1400–1499
The 15th century
Whose working lives fell in the 15th century. 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 15th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Echoed
- 1
Elizabeth of Luxembourg1409–1442 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1 decades - 2
Christopher of Bavaria1416–1448 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures4 decades
- 3
Ernest of Saxony1441–1486 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 4
Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria1447–1508 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 5
Albert III, Duke of Bavaria1401–1460 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 6
Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg1445–1496 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 7
Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria1368–1447 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 8
_1440s.jpg?width=1200)
Dorothea of Brandenburg1430–1495 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 9
Christina of Saxony1461–1521 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 10
George the Rich, Duke of Bavaria1455–1503 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 11
Louis IX1417–1479 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 12
Ernest, Duke of Bavaria1373–1438 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 13
Mary of Guelders1434–1463 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1 decades - 14
Sophia of Bavaria1376–1428 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 15
Eberhard IV, Count of Württemberg1388–1419 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 16
Henry XVI, Duke of Bavaria1386–1450 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures3 decades - 17
.jpg?width=1200)
John II, Duke of Cleves1458–1521 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 18
Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1418–1478 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 19
Eric II, Duke of Pomerania1418–1474 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures21 decades - 20
Edzard I, Count of East Frisia1462–1528 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures4 decades - 21
Adolf, Duke of Guelders1438–1477 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 22
Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden1407–1453 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 23
Charles I, Margrave of Baden-Baden1425–1475 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 24
Margaret of the Palatinate1376–1434 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 25
Sigismund, Duke of Bavaria1439–1501 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 26
Didrik Pining1422–1491 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 27
Bogislaw IX, Duke of Pomerania1407–1446 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 28
_-_WGA14005.jpg?width=1200)
Barbara Gonzaga1455–1503 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2 decades - 29
.jpg?width=1200)
Adolf, Duke of Jülich-Berg1370–1437 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 30
John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg1439–1507 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 31
Konrad V Kantner1380–1439 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures3 decades - 32WIWilliam II, Margrave of Meissen1371–1425 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 33EIEric I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1380–1427 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures18 decades
- 34EIErnest I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau1454–1516 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures8 decades
- 35
Philip of Hachberg-Sausenberg1453–1503 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 36HIHenry IV, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg1397–1427 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 37
Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck1414–1474 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 38
Hans Pothorst1440–1489 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2 decades - 39FXFrederick XI, Count of Hohenzollern1368–1401 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
- 40PIPhilip II, Count of Waldeck1453–1524 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 41Konrad VI the Dean1391–1427 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
- 42
Margaret of Cleves, Duchess of Bavaria-Munich1416–1444 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 43FXFrederick X, Count of Hohenzollern1400–1412 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
- 44UIUlrich II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard1425–1471 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 45
Albert II, Count of Holstein-Segeberg1369–1403 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 46
Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg1405–1465 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 47MOMargaret of Cleves, Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing1375–1411 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
- 48AIAlbert IV, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen1369–1423 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
- 49AVAlbert VI, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen1450–1475 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
- 50COCatherine of Nassau-Beilsteindied 1459 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
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.