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🇨🇭 Switzerland🇵🇹 Portugal
FieldAllHistorical FiguresPoliticiansWritersArtistsReligious FiguresAcademicsModelsMusiciansArchitectsScientists
  1. 1Charles VIII of SwedenCharles VIII of Sweden1409–1470 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  2. 2Sten Sture the ElderSten Sture the Elder1440–1503 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  3. 3Engelbrekt EngelbrektssonEngelbrekt Engelbrektsson1390–1436 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  4. 4Svante NilssonSvante Nilsson1460–1512 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  5. 5Albertus PictorAlbertus Pictor1440–1507 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Artists0 decades
  6. 6ETEric Trolle1460–1530 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  7. 7Erik Axelsson TottErik Axelsson Tott1419–1481 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  8. 8Jöns Bengtsson OxenstiernaJöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna1417–1467 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  9. 9Bengt Jönsson (Oxenstierna)Bengt Jönsson (Oxenstierna)1390–1450 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  10. 10NJNils Jönsson (Oxenstierna)1390–1450 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  11. 11Kettil KarlssonKettil Karlsson1433–1465 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  12. 12CAChristina Abrahamsdotter1432–1492 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  13. 13Didrik SlagheckDidrik Slagheck1450–1522 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  14. 14Ingeborg TottIngeborg Tott1440–1507 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  15. 15Jakob UlvssonJakob Ulvsson1430–1521 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  16. 16Knut PosseKnut Posse1440–1500 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  17. 17HGHemming Gadh1450–1520 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  18. 18Hans BraskHans Brask1464–1538 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  19. 19BTBrita Tott1401–1498 · 🇸🇪 Swedennot measured—
  20. 20NRNicolaus Ragvaldi1380–1448 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  21. 21EOEricus Olai1401–1486 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Writers0 decades
  22. 22JKJohan Kristiernsson (Vasa)1426–1477 · 🇸🇪 Swedennot measured—
  23. 23Jöns BuddeJöns Budde1435–1491 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Writers0 decades
  24. 24Arvid KurckArvid Kurck1464–1522 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  25. 25IOIngeborg of Holstein1398–1465 · 🇸🇪 Swedennot measured—
  26. 26Thomas SimonssonThomas Simonsson1380–1443 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Religious Figures0 decades
  27. 27IPIngrid Persdotter1450–1524 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Writers0 decades
  28. 28MKMargareta Karlsdotterdied 1428 · 🇸🇪 Swedennot measured—
  29. 29BTBirgitta Turesdotter (Bielke)died 1436 · 🇸🇪 Swedennot 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.