduled to be sworn in today as a United States citizen by Judge Ben Esch after crossing the finish line yesterday as winner of the 2002 Iditarod."
^"Swiss Roots". Archived from the original on 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2006-04-05. "Swiss Roots: How much do you know about your Swiss heritage? Ben Roethlisberger: Honestly, I didn't know a whole lot until recently; then I started feeling it out a little more and hearing a little more about it. Now, when people ask me where I'm from, I'm quick to say, "Well, I'm Swiss." I'm sure I have a lot of things in me, but that's one of the things I tell people—that I'm Swiss."
^[15] "Zobrist Name Meaning Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived at the highest or furthest point of a settlement."
^[16] "the name of the 30-year-old former Swiss bank guard is already being entered into the ranks of the righteous gentiles -- those persons who have taken risks to help Jews."
