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. 1Sten Sture the YoungerSten Sture the Younger1493–1520 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  2. 2Princess Cecilia of SwedenPrincess Cecilia of Sweden1540–1627 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  3. 3Christina GyllenstiernaChristina Gyllenstierna1494–1559 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  4. 4Gustav TrolleGustav Trolle1488–1535 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  5. 5Pontus De la GardiePontus De la Gardie1520–1585 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians1 decades
  6. 6Klaus FlemingKlaus Fleming1535–1597 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  7. 7Erik Johansson VasaErik Johansson Vasa1470–1520 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  8. 8Jöran PerssonJöran Persson1530–1568 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  9. 9Per Brahe the ElderPer Brahe the Elder1520–1590 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  10. 10Anna of SwedenAnna of Sweden1545–1610 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  11. 11LALaurentius Andreae1470–1552 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politicians0 decades
  12. 12Gustaf BanérGustaf Banér1547–1600 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  13. 13Karl Henriksson (Horn)Karl Henriksson (Horn)1550–1601 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  14. 14Erik SparreErik Sparre1550–1600 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  15. 15Henrik Klasson HornHenrik Klasson Horn1512–1595 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  16. 16CÅClas Åkesson Tott1530–1590 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  17. 17GGGustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna1551–1597 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  18. 18Lars Ivarsson FlemingLars Ivarsson Fleming1520–1562 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot measured—
  19. 19JAJohan Axelsson Bielkedied 1576 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Politiciansnot 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.