1500–1599
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 Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Echoed
- 1
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Henry II of France1519–1559 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 2
Francis II of France1544–1560 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 3
Claude of France1499–1524 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 4
Jeanne d'Albret1528–1572 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 5
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Antoine of Navarre1518–1562 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 6
Henry I, Duke of Guise1550–1588 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 7
Jean de Valette Parisot1494–1568 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 8
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Francis, Duke of Guise1519–1563 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 9
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Louise of Savoy1476–1531 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians17 decades - 10
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully1560–1641 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 11
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Louis, Prince of Condé1530–1569 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 12
Anne de Montmorency1493–1567 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 13
Jean Nicot1530–1605 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 14
Michel de l'Hôpital1505–1573 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 15
Emanuele Filiberto I, Duke of Savoy1528–1580 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians17 decades - 16
Diane de France, Duchess of Angoulême1538–1619 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians21 decades - 17
Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette1554–1642 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 18
François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières1543–1626 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 19
Anne d'Alençon1492–1562 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 20
Anne de La Tour d'Auvergne1496–1524 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 21
Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine1498–1550 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 22
Charles II d'Amboise1473–1511 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 23
Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron1524–1592 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 24
Robrecht IV van der Marck1512–1556 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 25
Charles de Cossé, Count of Brissac1505–1563 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 26
François de Coligny d'Andelot1521–1569 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 27
Philippe de Chabot1492–1543 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 28
Anne du Bourg1521–1559 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 29
René de Birague1506–1583 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 30
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Hubert Languet1518–1581 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians9 decades - 31
Artus de Cossé, comte de Secondigny1512–1582 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 32
Michel de Marillac1563–1632 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 33
Charles de Montmorency-Damville1537–1612 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 34
Jean Bertrand1482–1560 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians2 decades - 35
François du Plessis de Richelieu1548–1590 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 36JDJean D'Espagnet1564–1637 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured—
- 37
Roger de Saint-Lary de Bellegarde1525–1579 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured—
- 38
Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy1546–1629 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 39
Guillaume Poyet1473–1548 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 40
Jacques Goyon de Matignon1525–1598 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 41
Philippe Hurault de Cheverny1528–1599 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 42
Christophe de Thou1508–1582 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 43JHJean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul1552–1636 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured—
- 44PBPhilibert Babou1484–1557 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured—
- 45PEPierre Eyquem de Montaigne1495–1568 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot 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.