1500-1509
The 1500s
Whose working lives fell in the 1500s. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1500s, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.
#PersonIn print, 1800-2019Echoed
- 1
Nicolaus Copernicus1473-1543 · Academics8 decades - 2
Niccolò Machiavelli1469-1527 · Politicians22 decades - 3
Albrecht Dürer1471-1528 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Artists22 decades - 4
Vasco da Gama1469-1524 · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Historical Figures22 decades - 5
Erasmus1466-1536 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Religious Figuresnot measured- - 6
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Pope Paul III1468-1549 · Religious Figuresnot measured- - 7
Ludovico Ariosto1474-1533 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades - 8
Cesare Borgia1475-1507 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures22 decades - 9
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Philip I of Castile1478-1506 · Models3 decades - 10
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Selim I1470-1520 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Historical Figures11 decades - 11
Elizabeth of York1466-1503 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom22 decades - 12
Lucas Cranach the Elder1472-1553 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Artists6 decades - 13
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Bartolomeu Dias1467-1500 · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Historical Figures3 decades - 14
Edward V of Englandborn 1470 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians0 decades - 15
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Thomas Wolsey1473-1530 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Religious Figures21 decades - 16
Moctezuma II1466-1520 · Politicians1 decades - 17
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Wang Yangming1472-1529 · 🇨🇳 China · Academics8 decades - 18
Pedro Álvares Cabral1467-1520 · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Historical Figures0 decades - 19
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Arthur, Prince of Wales1486-1502 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom5 decades - 20
James IV of Scotland1473-1513 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures7 decades - 21
Martin Waldseemüller1470-1520 · Scientists10 decades - 22
Pietro Bembo1470-1547 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures22 decades - 23
Fernando de Rojas1465-1541 · Writers21 decades - 24
Andrea Doria1466-1560 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades - 25
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Manuel I of Portugal1469-1521 · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Historical Figures0 decades - 26
Piri Reis1470-1554 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Scientists4 decades - 27
Isabella d'Este1474-1539 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades - 28
Vittore Carpaccio1465-1526 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades - 29
Guru Nanak1469-1539 · Writers13 decades - 30
Alonso de Ojeda1466-1515 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Politicians22 decades - 31
Diego Velazquez de Cuéllar1465-1524 · 🇪🇸 Spain10 decades - 32
Basil Fool for Christ1468-155219 decades - 33
Piero the Unfortunate1472-1503 · Politicians0 decades - 34
Frederick I of Denmark1471-1533 · 🇳🇴 Norway · Historical Figures0 decades - 35
Pánfilo de Narváez1470-1528 · 🇪🇸 Spain16 decades - 36
Angela Merici1474-154022 decades - 37
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin1474-1548 · 🇲🇽 Mexico1 decades - 38
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury1473-1541 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom0 decades - 39
Juan Díaz de Solís1470-1516 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Historical Figures15 decades - 40
Johann Tetzel1465-1519 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Academics20 decades - 41
Sigismund I the Old1467-1548 · Historical Figures0 decades - 42
Giulia Farnese1474-1524 · 🇮🇹 Italy20 decades - 43
Oruç Reis1473-1518 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Writers0 decades - 44
Yeonsangun of Joseon1476-1506 · 🇰🇷 South Korea · Politiciansnot measured- - 45
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Quentin Matsys1466-1530 · Artists9 decades - 46
Guillaume Budé1467-1540 · Academics1 decades - 47
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John Fisher1469-1535 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Religious Figures22 decades - 48
Tang Yin1470-1524 · Artists2 decades - 49
Hans Holbein the Elder1465-1524 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Artists5 decades - 50
Georg von Frundsberg1473-152821 decades - 51
Fra Bartolomeo1472-1517 · Artists22 decades - 52
Bianca Maria Sforza1472-1510 · 🇩🇪 Germany0 decades - 53
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Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk1473-1554 · Politiciansnot measured- - 54
Catherine of Navarre1470-1517 · Models0 decades - 55
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Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal1498-1500 · 🇪🇸 Spain2 decades - 56
Juan de Zumárraga1468-1548 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Religious Figures21 decades - 57
Thomas Cajetan1469-1534 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures0 decades - 58
Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua1466-151918 decades - 59
Gil Vicente1465-1536 · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Writers21 decades - 60
Wen Zhengming1470-1559 · Artistsnot measured- - 61
John, Elector of Saxony1468-1532 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians22 decades - 62
Rodrigo de Triana1469-1535 · Historical Figures19 decades - 63
Anne of Foix-Candale1484-1506 · 🇫🇷 France · Historical Figuresnot measured- - 64
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George, Duke of Saxony1471-1539 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians15 decades - 65
György Dózsa1470-15140 decades - 66
Philibert II, Duke of Savoy1480-1504 · Historical Figures0 decades - 67
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John III of Navarre1469-1516 · 🇫🇷 France · Models0 decades - 68
Henry IV1473-1541 · Models19 decades - 69
Kunigunde of Austria1465-1520 · 🇦🇹 Austria · Politicians0 decades - 70
Agostino Chigi1466-1520 · Founders22 decades - 71
Giovanni Sforza1466-1510 · 🇮🇹 Italy22 decades - 72
Hongzhi Emperor1470-1505 · 🇨🇳 China · Artists0 decades - 73
Isabella of Naples1470-1524 · Historical Figures0 decades - 74
Cecilia Gallerani1473-1536 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Models0 decades - 75
John Corvinus1473-1504 · Politicians0 decades - 76
Krishnadevaraya1471-1529 · 🇮🇳 India · Historical Figures7 decades - 77
Anacaona1474-1504 · Musicians12 decades - 78
Gonzalo Guerrero1470-1536 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Historical Figures21 decades - 79
Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset1499-1500 · Historical Figuresnot measured- - 80
Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio1467-1516 · Artists0 decades - 81
Francisco de Bobadilla1500-15020 decades - 82
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro1472-15080 decades - 83
Dayan Khan1472-15171 decades - 84
Cecily of York1469-1507 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures0 decades - 85
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Rodrigo de Bastidas1474-1527 · Historical Figures0 decades - 86FDFernão do Pó1500-1500 · Historical Figures0 decades
- 87
Hadım Süleyman Paşa1467-1547 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Politiciansnot measured- - 88
Maddalena de' Medici1473-1519 · Historical Figures0 decades - 89
Alfonso of Aragon1481-1500 · Politicians12 decades - 90
Kemalpaşazade1469-1534 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Writers0 decades - 91
Sancha of Aragon1478-1506 · Historical Figures0 decades - 92
Hans Burgkmair the Elder1473-1531 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Artists0 decades - 93
Şehzade Korkut1467-1513 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Politiciansnot measured- - 94
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Juan del Encina1468-1529 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers2 decades - 95SDScipione del Ferro1465-1526 · Academics0 decades
- 96
Ludovico di Varthema1470-1517 · Historical Figures8 decades - 97
Alfonsina Orsini1472-1520 · Politicians0 decades - 98
John Colet1467-1519 · Writers22 decades - 99
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Şehzade Ahmed1466-1513 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Politiciansnot measured- - 100
Polydore Vergil1470-1555 · Writers3 decades
How this is measured
- Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active - around age 35, and never after their death.
- Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
- Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
- What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.