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. 1Francisco de VitoriaFrancisco de Vitoria1480–1546 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics21 decades
  2. 2Bernardino de SahagúnBernardino de Sahagún1499–1590 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics14 decades
  3. 3Juan Luis VivesJuan Luis Vives1492–1540 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics6 decades
  4. 4Thomas of VillanovaThomas of Villanova1488–1555 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  5. 5Luis de MolinaLuis de Molina1535–1600 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  6. 6Domingo de SotoDomingo de Soto1494–1560 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  7. 7Juan LatinoJuan Latino1516–1590 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics21 decades
  8. 8Martín de AzpilcuetaMartín de Azpilcueta1492–1586 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics1 decades
  9. 9Bartolomé CarranzaBartolomé Carranza1503–1576 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  10. 10Melchor CanoMelchor Cano1509–1560 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  11. 11Francisco SanchesFrancisco Sanches1550–1623 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics0 decades
  12. 12Alfonso SalmerónAlfonso Salmerón1515–1585 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics0 decades
  13. 13Domingo BáñezDomingo Báñez1528–1604 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics14 decades
  14. 14Diego de Covarubias y LeyvaDiego de Covarubias y Leyva1512–1577 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics3 decades
  15. 15Oliva SabucoOliva Sabuco1562–1646 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics21 decades
  16. 16Gabriel VásquezGabriel Vásquez1549–1604 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics4 decades
  17. 17Francisco de ToledoFrancisco de Toledo1532–1596 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  18. 18Francisco de EnzinasFrancisco de Enzinas1518–1552 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics14 decades
  19. 19PDPedro de Córdoba1482–1521 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  20. 20Benedict PereiraBenedict Pereira1535–1610 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics10 decades
  21. 21Tomás de MercadoTomás de Mercado1525–1575 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics8 decades
  22. 22Alfonso de CastroAlfonso de Castro1494–1558 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  23. 23Martín de RadaMartín de Rada1533–1578 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics14 decades
  24. 24Pedro CirueloPedro Ciruelo1470–1548 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  25. 25José de SigüenzaJosé de Sigüenza1544–1606 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics21 decades
  26. 26Pedro ChacónPedro Chacón1527–1581 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics20 decades
  27. 27JBJuan Bermudo1510–1565 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics12 decades
  28. 28Gregorio de ValenciaGregorio de Valencia1549–1603 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics19 decades
  29. 29JBJuan Bautista Villalpando1552–1608 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  30. 30DDDiego de Zúñiga1536–1597 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  31. 31Fernando Vázquez MenchacaFernando Vázquez Menchaca1512–1569 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  32. 32Gabriel Trejo PaniaguaGabriel Trejo Paniagua1562–1630 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics0 decades
  33. 33PJPablo José Arriaga1564–1622 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  34. 34Sebastián Fox MorcilloSebastián Fox Morcillo1526–1559 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  35. 35Francisco ZumelFrancisco Zumel1540–1607 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  36. 36Balthasar de AyalaBalthasar de Ayala1548–1584 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  37. 37TTurrianus1509–1584 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  38. 38Juan de OrtegaJuan de Ortega1480–1568 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics22 decades
  39. 39Juan de Mal LaraJuan de Mal Lara1524–1571 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  40. 40Juan AzorJuan Azor1535–1603 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  41. 41GDGaspar de Baeza1540–1569 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  42. 42PMPedro Manrique1553–1615 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot 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.