Gessner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Conrad Gessner (1516–1565), Swiss naturalist, bibliographer, botanist, physician and classical linguist David Gessner (born 1961), American essayist, memoirist, nature writer, editor, and cartoonist Johannes Gessner (1709–1790), Swiss mathematician, physicist, botanist, mineralogist and physician Nicolas Gessner (born 1931), film director Salomon Gessner (1730–1788), poet and painter See also Gesner German-language surnames