← 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
Henry V of England1 decades - 2
Lorenzo de' Medici22 decades - 3
Girolamo Savonarola22 decades - 4
Ivan III of Russia8 decades - 5
Charles VIII of France11 decades - 6
Charles the Bold22 decades - 7
Cosimo de' Medici22 decades - 8
James II of Scotland0 decades - 9
James III of Scotland0 decades - 10
Tomás de Torquemada22 decades - 11
Mary of Burgundy22 decades - 12
Philip the Good0 decades - 13
John Hunyadi19 decades - 14
Afonso de Albuquerque4 decades - 15
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of Yorknot measured- - 16
Vasily I of Moscow5 decades - 17
Edward V of England0 decades - 18
Louis XI of France8 decades - 19
Caterina Sforza3 decades - 20
1st Dalai Lamanot measured- - 21
William Caxton22 decades - 22
Giuliano de' Medici22 decades - 23
Sejo of Joseonnot measured- - 24
Richard Nevillenot measured- - 25
Piero di Cosimo de' Medici11 decades - 26
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshirenot measured- - 27
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba15 decades - 28
Galeazzo Maria Sforza22 decades - 29
Enrique III of Castile0 decades - 30
Vasily II of Moscow0 decades - 31
Joan of Navarrenot measured- - 32
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarencenot measured- - 33
Saint Casimir0 decades - 34
Sophia Palaiologina0 decades - 35
Margaret of York11 decades - 36
Filippo Maria Visconti22 decades - 37
John of Capistrano17 decades - 38
Ladislaus of Naples0 decades - 39
Ernest, Duke of Austrianot measured- - 40
Joan Beaufortnot measured- - 41
Moctezuma I0 decades - 42
Francis II12 decades - 43
Sikandar Khan Lodi0 decades - 44
Anne of France1 decades - 45
Beatrice d’Este4 decades - 46
Abu Sa'id Mirza0 decades - 47Yejong of Joseonnot measured-
- 48
Alfonso22 decades - 49
Charlotte of Savoy0 decades - 50
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge0 decades - 51
Zağan Paşanot measured- - 52Çandarlı Halil Pasha0 decades
- 53
Joanna II of Naples0 decades - 54
Nicholas of Flüe14 decades - 55
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester0 decades - 56
John I Albert0 decades - 57
Yolanda de Aragonnot measured- - 58
Jean de Dunois0 decades - 59
Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundynot measured- - 60
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolknot measured- - 61
Albert III, Duke of Saxonynot measured- - 62
Ferdinand II of Naples0 decades - 63
Piero Soderini22 decades - 64
Francesco Foscari22 decades - 65
Ladislaus Hunyadi0 decades - 66
Qaitbaynot measured- - 67
Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut5 decades - 68
Blanche II of Navarrenot measured- - 69
Bianca Maria Visconti22 decades - 70
Leonardo Loredan21 decades - 71
Kara Ahmed Pasha0 decades - 72
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckinghamnot measured- - 73Gedik Ahmed Pasha0 decades
- 74
Girolamo Riario6 decades - 75
Andrea Gritti22 decades - 76
Eleanor of Alburquerque9 decades - 77
Ulrich II, Count of Celjenot measured- - 78
Abu'l-Khayr Khan0 decades - 79
Álvaro de Luna, Constable of Castile22 decades - 80Ishak Pasha0 decades
- 81
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derbynot measured- - 82
Charles VIII of Sweden0 decades - 83
Marfa Boretskaya13 decades - 84
Bona of Savoy5 decades - 85
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckinghamnot measured- - 86
Arthur III, Duke of Brittany0 decades - 87Abdal-Latif Mirzanot measured-
- 88
Sultan Cem0 decades - 89
Eleanor of Viseunot measured- - 90
Charles I of Albret0 decades - 91
Elisabeth, Duchess of Luxembourgnot measured- - 92
Sten Sture the Elder0 decades - 93Orkhannot measured-
- 94Despina Khatun0 decades
- 95
Mesih Pasha0 decades - 96
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers7 decades - 97
İsa Çelebinot measured- - 98
Piri Mehmed Paşanot measured- - 99
Hedwig Jagiellon, Duchess of Bavarianot measured- - 100
Pedro González de Mendoza22 decades
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.