← Fame through time1500-1599
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 coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Walter Raleigh22 decades - 2
Thomas Cromwell22 decades - 3
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley0 decades - 4
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicesternot measured- - 5
Francis Walsingham22 decades - 6
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghleynot measured- - 7
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley22 decades - 8
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisburynot measured- - 9
Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundelnot measured- - 10
John Hawkins22 decades - 11
Richard Rich, 1st Baron Richnot measured- - 12
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtelleraultnot measured- - 13
Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennoxnot measured- - 14
Margaret Ward0 decades - 15George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntlynot measured-
- 16
Adam Loftus11 decades - 17
George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavennynot measured- - 18
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derbynot measured- - 19
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichesternot measured- - 20
Thomas Muffetnot measured- - 21
Richard Williamsnot measured- - 22
Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilseanot measured- - 23
Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisleynot measured-
How to read these rankings
- Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
- Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
- Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.