← 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
Anne of Cleves4 decades - 2
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tillynot measured- - 3
John Frederick I6 decades - 4
William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg0 decades - 5
Sibylle of Clevesnot measured- - 6
Hans Staden13 decades - 7
John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimarnot measured- - 8
Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrückennot measured- - 9
William the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg6 decades - 10
Maria Anna of Bavarianot measured- - 11
Juliana of Stolbergnot measured- - 12
John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmernnot measured- - 13
Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburgnot measured- - 14
Duke Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimarnot measured- - 15
Sabina of Bavaria0 decades - 16
Louis X, Duke of Bavaria22 decades - 17
Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrückennot measured- - 18
Henry the Middle, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburgnot measured- - 19
Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbachnot measured- - 20
John Frederick II of Saxony9 decades - 21
Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburgnot measured- - 22
Hedwig of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttelnot measured- - 23
Ambrosius Ehinger5 decades - 24Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenbergnot measured-
- 25
Enno III, Count of East Frisia6 decades - 26
Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 27
Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin6 decades - 28
Dorothea Susanne of Simmernnot measured- - 29
Ulrich Schmidl2 decades - 30
Barbara of Hesse0 decades - 31
Felipe de Hutten11 decades - 32
George I of Württemberg-Mömpelgardnot measured- - 33
Princess Maximiliane Maria of Bavarianot measured- - 34
Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg0 decades - 35
Marie of Baden-Sponheimnot measured- - 36
Countess Palatine Elisabeth of Simmern-Sponheimnot measured- - 37
Francis, Duke of Gifhornnot measured- - 38
John Frederick III, Duke of Saxony0 decades - 39
Amalie of the Palatinate0 decades - 40
Philip I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagennot measured- - 41
Georg von Speyer0 decades - 42
Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Harburgnot measured- - 43Otto II, Duke of Brunswick-Harburgnot measured-
- 44
Jakobea of Badennot measured- - 45Ursula of Brandenburg0 decades
- 46
Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttelnot measured- - 47
Ernest III, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen11 decades - 48
William Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg22 decades - 49
Magdalene of Lippe0 decades - 50
Bernhard VIII, Count of Lippe1 decades - 51
Philip Louis I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg0 decades - 52
George III, Count of Erbach-Breubergnot measured- - 53
Anthony I, Count of Oldenburg17 decades - 54Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagennot measured-
- 55Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagennot measured-
- 56
Philip III, Count of Waldeck-Eisenbergnot measured- - 57
Helen of the Palatinate0 decades - 58
Frederick Magnus I, Count of Solms-Laubachnot measured- - 59Philip II, Count of Hanau-Münzenbergnot measured-
- 60Christopher, Count of Hohenzollern-Haigerlochnot measured-
- 61
Walburgis, Countess of Rietbergnot measured- - 62
Frederick of Denmark20 decades - 63
Magdalena of Nassau-Dillenburgnot measured- - 64
John, Hereditary Prince of Saxonynot measured- - 65Philip III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenbergnot measured-
- 66
Countess Palatine Helena of Simmernnot measured- - 67
Wolfgang Ernest I, Count of Isenburg-Birsteinnot measured- - 68Anna von Tecklenburg-Schwerinnot measured-
- 69George III, Landgrave of Leuchtenbergnot measured-
- 70John IV, Landgrave of Leuchtenbergnot measured-
- 71Henry IX, Count of Waldeck-Wildungennot measured-
- 72Irmgard zur Lippenot measured-
- 73
Joachim of Fürstenbergnot measured- - 74Bernardine of Lippenot measured-
- 75Balthasar of Hanau-Münzenbergnot measured-
- 76
Dorothea Maria of Württembergnot measured- - 77Anna von Baden-Durlachnot 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.