Salomon Gessner (1 April 1730 – 2 March 1788) was a Swiss painter, graphic artist, government official, newspaper publisher, and poet, best known in the latter instance for his Idylls.

After a short stay in Hamburg, where he encountered the poetic works of Karl Wilhelm Ramler and Friedrich von Hagedorn, he also developed an interest in poetry.

Instead, he joined a group of young men, known as the Dienstags-Compagnie, that met for discussions and social activities at the homes of their parents (in winter) or at a vineyard clubhouse in Selnau.

In 1761, he was a co-founder of the Helvetic Society and, that same year, against fierce opposition, married Judith Heidegger (1736–1818), the daughter of one of his father's competitors.

Three years later, he won election as an Obervogt (supervisor) for the Territoriale Entwicklung Zürichs [de], in charge of Erlenbach, and his son Heinrich was born.