Born in Bern, Switzerland, Kaspar von Greyerz studied history and philosophy at Geneva and Bern, and history at Stanford University. He was a research fellow at the German Historical Institute London, and taught at the University of Kiel, the University of Zurich, and the University of Basel, as well as holding guest professorships at UC Berkeley and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Paris. He retired in 2013.