Claim profile
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.

CountryAll🇪🇸 Spain🇫🇷 France🇯🇵 Japan🇩🇪 Germany🇮🇹 Italy🇹🇷 Turkey🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇸🇪 Sweden🇨🇭 Switzerland🇮🇳 India
FieldAllHistorical FiguresWritersPoliticiansArtistsAcademicsReligious FiguresMusiciansScientistsModelsActors
  1. 1Carolus ClusiusCarolus Clusius1526–1609 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  2. 2Bernard PalissyBernard Palissy1510–1589 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists22 decades
  3. 3André ThévetAndré Thévet1516–1592 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  4. 4Jean FernelJean Fernel1506–1558 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  5. 5Matthias de l'ObelMatthias de l'Obel1538–1616 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  6. 6Guillaume RondeletGuillaume Rondelet1507–1566 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists18 decades
  7. 7JBJean Beguin1550–1620 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  8. 8Jean RobinJean Robin1550–1629 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists22 decades
  9. 9Jacques le MoyneJacques le Moyne1533–1588 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists2 decades
  10. 10Jacques DaléchampsJacques Daléchamps1513–1588 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  11. 11Adam de CraponneAdam de Craponne1526–1576 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  12. 12Johannes StadiusJohannes Stadius1527–1579 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  13. 13Pierre Richer de BellevalPierre Richer de Belleval1558–1632 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  14. 14Jean RuelJean Ruel1474–1537 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientists0 decades
  15. 15MDMartin de Hoyarçabalborn 1501 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientistsnot measured—
  16. 16Jean RotzJean Rotz1505–1560 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientistsnot measured—
  17. 17AFAbel Foullon1513–1563 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientistsnot measured—
  18. 18JDJean de Clamorgan1480–1501 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientistsnot measured—
  19. 19NDNicolas Desliens1541–1566 · 🇫🇷 France · Scientistsnot measured—
  20. 20PRPaulus Renealmus1560–1624 · 🇫🇷 France · 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.