Famous People from Sweden

96 notable historical figures from Sweden, including leaders, artists, scientists, and other influential people.

Basshunter

1984 – Present

Swedish singer, record producer, and DJ

Born December 22

Carl Linnaeus

1707 – 1778

Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (1707–1778)

Born May 23

Alfred Nobel

1833 – 1896

Swedish chemist and inventor (1833–1896)

Born October 21

Ingmar Bergman

1918 – 2007

Swedish director and screenwriter (1918–2007)

Born July 14

Greta Thunberg

2003 – Present

Swedish climate protection activist (born 2003)

Born January 3

Willy Brandt

1913 – 1992

German politician (SPD), chancellor of West Germany (1969–1974) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Born December 18

Dag Hammarskjöld

1905 – 1961

Swedish diplomat, economist, and author (1905-1961)

Born July 29

Ingrid Bergman

1915 – 1982

Swedish actress (1915–1982)

Born August 29

Zlatan Ibrahimović

1981 – Present

Swedish association football player (born 1981)

Born October 3

Nelly Sachs

1891 – 1970

Jewish German poet and playwright (1891-1970)

Born December 10

Svante August Arrhenius

1859 – 1927

Swedish astronomer, chemist and physicist (1859–1927)

Born February 19

Tomas Tranströmer

1931 – 2015

Swedish poet, psychologist and translator (1931-2015)

Born April 15

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

1946 – Present

King of Sweden since 1973

Born April 30

Anders Celsius

1701 – 1744

Swedish astronomer, physicist, and naturalist (1701-1744)

Born December 8

Pär Lagerkvist

1891 – 1974

Swedish writer (1891–1974)

Born May 23

Verner von Heidenstam

1859 – 1940

Swedish writer (1859–1940)

Born July 6

Sofia Kovalevskaya

1850 – 1891

19th-century Russian mathematician

Born January 15

Caspar David Friedrich

1774 – 1840

German Romantic landscape painter (1774–1840)

Born September 5

Olof Palme

1927 – 1986

Swedish Prime Minister (1969–76, 1982–86)

Born January 30

Jöns Jacob Berzelius

1779 – 1848

Swedish chemist (1779–1848)

Born August 20

Erik Axel Karlfeldt

1864 – 1931

Swedish poet (1864–1931)

Born July 20

Christina of Sweden

1626 – 1689

Queen of Sweden, ruled from 1632 until abdication in 1654 (1626–1689)

Born December 7

Eyvind Johnson

1900 – 1976

Swedish writer (1900–1976)

Born July 29

Emmanuel Swedenborg

1688 – 1772

Swedish 18th century scientist and theologian (1688–1772)

Born February 8

Gustaf Dalén

1869 – 1937

Swedish Nobel Laureate and industrialist (1869–1937)

Born November 30

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

1594 – 1632

Swedish king (regent 1611–1632) (1594–1632)

Born December 19

Hannes Alfvén

1908 – 1995

Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and science fiction author (1908–1995), winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Physics

Born May 30

Harry Martinson

1904 – 1978

Swedish writer (1904–1978)

Born May 6

Björn Borg

1956 – Present

Swedish tennis player (born 1956)

Born June 6

Agnetha Fältskog

1950 – Present

Swedish singer (born 1950)

Born April 5

Carl XII of Sweden

1682 – 1718

The fifth and last emperor of Sweden (1697–1718)

Born June 27

Carl Wilhelm Scheele

1742 – 1786

Swedish German chemist who discovered oxygen

Born December 9

Charles XIV John of Sweden

1763 – 1844

King of Sweden and Norway between 1818–1844. Prince of Ponte Corvo 1806–1810 and French field marshal (1763–1844)

Born January 26

Stefan Löfven

1957 – Present

Swedish politician, Prime Minister of Sweden between 2014–2021

Born July 21

Alva Myrdal

1902 – 1986

Swedish sociologist and politician (1902-1986)

Born January 31

Magdalena Andersson

1967 – Present

Prime Minister of Sweden from 2021 to 2022, Swedish politician and economist

Born January 23

Ingvar Kamprad

1926 – 2018

Swedish business magnate (1926-2018)

Born March 30

Fredrik Reinfeldt

1965 – Present

Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014

Born August 4

Alicia Vikander

1988 – Present

Swedish actress (born 1988)

Born October 3

Gustav I of Sweden

1496 – 1560

King of Sweden from 1523 to 1560

Born May 21

Dolph Lundgren

1957 – Present

Swedish actor and martial artist

Born November 3

Allvar Gullstrand

1862 – 1930

Swedish ophthalmologist (1862-1930)

Born June 5

Gustaf V of Sweden

1858 – 1950

King of Sweden from 1907 to 1950

Born June 16

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden

1977 – Present

heir apparent to the Swedish throne and eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf

Born July 14

Liv Ullmann

1938 – Present

Norwegian actress, director, and screenwriter (born 1938)

Born December 16

Carl XV of Sweden

1826 – 1872

King of Sweden and Norway (1859-1872)

Born May 3

Robert Bárány

1876 – 1936

Austri-Hungarian otologist and Nobel Prize laureate

Born April 22

Svante Pääbo

1955 – Present

Swedish geneticist (born 1955)

Born April 20

Max von Sydow

1929 – 2020

Swedish-French actor (1929–2020)

Born April 10

Måns Zelmerlöw

1986 – Present

Swedish singer and television presenter (born 1986)

Born June 13

Kai Siegbahn

1918 – 2007

Swedish physicist (1918–2007)

Born April 20

Isabella Rossellini

1952 – Present

Italian-American actress (born 1952)

Born June 18

Bridget of Sweden

1303 – 1373

Swedish nun, mystic, and saint (c.1303–1373)

Born January 1

George de Hevesy

1885 – 1966

Hungarian chemist (1885–1966)

Born August 1

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden

1882 – 1973

King of Sweden (1950–1973); anthropologist, art historian, collector and archaeologist

Born November 11

Theodor Svedberg

1884 – 1971

Swedish chemist (1884-1971)

Born August 30

Hjalmar Branting

1860 – 1925

Prime Minister of Sweden (1860-1925)

Born November 23

Freddie Ljungberg

1977 – Present

Swedish association football player and manager

Born April 16

Oscar II of Sweden

1829 – 1907

King of Sweden from 1872 to 1907 and Norway from 1872 to 1905 (1829–1907)

Born January 21

Henning Mankell

1948 – 2015

Swedish writer, human rights activist and dramatist (1948–2015)

Born February 3

Arne Tiselius

1902 – 1971

Swedish biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry

Born August 10

Ulf Kristersson

1963 – Present

Prime Minister of Sweden since 2022

Born December 29

Stellan Skarsgård

1951 – Present

Swedish actor (born 1951)

Born June 13

Charles IX of Sweden

1550 – 1611

King of Sweden in 1604–1611

Born October 4

Ernst Cassirer

1874 – 1945

German philosopher (1874–1945)

Born May 28

Oscar I of Sweden

1799 – 1859

King of Sweden and Norway between 1844–1859 (1799–1859)

Born July 4

Klas Pontus Arnoldson

1844 – 1916

Swedish politician (1844-1916)

Born October 21

Tomas Lindahl

1938 – Present

Nobel prize winning Swedish biologist

Born January 28

Gustav III of Sweden

1746 – 1792

King of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 (1746–1792)

Born January 24

Bertil Ohlin

1899 – 1979

Swedish economist and politician (1899-1979)

Born April 23

Björn Ulvaeus

1945 – Present

Swedish musician; member of ABBA

Born April 25

Raoul Wallenberg

1912 – Present

Swedish architect, businessman, diplomat and humanitarian (1912-1947)

Born August 4

Carl Bildt

1949 – Present

Swedish politician (1949-), prime minister 1991–1994, foreign minister 2006–2014

Born July 15

Christian I of Denmark

1426 – 1481

Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union (1426-1481)

Born February 1

Henrik Larsson

1971 – Present

Swedish association football player and manager

Born September 20

Markus Persson

1979 – Present

Swedish video game programmer and founder of Mojang (born 1979)

Born June 1

Sanna Nielsen

1984 – Present

Swedish singer and television presenter

Born November 27

Göran Persson

1949 – Present

Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006

Born January 20

Hans von Euler-Chelpin

1873 – 1964

Swedish scientist (1873-1964)

Born February 15