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
Anne of Cleves1515–1557 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures4 decades - 2
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly1559–1632 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 3
John Frederick I1503–1554 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures6 decades - 4
Maria Anna of Bavaria1551–1608 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1 decades - 5
Hans Staden1525–1579 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures13 decades - 6
William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg1516–1592 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 7
Sibylle of Cleves1512–1554 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 8
John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar1530–1573 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 9
Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken1526–1569 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 10
William the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1535–1592 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures6 decades - 11
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Juliana of Stolberg1506–1580 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 12
Duke Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar1562–1602 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 13
Henry the Middle, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1468–1532 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 14
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John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern1543–1592 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 15
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Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken1502–1532 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 16
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John Frederick II of Saxony1529–1595 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures9 decades - 17
Louis X, Duke of Bavaria1495–1545 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 18
Sabina of Bavaria1492–1564 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 19
Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburg1547–1614 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 20
Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach1519–1567 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 21
Ambrosius Ehinger1500–1532 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures5 decades - 22
Hedwig of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel1540–1602 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 23
Ulrich Schmidl1514–1579 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2 decades - 24
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Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1528–1584 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures21 decades - 25
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Marie of Baden-Sponheim1507–1580 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 26
Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg1533–1598 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 27
Enno III, Count of East Frisia1563–1625 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures6 decades - 28
Felipe de Hutten1505–1546 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures11 decades - 29
Dorothea Susanne of Simmern1544–1592 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 30
Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp1570–1590 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 31
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Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin1485–1525 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures6 decades - 32
George I of Württemberg-Mömpelgard1498–1558 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 33
Princess Maximiliane Maria of Bavaria1552–1614 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 34
Barbara of Hesse1536–1597 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 35
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Countess Palatine Elisabeth of Simmern-Sponheim1540–1594 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures14 decades - 36
John Frederick III, Duke of Saxony1538–1565 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 37
Georg von Speyer1500–1540 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 38
Philip I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1476–1551 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 39
Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg1563–1639 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 40
Francis, Duke of Gifhorn1508–1549 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 41
Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg1495–1549 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 42
Amalie of the Palatinate1490–1524 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 43
Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel1561–1631 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 44
Jakobea of Baden1558–1597 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 45
Anthony I, Count of Oldenburg1505–1573 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures17 decades - 46
George III, Count of Erbach-Breuberg1548–1605 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 47
Ernest III, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1518–1567 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures11 decades - 48UOUrsula of Brandenburg1488–1510 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
- 49
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Bernhard VIII, Count of Lippe1527–1563 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1 decades - 50OIOtto II, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg1528–1603 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 51
Magdalene of Lippe1552–1587 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 52
William Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg1564–1642 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 53
Philip Louis I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg1553–1580 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 54PIPhilip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1533–1596 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 55
Philip III, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg1486–1539 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades - 56WDWolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1531–1595 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
- 57
Helen of the Palatinate1493–1524 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0 decades - 58
Frederick Magnus I, Count of Solms-Laubach1521–1561 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 59PIPhilip II, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg1501–1529 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 60
Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg1555–1586 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 61
Frederick of Denmark1529–1556 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures20 decades - 62
Magdalena of Nassau-Dillenburg1547–1633 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 63
John, Hereditary Prince of Saxony1498–1537 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 64PIPhilip III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg1482–1538 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures22 decades
- 65
Countess Palatine Helena of Simmern1532–1579 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 66
Wolfgang Ernest I, Count of Isenburg-Birstein1560–1633 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 67GIGeorge III, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg1502–1555 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
- 68JIJohn IV, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg1470–1531 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
- 69HIHenry IX, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen1531–1577 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured—
- 70
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Joachim of Fürstenberg1538–1598 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 71
Balthasar of Hanau-Münzenberg1508–1534 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figuresnot 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.