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. 1Martin LutherMartin Luther1483–1546 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures22 decades
  2. 2Thomas MüntzerThomas Müntzer1489–1525 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures15 decades
  3. 3Joachim Frederick, Elector of BrandenburgJoachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg1546–1608 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures22 decades
  4. 4John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-BergJohn William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg1562–1609 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures22 decades
  5. 5Ernest of BavariaErnest of Bavaria1554–1612 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures19 decades
  6. 6PBPeter Binsfeld1545–1598 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  7. 7Gebhard Truchsess of WaldburgGebhard Truchsess of Waldburg1547–1601 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  8. 8Francis of WaldeckFrancis of Waldeck1488–1553 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures19 decades
  9. 9Matthäus Lang von WellenburgMatthäus Lang von Wellenburg1468–1540 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures4 decades
  10. 10Julius Echter von MespelbrunnJulius Echter von Mespelbrunn1545–1617 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures17 decades
  11. 11Mark Sittich von Hohenems AltempsMark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps1533–1595 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  12. 12Ruprecht of the PalatinateRuprecht of the Palatinate1481–1504 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures22 decades
  13. 13Philipp of BavariaPhilipp of Bavaria1576–1598 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  14. 14John of CologneJohn of Cologne1500–1572 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  15. 15Henry of the PalatinateHenry of the Palatinate1487–1552 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  16. 16SOSigismund of Brandenburg1538–1566 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures18 decades
  17. 17Philip of the PalatinatePhilip of the Palatinate1480–1541 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures21 decades
  18. 18Johann Schweikhard von KronbergJohann Schweikhard von Kronberg1553–1626 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  19. 19Johann GropperJohann Gropper1503–1559 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures7 decades
  20. 20John III of the PalatinateJohn III of the Palatinate1488–1538 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  21. 21Salentin IX of Isenburg-GrenzauSalentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau1532–1610 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  22. 22Jakob II of BadenJakob II of Baden1471–1511 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures0 decades
  23. 23Henry of Saxe-LauenburgHenry of Saxe-Lauenburg1550–1585 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  24. 24Daniel Brendel von HomburgDaniel Brendel von Homburg1522–1582 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  25. 25Sigmund Fugger von Kirchberg und WeißenhornSigmund Fugger von Kirchberg und Weißenhorn1542–1600 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  26. 26John Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach-KulmbachJohn Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach1499–1550 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  27. 27AXAdolphus XIII of Holstein1511–1556 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  28. 28Uriel von GemmingenUriel von Gemmingen1468–1514 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  29. 29Johann Otto von GemmingenJohann Otto von Gemmingen1545–1598 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  30. 30Friedrich von WirsbergFriedrich von Wirsberg1504–1573 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  31. 31George III of LimpurgGeorge III of Limpurg1470–1522 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  32. 32John Conrad of GemmingenJohn Conrad of Gemmingen1561–1612 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  33. 33FIFrederick IV of Wied1518–1568 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  34. 34Sebastian von HeusenstammSebastian von Heusenstamm1508–1555 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  35. 35FNFrederic Nausea1496–1552 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  36. 36FOFrancis of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel1492–1529 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  37. 37AVAugustin von Alveld1480–1535 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  38. 38Johann Ludwig von HagenJohann Ludwig von Hagen1492–1547 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  39. 39POPhilip of Cleves1467–1505 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  40. 40Johann II. von BlankenfeldJohann II. von Blankenfeld1471–1527 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious 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.