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. 1Johannes GutenbergJohannes Gutenberg1400–1468 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists17 decades
  2. 2Ulugh BegUlugh Beg1394–1449 · Scientists15 decades
  3. 3Jamshīd al-KāshīJamshīd al-Kāshī1380–1429 · Scientistsnot measured—
  4. 4Paolo dal Pozzo ToscanelliPaolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli1397–1482 · Scientists19 decades
  5. 5Fra MauroFra Mauro1385–1459 · Scientists22 decades
  6. 6OrbanOrban1404–1453 · Scientistsnot measured—
  7. 7Ali QushjiAli Qushji1403–1474 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Scientists0 decades
  8. 8Ahmad ibn MājidAhmad ibn Mājid1432–1500 · Scientistsnot measured—
  9. 9Basil ValentineBasil Valentine1394–1450 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists22 decades
  10. 10Pedro Navarro, Count of OlivetoPedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto1460–1528 · Scientistsnot measured—
  11. 11Yuriy DrohobychYuriy Drohobych1450–1494 · Scientistsnot measured—
  12. 12Chang YŏngsilChang Yŏngsilborn 1400 · Scientistsnot measured—
  13. 13Henricus Martellus GermanusHenricus Martellus Germanus1401–1496 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  14. 14János VitézJános Vitéz1408–1472 · Scientists0 decades
  15. 15TaccolaTaccola1382–1453 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Scientists3 decades
  16. 16GFGiovanni Fontana1395–1455 · Scientists0 decades
  17. 17Johannes StöfflerJohannes Stöffler1452–1531 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists2 decades
  18. 18DMDomenico Maria Novara da Ferrara1454–1504 · Scientistsnot measured—
  19. 19BWBernard Wapowski1450–1535 · Scientists0 decades
  20. 20JGJohannes Grant1400–1500 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  21. 21JRJohannes Ruysch1460–1533 · Scientists0 decades
  22. 22FIFaḍlallāh Ibn-Ruzbihān1457–1521 · Scientistsnot measured—
  23. 23Claudius ClavusClaudius Clavus1388–1500 · Scientists0 decades
  24. 24Erhard ReuwichErhard Reuwich1445–1505 · Scientists0 decades
  25. 25Giovanni BianchiniGiovanni Bianchini1410–1469 · Scientists0 decades
  26. 26JVJohannes von Gmunden1380–1442 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists7 decades
  27. 27Nicolaus GermanusNicolaus Germanus1420–1490 · Scientists0 decades
  28. 28Johannes StabiusJohannes Stabius1460–1522 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  29. 29Galeotto MarzioGaleotto Marzio1424–1490 · Scientists0 decades
  30. 30MBMarcin Bylica1433–1493 · Scientists0 decades
  31. 31Pietro CoppoPietro Coppo1460–1555 · Scientists16 decades
  32. 32Jan ŠindelJan Šindel1375–1456 · Scientistsnot measured—
  33. 33Benedetto BordoneBenedetto Bordone1450–1530 · Scientists21 decades
  34. 34Bernhard WaltherBernhard Walther1430–1504 · Scientists19 decades
  35. 35HAHenri Arnaut de Zwolle1400–1466 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  36. 36Johannes de CubaJohannes de Cuba1430–1503 · Scientists0 decades
  37. 37Sibt al-MaridiniSibt al-Maridini1423–1506 · Scientistsnot measured—
  38. 38Guillem SolerGuillem Soler1400–1500 · Scientistsnot measured—
  39. 39MÇMirim Çelebi1401–1525 · Scientistsnot measured—
  40. 40'A'Abd al-'Aziz al-Wafa'i1408–1471 · 🇪🇬 Egypt · Scientistsnot measured—
  41. 41Johannes EngelJohannes Engel1463–1512 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  42. 42Burhan-ud-din KermaniBurhan-ud-din Kermanidied 1449 · Scientistsnot measured—
  43. 43Giovanni Matteo ContariniGiovanni Matteo Contarini1452–1507 · Scientists0 decades
  44. 44FCFrancesco Capuano Di Manfredonia1450–1490 · Scientistsnot measured—
  45. 45Pellegrino PriscianiPellegrino Prisciani1435–1518 · Scientists0 decades
  46. 46BDBonet de Lattes1450–1514 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  47. 47NKNiklas Koppernigk the Elder1450–1483 · Scientistsnot measured—
  48. 48PSPetrus Särkilahti1401–1529 · Scientistsnot 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.