← Fame through time1500-1599
The 16th century
Whose working lives fell in the 16th 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 16th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Henry IV of France10 decades - 2
Catherine de' Medici22 decades - 3
Francis I of France0 decades - 4
Jacques Cartier22 decades - 5
Charles IX of France0 decades - 6
Henry III of France4 decades - 7
Mary Tudor, Queen of France22 decades - 8
Mary of Lorraine15 decades - 9
Elisabeth of Valois22 decades - 10
Francis, Duke of Anjounot measured- - 11
Gaspard II de Coligny0 decades - 12
Charles, Duke of Vendôme0 decades - 13
Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard0 decades - 14
Renee of France22 decades - 15
Germaine of Foix20 decades - 16
Louise of Lorraine22 decades - 17
Charles III, Duke of Lorrainenot measured- - 18
Margaret of France, Duchess of Berrynot measured- - 19
Francis I, Duke of Lorraine0 decades - 20
Anne of Foix-Candalenot measured- - 21
Antoine, Duke of Lorrainenot measured- - 22
Henry II, Duke of Lorraine5 decades - 23
Francis IIInot measured- - 24
Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergnenot measured- - 25
Antoinette de Bourbon21 decades - 26
Anna of Este0 decades - 27
Charles II, Duke of Orléansnot measured- - 28
Louise de Coligny21 decades - 29
Henriette of Cleves0 decades - 30
Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne20 decades - 31
Catherine of Cleves22 decades - 32
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon1 decades - 33
Marie of Luxembourg, Countess of Vendômenot measured- - 34
Louis, Duke of Montpensier0 decades - 35
Jean de Léry20 decades - 36
Anne de Joyeuse19 decades - 37
Louise Borgia, Duchess of Valentinois0 decades - 38
Jean Ribault9 decades - 39
François, Duke of Montpensier0 decades - 40
Jean-François Robervalnot measured- - 41
Charles of Lorraine, duke of Aumalenot measured- - 42
Katherine Briçonnet0 decades - 43
René Goulaine de Laudonnière0 decades - 44
Claude of Valoisnot measured- - 45
Nicole de Blois0 decades - 46
Binot Paulmier de Gonneville0 decades - 47
Jean, Count of Soissons and Enghien22 decades - 48
Jean Alfonse0 decades - 49Francis II, Duke of Neversnot measured-
- 50
Claude Gouffiernot measured- - 51James, Duke of Neversnot measured-
- 52
Henri-Robert de La Marcknot measured- - 53Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de Saint Valliernot measured-
- 54
Claude d'Urfénot measured- - 55
Claude de Savoienot measured- - 56
Léonor Chabot, dit Chabot-Charnynot measured- - 57
Honoré I de Savoienot measured- - 58Antoinette d'Aubeterrenot measured-
- 59
Jean de Laval-Châteaubriantnot measured- - 60
Anne de Montmorencynot 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.