← Fame through time1400-1499
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 coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Richard III of England0 decades - 2
Henry V of England1 decades - 3
Henry VII of England7 decades - 4
Henry VI of England0 decades - 5
Henry IV of England0 decades - 6
James I of Scotland3 decades - 7
James II of Scotland0 decades - 8
James III of Scotland0 decades - 9
Elizabeth Woodvillenot measured- - 10
Lady Margaret Beaufortnot measured- - 11
Anne Nevillenot measured- - 12
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of Yorknot measured- - 13
Edward V of England0 decades - 14
William Caxton22 decades - 15
Edward of Westminster1 decades - 16
Richard Nevillenot measured- - 17Thomas Malory18 decades
- 18
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmondnot measured- - 19
Catherine of Lancaster19 decades - 20
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshirenot measured- - 21
Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of Yorknot measured- - 22
Cecily Neville, Duchess of Yorknot measured- - 23
Philippa of England0 decades - 24
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarencenot measured- - 25
Margaret of York11 decades - 26
Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales0 decades - 27
Jasper Tudor13 decades - 28
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford17 decades - 29
Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence0 decades - 30Margery Kempe8 decades
- 31
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwicknot measured- - 32
Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of Francenot measured- - 33
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckinghamnot measured- - 34
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk20 decades - 35Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somersetnot measured-
- 36
John Fastolf19 decades - 37
Edmund, Earl of Rutlandnot measured- - 38
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Riversnot measured- - 39
Anne of York, Duchess of Exeternot measured- - 40
Jack Cade22 decades - 41
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwicknot measured- - 42
David Stewart, Duke of Rothesaynot measured- - 43
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan0 decades - 44
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeternot measured- - 45
John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolknot measured- - 46
Robert Henryson12 decades - 47
Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwicknot measured- - 48
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglasnot measured- - 49
Alianore Holland, Countess of Marchnot measured- - 50
Richard Amerike0 decades - 51
Rhys ap Thomas9 decades - 52
John Fitzalan, 7th Earl of Arundelnot measured- - 53George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntlynot measured-
- 54
John Blanke0 decades - 55
Augustine Webster0 decades - 56William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithnessnot measured-
- 57
Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surreynot measured- - 58
William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembrokenot measured- - 59Walter Frye0 decades
- 60George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angusnot measured-
- 61
Eleanor Beauchamp0 decades - 62
Richard Pynson15 decades - 63
Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntlynot measured- - 64
John of Islay, Earl of Rossnot measured- - 65
Eleanor Holland, Countess of Salisburynot measured- - 66
Lawrence Booth0 decades - 67
James Kennedy22 decades - 68David Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrosenot measured-
- 69
James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglasnot measured- - 70
Anne Neville, Duchess of Buckinghamnot measured- - 71
Thomas Flamank0 decades - 72
William Elphinstone4 decades - 73
Dafydd Gam0 decades - 74
William ap Thomas0 decades - 75
John Rous18 decades - 76Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick0 decades
- 77
Alexander of Islay, Earl of Rossnot measured- - 78Lewys Glyn Cothinot measured-
- 79Arthur Bulkeleynot measured-
- 80Catherine Moleynsnot measured-
How to read these rankings
- Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
- Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
- Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.