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. 1Mariam-uz-ZamaniMariam-uz-Zamani1542–1623 · 🇮🇳 India · Historical Figures0 decades
  2. 2MeeraMeera1498–1546 · 🇮🇳 India · Writersnot measured—
  3. 3Ibrahim LodiIbrahim Lodi1480–1526 · 🇮🇳 India · Politicians4 decades
  4. 4Sher Shah SuriSher Shah Suri1486–1545 · 🇮🇳 India · Historical Figures1 decades
  5. 5TulsidasTulsidas1532–1623 · 🇮🇳 India · Writers11 decades
  6. 6VallabhaVallabha1479–1531 · 🇮🇳 India · Academics16 decades
  7. 7Guru ArjanGuru Arjan1563–1606 · 🇮🇳 India · Writers6 decades
  8. 8KrishnadevarayaKrishnadevaraya1471–1529 · 🇮🇳 India · Historical Figures7 decades
  9. 9Abu'l-Fazl ibn MubarakAbu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak1551–1602 · 🇮🇳 India · Writersnot measured—
  10. 10Guru Amar DasGuru Amar Das1479–1574 · 🇮🇳 India · Writers5 decades
  11. 11Raja BirbalRaja Birbal1528–1586 · 🇮🇳 India · Politicians0 decades
  12. 12Man Singh IMan Singh I1550–1614 · 🇮🇳 India · Historical Figures0 decades
  13. 13Chand BibiChand Bibi1550–1599 · 🇮🇳 India · Politicians0 decades
  14. 14Purandara DasaPurandara Dasa1470–1564 · 🇮🇳 India · Musicians0 decades
  15. 15BasawanBasawan1560–1600 · 🇮🇳 India · Artists2 decades
  16. 16Dadu DayalDadu Dayal1544–1603 · 🇮🇳 India · Academics0 decades
  17. 17RSRaghunatha Siromani1477–1547 · 🇮🇳 India · Academics0 decades
  18. 18DDhurjatiborn 1500 · 🇮🇳 India · Writersnot measured—
  19. 19Allasani PeddanaAllasani Peddanaborn 1550 · 🇮🇳 India · Writersnot measured—
  20. 20APAchyuta Pisharati1550–1621 · 🇮🇳 India · Academicsnot measured—
  21. 21AIAladdin Imad Shah1500–1530 · 🇮🇳 Indianot 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.