oldest bread of the world (Max Waehren; Montmirail at the Zihl, 3700 BC; approximately 200 years older than that of Twann)

oldest full disc wheel of Europe (Zurich, 3400 BC))

animal bone ice skates (Berner Stadtmuseum, 2000 BC – according to Rudolf Kutzer, 1955)

400-999

first monastery north of the Alps: Romainmôtier (Roman and Lupicin, around 450)

oldest brand of cheese in Europe: Sbrinz (7th century)

oldest permanent dynasty: Guelfs (Count Ruthard, in the Thurgau 751)

first Gregorian chorale (Monastery St. Gall, 778)

Latin-(Old High-)German glossary: „Abrogans“ (cloister St. Gallen, 790)

Monastery plan (St. Gall: Gozbert, 820)

Notation for music: "Neumen" (Notker Balbulus, 884; Hartker, around 1000)

Religious play: "Easter play" (Tuotilo, around 900)

First ancestor of the House of Habsburg (Guntram the Rich, in Brugg/ Altenburg after 950)

1000-1099

First hotel of Europe ("Three Kings", Basel 1026; probably a legend)

First instruction in governing (Wipo, after 1020)

1100-1199

Arm: Morning star (12th Century)

First description of the economy of the Alps: "Acta Murensia" (monastery Muri, 1160)

Oldest wooden residential building of Europe: Niederöst-Haus (in Schwyz, 1160 or 1176)

1200-1299

Founding of the dynasty of the Hapsburgs (Rudolf I, born on the Kyburg or in Brugg, 1218)

Term "Guild" (Basel, furriers, 1226)

First guild of the building people (Basel, 1248)

First German-speaking Medieval drama: Osterspiel (Monastery Muri, 1250)

Oldest democracy of the world: oath on the "Ruetli" (Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, 1291)

Halberds (Konrad of Wuerzburg, around 1260; Battle at Morgarten, 1315)

1300-1399

Alphorn (after 1300)

Oldest permanent Swiss firm (Bell faundry Rüetschi, Aarau, 1367)

First description of the card game and playing cards (Johannes of Rheinfelden, from Freiburg i. Br., 1377)

First climbing of a high Alp peak: Pilatus (Niklaus Bruder, 1387)

1400-1499

oldest playable organ of the world (church of Valère near Sion, 1440)

dulcimer (1447)

First brand: Glarner Schabziger (with mark of origin, 1463)

Oldest permanent Swiss publisher (Johann Petri, today publisher "Schwabe", Basel 1488)

1500-1549

first Caesarean section (Jacob Nufer in Siegershausen near Kreuzlingen, 1500)

Anabaptists (Zurich, 1523/25)

Opium tincture: "Laudanum" (Paracelsus, 1520)

Iconoclastic movement of the Reformation (Huldrych Zwingli, 1524)

"Archaeus", chemotherapy (Paracelsus, around 1530)

Protestant ethic, Puritanism (the French Jean Calvin in Basel and Geneva, 1536)

First dissected human skeleton (the Belgian Andreas Vesalius in Basel, 1543)

Bibliography (Conrad Gessner, 1545-55)

First map of the Alps (the German Johannes Stumpf in Zurich, 1548)

1550-1599

scientific zoology, animal experiments (Conrad Gessner, 1551-1634)

comparative linguistics (Conrad Gessner, 1555)

Drawing of fossiles (Conrad Gessner, 1565)

Pencil (Drawing by Conrad Gessner, 1565)

classification of muscles (Kaspar Bauhin, 1590)

first newspaper of the world: „Annus Christi“ Rorschach (Leonhard Straub, Samuel Dilbaum, 1597)

1600-1649

Meringues (Gasparini in Meiringen, 1600 or 1720)

Classification of mental diseases (Felix Platter, 1602)

Tables of logarithms (Jost Buergi, before 1610)

Orion nebula, M31 (Johann Cysat, 1619)

Binary nomenclature for plants (Kaspar Bauhin, 1623)

Surgical means (Wilhelm Fabry of Hilden, around 1630)

Guldin's rule (Paul Guldin, 1635-41)

Illustrated journal (Matthäus Merian d. Ä., 1635)

1650-1699

Definition of stroke (Johann Jakob Wepfer, 1658)

Division symbol ÷ (Johann Heinrich Rahn, 1659)

"Nostalgia" (Johannes Harder, resp. Hofer, 1678)

experimental toxicology and pharmacology (Johann Jakob Wepfer, 1679)

doudenum glands: Brunner's glands (Johann Conrad Brunner in Heidelberg, 1687)

Amish People (Jakob Ammann, 1693)

First monthly journal: "Historischer und Politischer Mercurius" (in Rorschach, 1694)

Fondue (1699)

1700-1749

First technical journal (Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, 1705)

Bernoulli numbers, variation calculus, probability theory (Jakob Bernoulli, 1713)

theoretical mechanics: "Phoronomia" (Jacob Hermann, 1716)

cristallography (Moritz Anton Kappeler, 1723)

Fossil theory (Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, 1725)

Symbol "e" (Leonhard Euler, 1727/36)

see: http://www.veling.nl/anne/templars/constants.html

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Euler/RouseBall/RB_Euler.html

Oldest watch factories (Blancpain, 1735; Favre Leuba, 1737)

Bernoulli's law; Kinetic gas theory (Daniel Bernoulli, 1738)

Regeneration of an organism: Hydra (Abraham Trembley, 1744)

studiing of insects (Charles Bonnet, 1745)

Right to the "pursuit of happiness" (Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, 1847)

Infinitesimal analysis (Leonhard Euler, 1748)

1750-1759

Swiss chalet (18th century)

First vivisections (Albrecht von Haller in his Göttingen laboratory, around 1750)

Cramer's rule and Cramer's paradox (Gabriel Cramer, 1750)

Relief of a massif: Pilatus (Franz Ludwig Pfyffer of Wyher, 1750)

Central and parallel projection (Johann Heinrich Lambert, 1752)

Physiology of the muscle and the nervous system (Albrecht of Haller, 1752)

Panorama of the Alps (Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli you Crest, 1754)

Summation symbol: "Sigma" (Leonhard Euler, 1755)

1760-1769

Animal psychology (Charles Bonnet, 1760)

Photometry (Johann Heinrich Lambert, from Alsace, 1760)

Educational ideal: "Emile" (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762)

Basis of social organization: "Contrat social" (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762)

Term "Phaenomenology" (Johann Heinrich Lambert, 1764)

Systematologie (Johann Heinrich Lambert, 1764/71)

Electrometer (Horace Bénédict de Saussure, 1767)

Solar thermal collector (Horace Bénédict de Saussure, 1767)

Theory of evolution (Charles Bonnet, 1769)

1770-1779

Androids (Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis, 1772-75)

Tarot rediscovered (the Frenchman Antoine Court de Gébelin from Geneva, 1773)

electric telegraph (George-Louis Lesage, 1774)

Physiognomics (Johann Caspar Lavater, 1775)

Animal magnetism (the German Franz Anton Mesmer, 1776)

Cylindrical panorama (Horace Bénédict de Saussure, 1776)

Psychotropic effects of Opium (Albrecht von Haller, 1776-77)

Glaciology (Jakob Samuel Wyttenbach, 1777)

Symbol "i" (Leonhard Euler, 1777)

1780-1789

Hygrometer (Horace Bénédict de Saussure, 1783)

Soda water (the German Jacob Schweppe in Geneva, 1783)

Central draft burner: Quinquet (Ami Argand, 1784)

Gravity is a push (George-Louis Lesage, 1784)

Research on photosynthesis (Jean Senebier, 1788)

1790-1799

first 360°-Panorama of the Alps (Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth, 1792)

Absinthe (Daniel-Henri Dubied, 1797)

1800-1809

Waxworks (Marie Grossholz, Madame Tussaud" 1802)

First "cheese factory" (down in the midlands, Hofwil, 1802)

Conjugation in botany (Jean-Pierre Vaucher, 1803)

Breech-loader (Johann Georg Bodmer, 1803)

Photosynthesis (Nicholas-Théodore de Saussure, 1804)

Educational reform (Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi into Yverdon, 1804-25)

Internal combustion engine (François Isaac de Rivaz, 1807)

First beat wing apparatus (Jakob Degen in Wien, 1808)

1810-1819

Optical lenses (Pierre-Louis Guinand, around 1810)

City Petra (Johann-Ludwig Burckhardt, 1812)

Abu Simbel (Johann-Ludwig Burckhardt, 1813)

Taxonomy (Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, 1813)

‘log-log’ slide rule (Peter Mark Roget in London, 1814)

First inn on a summit: Rigi (1816)

First helicopter model (Jakob Degen in Wien 1816)

1820-1829

Guilloche engraving apparatus to print forgery-proof bank notes (Jakob Degen in Wien, 1920)

comparative history of religions (Benjamin Constant de Rebecque, 1824)

persistence of vision (Peter Mark Roget in London, 1824)

Sapphire cutter: "Ingold cutter" (Pierre-Fréderic Ingold, 1825 - or around 1860)

chemical theory of electricity (Auguste de la Rive, 1825-36)

First chocolate factory (Philippe Suchard, 1826)

Underwater stethoscope (Jean-Daniel Colladon, 1826)

Steiner point (Jakob Steiner, 1826)

Cartoons (Rodolphe Toepffer, 1827)

Hazelnut chocolate (Charles-Amédée Kohler, 1828)

1830-1839

First European Peace Society on the continent (Jean-Jacques de Sellon, 1830)

Necker Cube (Louis Albert Necker, 1832)

First multinational enterprise (Georg Fischer, 1833)

Roll chair for mills (Sulzberger, 1834)

Contracting helix: “Roget’s spiral” ((Peter Mark Roget in London, 1835)

Concertina: “Langnauerli” (Johann Samuel Herrmann, 1836)

Theory of the Ice Age (Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, 1837)

Term "facies" of geology (Amanz Gressly, 1838)

Idea and therm "Logistics" (Antoine-Henri Jomini, 1838)

Fuel cell (the German Christian Friedrich Schoenbein in Basel, 1838)

Ozone (Christian Friedrich Schoenbein, 1839)

Roundabout lathe (Johann Georg Bodmer, 1839)

1840-1849

Photometer, dynamometer (Jean-Daniel Colladon, around 1840)

Law of the unchangeable heat sums (Germain Henri Hess, 1840)

Improvement of the sticking machine (Franz Elysäus Rittmeyer, Franz Anton Vogler, 1840)

Spermatic animalcules (Rudolf Albert Koelliker, 1841)

Loom with Honegger stroke (Caspar Honegger, 1842)

Cube sugar (Jakob Christoph Rad in Datschitz, 1843)

First stamp on the European continent (Orell Fuessli, Zurich, 1843)

Light from northwest on maps (Guillaume-Henri Dufour, 1844)

All cells arise from the ovum (Rudolf Albert Koelliker, 1844)

First pattern for clothing (Zurich, 1844)

first multicolored stamp printed and set up in the relief printing: "Basler Dybli" (Melchior Berri, 1845)

Gun-cotton (Christian Friedrich Schoenbein, 1846; Rudolf Christian Boettger 1846)

Cough-tablets (Emanuel Wybert for the Golden Pharmacy, Basel, GABA, 1846)

Scientific evaluation of the sunspots (Rudolf Wolf, 1848)

Chocolate-bar (François-Louis Cailler, 1849)

1850-1859

Chilled casting for railroad wheels (Abraham Ganz, around 1850)

Steam engine (the Englishman Charles Brown, after 1851)

Theory of the stake buildings (Ferdinand Keller, 1854)

Polar planimeter (Jacob Amsler, 1854)

Rayon (Georges Audemars, 1855)

Sunbath (Arnold Rikli, 1855)

Designation of the "dinosaur" (Karl Ludwig Ruetimeyer, 1856)

Linguistic palaeontology (Adolphe Pictet,, 1859)

1860-1869

"Matriarchy" (Johann Jakob Bachofen, 1861)

Valency of carbon (Johann Ulrich Nef, 1862)

Cog wheel septim (Niklaus Riggenbach, 1863)

Shuttle stick automat (Isaak Groebli, 1863)

"Zeller" balm (Max Zeller, 1863)

Red Cross (Jean Henri Dunant, 1864)

First general factory and work law on the continent (Fridolin Schuler, 1864)

Graphic statics (Carl Culmann, 1864-66)

„Davoser sledge“ (Emanuel Heinz-Friberg, 1865)

Flat knitting machine (Eduard Dubied, 1867)

powdered milk (Henri Nestlé from Frankfurt, 1867)

Antiseptic operation and bandage (Theodor Kocher, 1867)

First graduation of a woman in the German-speaking area (Nadeshda Suslowa at the Zurich University, 1867)

First seat of an international organization: International Telecommunications Union ITU (Berne, 1868-1948)

Theory of parablast in embryology (Wilhelm His, 1868)

DNA Desoxyribonucleic Acid (Friedrich Miescher, 1869)

Controlled parasitism of fungus and algae (Simon Schwendener, 1869)

1870-1879

Jaccoud's syndrome (Sigismond Jaccoud in Paris, ca. 1870)

Bionics (Simon Schwendener, 1870)

first mountain railway of Europe (Vitznau-Rigi-railroad, 1871)

Bandage of cotton wool (Heinrich Theophil Baeschlin, 1871)

Philosophy of Life (the German Friedrich Nietzsche in Basel, 1872)

Idea of an International Court of Justice (Gustave Moynier, 1872)

Roll chair with porcelain rolls (Friedrich Wegmann, 1873/76)

Milk chocolate (Daniel Peter from Alsace, 1875)

Gramophone (John Heinrich Kruesi, according to instructions of Thomas Alva Edison, 1877)

Blue cross (Louis-Lucien Rochat, 1877)

Rusk (Joseph Hug-Meyer, after 1877)

Fluid oxygen (Raoul-Pierre Pictet and simultaneously the Frenchman Louis-Paul Caillet, 1877)

Forel's decussation (August Henri Forel, 1877)

Impregnation of an ovum (Hermann Fol, 1879)

Fondant chocolate (Johann Rudolf Lindt, 1879)

Lead coating for electrical cords (François Borel, 1879)

1880-1889

Dialect research (Jules Gilliéron, 1880)

Ten-color photochromic printing (Orell Fuessli, 1880)

Development of the Braille types (François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke, approx. 1880)

Eiffel Tower (Maurice Koechlin from Alsace, 1880)

Car with two-stroke engine (Pierre-Joseph Ravel, 1880)

Bush roller chain (Hans Renold in Lancashire, 1880)

Lamella tooth rack for mountain railways (Carl Roman Abt, 1882)

First organ transplantation: thyroid gland (Theodor Kocher, 1883)

First air conditioning system: „Ozonator“ (Hôtel-Kursaal de la Maloja, 1884)

Four-cylinder-compound double engine (Anatole Mallet, 1884)

Spectral series (Johann Jakob Balmer, 1885)

Concertina: „Schwyzerörgeli“ (Robert Iten, 1885)

Bag-soups and soup-spice (Julius Maggi, 1886)

Circuit line Kriegstetten-Solothurn (the Englishman Charles Brown and Josef Meyer, 1886)

Contact lenses (the German Adolph Eugen Fick in Wuerzburg, 1887)

Telephoto lens: "Telephot" (Frédéric Boissonnas, before 1890 ?)

Three-phase current (the German Michael von Dolivo-Dobrowlowsky and the Englishman Charles Brown of the Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, 1888)

Steepest cog railway in the World: Pilatusbahn (Eduard Locher, 1889)

First bobsled built (Christian Mathis, 1889; first bobsled race: St. Moritz, 1892)

First golf championship in the Alps (St. Moritz, 1889)

1890-1899

Permanent International Peace Bureau (Elie Ducommun and the Danish Fredrik Bajer in Berne, 1891)

Swiss Army Knife; later "Victorinox" (Karl Elsener, 1891: Patent 1897)

Wine sort Riesling x Sylvaner (Hermann Mueller-Thurgau, 1892)

Hemstitch sewing machine (Karl Friedrich Gegauf, 1893)

Coordination chemistry (Alfred Werner from Alsace, 1893)

First ski club (Christof Iselin, Glarus, 1893)

Plague bacillus: Yersinia Pestis (Alexandre Yersin in Hongkong, 1894)

Nickel-steel alloy: Invar (Charles Edourad Guillaume in Sèvres near Paris, 1896)

gastrectomy (Carl B. Schlatter, 1897)

First man on top of Aconcagua (Matthias Zurbriggen, 1897)

First Alp crossing in the balloon (Eduard Spelterini, 1898)

Sulzer Diesel (the German Rudolf Diesel, 1898)

1900-1909

"Birchermuesli" (Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, 1900)

Bitumen coating for streets: Goudronnage (Ernest Guglielminetti in Monaco, 1902)

Language geography (Jules Gilliéron, 1902)

Terms "autecology" and synecology" (Carl Schroeter, 1902)

Copying machine: Schapirograph (Rudolf Fuerrer, 1902)

Standardized dust bin (Jakob Ochsner, 1902)

Cellophane (Jacques Edwin Brandenberger, after 1900; 1908)

rhythmic gymnastics: Eurhythmics (Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, 1903)

Steam turbine "Zoelly" (Heinrich Zoelly, 1903)

High performance condensers (the Polish Ignacy Moscicki, 1903)

Gross production of nitric acid (Ignacy Moscicki, 1903)

"Ovomaltine" (Albert Wander, 1904)

General Theory of Relativity (Albert Einstein, of Ulm and Zurich, 1905)

Helicopter (Armand and Henri Dufaux, 1905)

Turbocharger (Alfred J. Buechi with Sulzer, 1905)

Thermal spray process (Max Ulrich Schoop, 1906/11)

E=mc2 (Albert Einstein, 1907)

flat slabs: "mushroom floor" (Robert Maillart, 1908)

"Toblerone" (Theodor Tobler, 1908)

powder milk (Maurice Guigoz, 1908)

meat consommé cube (company Maggi, 1908)

World Esperanto Alliance (Hector Hodler, 1908)

1910-1919

cosmic radiation (Albert Gockel, 1910)

Terms "Schizophrenia" and "autistic thinking" (Eugen Bleuler, 1911)

general business administration (Johann Friedrich Schaer, 1911)

cheese spread (Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler, 1911)

aluminium foil (Company Alusuisse, 1912)

highest railway station of Europe: Jungfraubahn (1912)

First diesel locomotive (the German Rudolf at Sulzer, 1912; Borsig in Germany 1912)

First crossing of Pyrenees and the Alps in airplane (Oskar Bider, 1913)

Bend arm sun blind (Emil Schenker, 1913)

Psychobiology (Adolf Meyer in Chicago, 1913)

First ascent of Olymp mountain (Daniel Baud-Bovy and Fred Boissonnas, with Greek Christos Kakalos, 1913)

Swung concrete bridge: Langwies-Viadukt in Grisons (Eduard Zueblin, 1914)

Industrial production of artificial fertilizer (Company Lonza, 1915)

Structuralism in linguistics (Ferdinand de Saussure, 1916)

X-ray-diffraction-analysis (Paul Scherrer and the Dutch Peter Debye, 1916)

Dada movement (Hans Arp from Alsace, the Germans Hugo Ball, Hans Richter and Richard Huelsenbeck, the Romanians Marcel Janco and Tristan Tzara, in Zurich, 1916)

Rational fitting of blown contact glasses (August Siegrist, 1916)

Ergotamine (Arthur Stoll at Sandoz, 1918)

1920-1929

surgery of retinal detachment: "ignipuncture" (Jules Gonin, 1920)

Service Civil International (Pierre Cérésole, 1920)

Cutting machine "Rapid" (Jacob Fahrni, 1920)

Ink blot test (Hermann Rorschach, 1921)

Seat of the League of Nations (Geneva, 1921)

First slalom race (the Englishman Arnold Lunn into Muerren, 1922)

Zip-fastener: "Riri" (Martin Othmar Winterhalter, 1923)

Geochemistry (Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, 1923-38)

Biodynamic agriculture (the Austrian Rudolf Steiner in Silesia and in the Goetheanum Dornach, 1924)

Peaceful arrangement of all European disputes: Treaty of Locarno (1925)

International Bureau of Education (Edouard Claparède, Pierre Bovet, Adolphe Ferrière, 1925)

First transcontinental flight with seaplane: Zurich-Egypt-Soth Africa (Walter Mittelholzer, 1926/27)

Term "Mach number" (Jakob Ackeret, 1927)

1930-1939

International Federation of Business and Professional Women (the American Lena Madesin Phillips in Geneva, 1930)

First flight over Kilimanjaro (Walter Mittelholzer, 1930)

Mustard in tubes (Hans Thomi, 1930)

Cellular therapy (Paul Niehans, 1931)

Crimp yarn "Helanca" (Rudolf H. Kaegi, 1931)

First stratosphere flight with balloon (Auguste Piccard, 1931)

Commercially manufactured electric guitar: „Frying Pan Hawaiian Guitar“ (Adolph Rickenbacher in Los Angeles with Georges D. Beauchamp and Paul Barth, 1932)

"dark matter" (Fritz Zwicky at Caltech, 1933)

Theory of Supernovae (Fritz Zwicky, 1933)

Chemical synthesis of vitamin C (Tadeus Reichstein, 1933)

Continuous ultrasonic wind tunnel (Jakob Ackeret, 1934)

Variable screw propeller for motor vessels (Jakob Ackeret, 1934)

Security cylinder for locks (Fritz Schori for Kaba, 1934)

T-bar Ski-lift (Davos-Bolgen, Ernst Constam 1934; Jack Ettinger 1936)

Travel typewriter "Hermes Baby" (Company Paillard, 1935)

Cortisone (Tadeus Reichstein, simultaneously with Edward Calvin Kendall, 1936)

Epoxidharz: Araldit (Pierre Castan, 1936; produced by CIBA since 1946)

Phone answering machine: Ipsophon (the German Willy Mueller at Buehrle, 1936; tested 1942 in Berne)

"The Origins of Intelligence in Children" (Jean Piaget, 1936)

clusters of galaxies as basic structure of the Universe (Fritz Zwicky at Caltech, 1938)

Jew stamp "J" (Hans Froelicher, Heinrich Rothmund, 1938)

"Nescafé" (Max Morgenthaler, 1938)

LSD (Albert Hofmann, 1938)

DDT as an insecticide (Paul Hermann Mueller, 1939)

Waterproof plane: Stamoid (Company Stamm, 1939)

1940-1949

first portable electric sewing machine with free arm: "Elna" (Dr. Ramon Casas Robert; Company Tavaro, 1940)

Lead sharpener: "Gedess" (Georges Dessonnaz, 1940)

Odors in a movie theater: „My Dream“ (OdoratedTalking Pictures) (Hans E. Laube, 1940)

Liquid filled matchbox: "Model DP" or "Swiss Army Compass" (RECTA, 1941)

Measure "Modulor" (Le Corbusier 1942-48)

"Eidophor" (Fritz Fischer, 1943/ Edgar Gretener, 1953)

Pre-stressed concrete (Antonio Brandestini, Max Birkenmaier,Mirko Robin Ros, 1944)

Antihistamine (Daniel Bovet, 1944)

Smell-O-Vision (Hans E. Laube, 1945; in the movie “Scent of Mystery”, 1960)

Single pan substituion balance (Erhard Mettler, 1946)

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Felix Bloch, with the americans W. W. Hansen and M. E. Packard in Stanford, 1946)

First one-piece fiberglass shell chair of Europe (Willy Guhl, 1946/47; since 1951 produed by Scott-Bader & Co. AG, Zurich)

"Turmix" mixer (Traugott Oertli, 1947)

"Rex" economic peeler (Alfred Neweczerzal, 1947)

Sinar Kamera (Carl Hans Koch, 1947)

electric compass saw (Albert Kaufmann, 1946; company Scintilla, 1947)

Compactus for archives (Hans Ingold 1947)

Bathyscaph (Auguste Piccard, 1947)

Tail less delta airplane: P-20 (Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein, 1947)

Rotary clothesline: Stewi (Walter Steiner, 1947)

aerosol spray valve (Robert H. Abplanalp in New York, 1948)

"Zulliger" test (Hans Zulliger, 1948)

pressure cooker: Duromatic (Heinrich Kuhn, 1949)

1950-1959

potato chips (Hans Meier, 1950; produced by company Zweifel 1955)

Garlic press: "Zyliss" (Karl Zysset, after 1950)

first landing on glacier in the alps with airplane (Fredy Wyssel, 1950; Hermann Geiger, 1952)

"Velcro" fastening (George de Mestral, 1951)

First Tranquilizer (the English Robert Robertson, 1952; company Ciba 1953)

Knorr-Aromat (Walter Obrist at Knorr in Thayngen, 1953)

First TV broadcasting "Eurovision" (Montreux, 1954)

Fonts "Méridien" (Adrian Frutiger, 1955)

Electronic calculating machine (Eduard Stiefel, Heinz Rutishauser and Ambros Speiser at the Zurich ETH, 1955)

Conveyor system for newspapers without lubricant (Walter Reist, 1955)

First ascent of the Lhotse (Ernst Reiss, Fritz Luchsingen, 1956)

Heat detonators: coruscatives (Fritz Zwicky, 1957)

First shot into the space: "Artificial Planet No. Zero" (Fritz Zwicky, 16.10.1957)

Closomat: WC with integrated douche (Hans Maurer, 1957)

Interferon (Jean Lindenmann and the British Alick Isaacs, 1957)

Fonts "universe" (Adrian Frutiger, 1957)

Fonts "helvetica" (Max Miedinger, 1957)

First antidepressant: Imipramin (Tofranil) (Roland Kuhn, 1957)

"Hill monkey": Oreopithecus bamboli (Johannes Huerzeler, 1958)

planar semiconductors (Jean Hoerni at Fairchild, 1958)

Electronic wristwatch: "Accutron" (Max Hetzel, William Bennett, Egbert Van Haaften, William Mutter, 1959)

Decompression during the deep sea diving (Hannes Keller and Albert Buehlmann, 1959-62)

1960-1969

first total hip prosthesis (Maurice Edmond Mueller, 1960)

Founding of modern gene technology: Restriction enzymes (Werner Arber, 1960/61, later the Americans Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith)

Electrical toothbrush "Broxodent" (Company Tavaro, 1960)

Pneumatic cork screw "Corky" (Franz Tschappu, 1963)

Passenger-submarine "Mesoscaph" (Jacques Piccard, 1964)

First couple therapy in Europe (Juerg Willi, 1965)

Hydroculture "Luwasa" (Gerhard Baumann, 1967)

"Cymatics" (Hans Jenni, 1967)

first analogous quartz-wristwatches: "Beta 1" and “Beta 2” (Centre Electronique Horologer, Armin Frei et al. 1967)

Programming language "Pascal" (Niklaus Wirth, 1968)

Swiss avalanche beacon: Barryvox transceiver (Company Autophon, 1968)

LCD-display (the two German physicists Wolfgang Helfrich and Martin Schadt at Roche in Basel, 1968/70)

Solar wind sail on the moon (the German Johannes Geiss in Berne with Peter Eberhardt and Peter Signer, 1969)

Heart transplant (the Swedish Åke Senning with Marko Turina in Zurich, 1969)

Thanatologie (Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross in Chicago, 1969)

1970-1979

Insect spray: „Anti-Brumm“ (Eduard Vogt, 1972)

Portable Computer System (PCS): "Smaky" (Jean-Daniel Nicoud at EPFL, 1975)

Suction assisted Lipectomy (Ulrich K. Kesselring, 1976)

ballon catheter (the German Andreas Gruentzig at the Kantonsspital Zurich, 1974; first angioplaty 1977)

Sport drink: "Isostar" (company Wander; as powder 1977; fluid 1984)

Hormone IGF-1: "Züri Hormon" (Ernst Rudolf Froesch 1978)

„module“ in role-playing games on computer (Ernest Gary Gygax, 1979)

1980-1989

Workstation: "Lilith" (Nikaus Wirth, 1980)

Foundation of the "Word Wildlife Fund" (Zurich, 1981)

Computer mouse "Logitech" (Jean Daniel Nicoud/ Daniel Borel 1981)

Scanning tunnelling microscope (Heinrich Rohrer and the German Gerd Karl Binning, IBM research institute 1981)

first span-wire lighting system in the world: METRO (Hannes Wettstein, company Belux, 1982)

Girolle (Nicolas Crevoisier, 1982)

First diving computer: Decobrain (Juergen Hermann, 1983)

dog dirt collecting system: „Robidog“ (Josef Rosenast, 1983)

Insulin pump: MRS (Willy and Peter Michel, 1984)

Gene, that codes for the Prion protein (Charles Weissmann and the American Stanley B. Prusiner, 1985)

High temperature superconduction (Karl Alexander Mueller and the German Johann Georg Bednorz, IBM research institute 1986)

First Memory Clinic of Europe (Basel, 1986)

Steamiron system: "LauraStar" (Jean Monney, 1986)

Pre-cooked doug for deep-frozen butter croissant (Alfred Hiestand, 1987)

Car sharing: „Mobility“ (1987/ 1997)

Regeneration ability of the central nervous system (Martin Schwab, 1988)

Flight simulator: "Elite" (Rudolf Marty, Initiative Computing, 1988)

1990-2000

Solar-Mobile: "Spirit of Biel" (Technical school Biel, 1990)

WWW (the English Tim Berners-Lee and the Belgian Robert Cailliau, at CERN in Geneva, 1991)

Supercomputer: "GigaBooster" (Anton Gunzinger, 1992-95)

First brain surgery with robot (Lausanne university hospital, 1992)

Lab-on-a-chip (Andreas Manz, 1993)

First planet detected outside of the solar system: System of 51 Pegasi (Michel G. E. Mayor, Didier Queloz, 1995)

Pastoral Care on the internet (Jakob Vetsch, 1995)

Prepaid value card: Natel easy (Telecom PTT, 1996)

MicroScooter (Wim J. Ouboter, Zurich ,1996)

Maxon motors for the Mars-Rover "Sojourner" (1997)

piezoelectric miniatur friction motor: "Miniswys" (Bontko Witteveen, Harry Seiffert and Matthias Hell of the Company Creaholic, 1998)

Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index: DJSGI (the Germans Alfred Ritter and Bernd Grohe of Sustainabilty Asset Management, Zurich, in common with Dow Jones, 1999)

First circumnavigation of the earth in balloon (Bertrand Piccard, 1999)

Pastoral Care on the SMS (Jakob Vetsch, 1999)

"Golden rice" (the German Ingo Potrykus at the ETH and Peter Beyer, in 2000)

implantable drug infusion system (Medtronic, Tolchenaz, 2000)

Swiss medicines

Well known medicines from Switzerland are:

Antipyrine (Sandoz, 1895), cough syrup "Sirolin" (Roche, 1898), saccharin (Sandoz, 1899),

"Vioform" (Ciba, 1900), "Salen" (Ciba, 1900),

"Allonal" (Roche, 1921), "Gynergen" (= ergotamine; Sandoz, 1921), Coramin (Ciba, 1924), calcium Sandoz (1929),

"Saridon" (Roche, 1933) and "Redoxon" (= vitamin C; Roche, 1934),

"Medomin" (Geigy, 1944), "Bepanthen" (Roche, 1944), cortisone (Ciba, approx. 1946), "Delysid" (= LSD; Sandoz, 1947), "Butazolidin" (Geigy, 1949),

"Rinifon" (Roche, 1952), "Serpasil" (= reserpine; Ciba, 1953) "Tofranil" (Geigy, 1958), "Melleril" (Sandoz, 1958),

"Librium" (Roche, 1960) and "Valium" (Roche, 1963),

"Voltarene" (Ciba-Geigy, 1979),

first transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) with the active substance Scopolamin ("Scopoderm", Ciba-Geigy and Alza Corp., 1981), "Sandimmun" (Sandoz, 1982) and

"Xenical" (Roche, 1999).

Further the chemicals:

Vine spray "Kukaka" (Rudolf Maag, 1895), "Gesarol" and "Neocide" (both = DDT; Geigy, 1942) as well as the adhesives “Cementit” (Walter Merz and Albert Benteli in the 1930s) and "Araldit" (Ciba, 1946).

Literature

Eduard Fueter: Grosse Schweizer Forscher. Zürich: Atlantis-Verlag 1939, 2. erweiterte Aufl. 1941 (more than 120 personalities; no woman)

Schweizer Pioniere der Wirtschaft und Technik, Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Wirtschaftshistorische Studien, Meilen, 1955ff, till today 71 volumes

Patrick Robertson: The Shell Book of Firsts. London: Ebury Press 1974, enlarged 1983; new edition 1998;
german: Wann war das erste Mal? Wien: Ueberreuter 1977.

Alexander Hellemans, Bryan H. Bunch: The Timetables of Science. 1988;
german: Fahrplan der Naturwissenschaften. Ein chronologischer Überblick. München: Droemer Knaur 1990.

Steven Anzovin, Janet Podell: Famous First Facts. International Edition. New York: Wilson 2000 (some funny claims).

Paul Schneeberger: Helvetische Errungenschaften. Zürich: NZZ LIbro 2008 (a little selection, mostly of the 20th century).

http://www.invention.ch/inventeurs/inventeurs.htm

http://www.idees-suisse.ch/inventions.htm

extensive  list 1800-2003

http://inventors.about.com/sitesearch.htm?terms=swiss&SUName=inventors

Some Swiss Inventors

http://www.whonamedit.com/biocountry.cfm/1037.html

75 Swiss physicians, whose names mark some discoveries