Alfred Escher (February 20, 1819 in Zürich – December 6, 1882) was a Swiss politician and railway entrepreneur. A member of the Swiss National Council from 1848 to his death in 1882, he presided over the council three times (1849 - 50, 1856 - 57 and 1862 - 63).

Escher endorsed the idea of building and running the railway lines in Switzerland by private companies. Later (after 1853), by being president of railway companies, he became a railway magnate.

He was one of the founders of Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (now Credit Suisse) in 1856.

He died in 1882 in Zürich. On June 22, 1889, the Alfred - Escher memorial by Richard Kissling at Zürich Hauptbahnhof was inaugurated.