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. 1Estêvão GomesEstêvão Gomes1484–1538 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists17 decades
  2. 2Alonso Álvarez de PinedaAlonso Álvarez de Pineda1494–1520 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists0 decades
  3. 3Jerónimo de Ayanz y BeaumontJerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont1553–1613 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists0 decades
  4. 4Diego de OrdazDiego de Ordaz1480–1532 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists22 decades
  5. 5Nicolás MonardesNicolás Monardes1508–1588 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists19 decades
  6. 6Blasco de GarayBlasco de Garay1500–1552 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists21 decades
  7. 7MFMartín Fernández de Enciso1469–1533 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists14 decades
  8. 8Diogo RibeiroDiogo Ribeiro1500–1533 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists19 decades
  9. 9Cristóvão da CostaCristóvão da Costa1515–1594 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists14 decades
  10. 10Pedro de MedinaPedro de Medina1493–1567 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists22 decades
  11. 11Alonzo de Santa CruzAlonzo de Santa Cruz1505–1567 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists21 decades
  12. 12Martín Cortés de AlbacarMartín Cortés de Albacar1510–1582 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists0 decades
  13. 13Juan Valverde de AmuscoJuan Valverde de Amusco1525–1587 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientistsnot measured—
  14. 14Enrico MartínezEnrico Martínez1550–1635 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientistsnot measured—
  15. 15Gabriel Alonso de HerreraGabriel Alonso de Herrera1470–1539 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Scientists21 decades

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.