← 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
Philip II of Spain22 decades - 2
Selim II18 decades - 3
Murad III6 decades - 4
Lisa del Giocondo1 decades - 5
Philip I of Castile3 decades - 6
Jiajing Emperor0 decades - 7
Zhengde Emperornot measured- - 8
Henry II of Navarre0 decades - 9
Longqing Emperor0 decades - 10
Catherine of Navarre0 decades - 11
Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria0 decades - 12
Augustus, Elector of Saxonynot measured- - 13
John III of Navarre0 decades - 14
Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg22 decades - 15
Cecilia Gallerani0 decades - 16
Henry IV19 decades - 17
Frederick III of the Palatinatenot measured- - 18
Louis VI of the Palatinatenot measured- - 19
Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhaltnot measured- - 20
Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach0 decades - 21
Tecun Uman0 decades - 22
Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg9 decades - 23
Mircea III Draculnot measured- - 24
Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlachnot measured- - 25
Catherine of Mecklenburg0 decades - 26
Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg0 decades - 27
John II of Simmern1 decades - 28
Mircea the Shepherd0 decades - 29
Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuthnot measured- - 30
Duke Heinrich V, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerinnot measured- - 31
Alexandru II Mirceanot measured- - 32
John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrinnot measured- - 33
Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbachnot measured- - 34
Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern17 decades - 35
Emilie of Saxonynot measured- - 36
Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Badennot measured- - 37Frederick II, Duke of Holstein-Gottorpnot measured-
- 38
William IX, Marquess of Montferratnot measured- - 39
Abtai Sain Khannot measured- - 40
Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlachnot measured- - 41
Maria of Jevernot measured- - 42
Philip I, Margrave of Badennot measured- - 43
James III, Margrave of Baden-Hachberg22 decades - 44
Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg22 decades - 45
Peter the Younger0 decades - 46
Teodosie of Wallachianot measured- - 47
Philip II, Margrave of Baden-Badennot measured- - 48
İslâm II Giraynot measured- - 49
Mechthild of Bavaria0 decades - 50
Moise of Wallachianot measured- - 51
Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Margravine of Brandenburg-Küstrinnot measured- - 52
Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrinnot measured- - 53
John George, Marquess of Montferratnot measured- - 54
Anne of Ostfrieslandnot measured- - 55
Andrés de Tapia Motelchiuhnot measured- - 56
Wolrad II, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg2 decades - 57
Vlad VI Înecatulnot measured- - 58Bernard IV, Margrave of Baden-Durlachnot measured-
- 59
Jean IV de Brosse0 decades - 60
Prataprudra Deva0 decades - 61Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg2 decades
- 62
Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbachnot measured- - 63
Alexandru cel Răunot measured- - 64Josias I, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg0 decades
- 65Basarab VInot measured-
- 66Sanniangzinot measured-
- 67Radu VI Bădicanot measured-
- 68
Guy XVI de Lavalnot measured- - 69Radu VIII Ilias Haidăulnot measured-
- 70Sophie of Brandenburg-Ansbachnot measured-
- 71
Ozoluanot measured- - 72
Reinhard IV, Count of Hanau-Münzenbergnot measured- - 73
John I, Count of Waldecknot measured- - 74Vintilă di Valacchianot measured-
- 75Lucrezia del Fedenot 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.