Claim profile
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.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇩🇪 Germany🇮🇹 Italy🇹🇷 Turkey🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇪🇸 Spain🇯🇵 Japan🇸🇪 Sweden🇵🇹 Portugal🇨🇭 Switzerland
FieldAllHistorical FiguresPoliticiansWritersArtistsReligious FiguresAcademicsModelsMusiciansArchitectsScientists
  1. 1Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci1452–1519 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  2. 2Sandro BotticelliSandro Botticelli1445–1510 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  3. 3Fra AngelicoFra Angelico1390–1455 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists21 decades
  4. 4MasaccioMasaccio1401–1428 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  5. 5Piero della FrancescaPiero della Francesca1415–1492 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  6. 6Antonello da MessinaAntonello da Messina1430–1479 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  7. 7Andrea MantegnaAndrea Mantegna1431–1506 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  8. 8Giovanni BelliniGiovanni Bellini1430–1516 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  9. 9Pietro PeruginoPietro Perugino1448–1523 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  10. 10Paolo UccelloPaolo Uccello1397–1475 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  11. 11PinturicchioPinturicchio1454–1513 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  12. 12Luca SignorelliLuca Signorelli1450–1523 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  13. 13Filippino LippiFilippino Lippi1457–1504 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists21 decades
  14. 14PisanelloPisanello1395–1455 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  15. 15Catherine of BolognaCatherine of Bologna1413–1463 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists21 decades
  16. 16Gentile BelliniGentile Bellini1429–1507 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  17. 17Andrea del CastagnoAndrea del Castagno1420–1457 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  18. 18Jacopo della QuerciaJacopo della Quercia1374–1438 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  19. 19Domenico VenezianoDomenico Veneziano1410–1461 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  20. 20Francesco di GiorgioFrancesco di Giorgio1439–1501 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists20 decades
  21. 21MichelozzoMichelozzo1396–1472 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists18 decades
  22. 22Melozzo da ForlìMelozzo da Forlì1438–1494 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  23. 23SassettaSassetta1392–1450 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  24. 24Jacopo BelliniJacopo Bellini1400–1470 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  25. 25Giovanni SantiGiovanni Santidied 1494 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists21 decades
  26. 26Agostino di DuccioAgostino di Duccio1418–1481 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists14 decades
  27. 27Giovanni Antonio AmadeoGiovanni Antonio Amadeo1447–1522 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  28. 28Ercole de' RobertiErcole de' Roberti1450–1496 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  29. 29Nanni di BancoNanni di Banco1380–1421 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists17 decades
  30. 30Antonio RossellinoAntonio Rossellino1427–1479 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists20 decades
  31. 31Bertoldo di GiovanniBertoldo di Giovanni1435–1491 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists13 decades
  32. 32Bartolomeo della GattaBartolomeo della Gatta1448–1502 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  33. 33Giuliano da MaianoGiuliano da Maiano1432–1490 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  34. 34Fra CarnevaleFra Carnevale1420–1484 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  35. 35Matteo CivitaliMatteo Civitali1436–1501 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists21 decades
  36. 36Niccolò di Piero LambertiNiccolò di Piero Lamberti1370–1451 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  37. 37Giovanni Cristoforo RomanoGiovanni Cristoforo Romano1456–1512 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  38. 38Guidoccio CozzarelliGuidoccio Cozzarelli1450–1517 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  39. 39Domenico PanettiDomenico Panetti1460–1530 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  40. 40Dello di Niccolò DelliDello di Niccolò Delli1403–1471 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artistsnot measured—
  41. 41NRNiccolo Rondinelli1450–1510 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  42. 42Bernardo di Stefano RosselliBernardo di Stefano Rosselli1450–1526 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 decades
  43. 43GCGiacomo Cozzarelli1453–1515 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0 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.