← Fame through time1600-1699
The 17th century
Whose working lives fell in the 17th 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 17th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperornot measured- - 2
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburgnot measured- - 3
Frederick V of the Palatinatenot measured- - 4
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavarianot measured- - 5
John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg22 decades - 6
Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg22 decades - 7
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gothanot measured- - 8
Christian Albert I of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 9
John, Duke of Saxe-Weimarnot measured- - 10
Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark0 decades - 11
Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern0 decades
- 12
Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinatenot measured- - 13
Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadtnot measured-
- 14
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburgnot measured- - 15
Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburgnot measured- - 16
Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach0 decades - 17
John Frederick, Duke of Württembergnot measured- - 18
Elizabeth of Denmark, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel0 decades - 19
John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburgnot measured- - 20
Augusta Maria of Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 21
Adolph John I, Count Palatine of Kleeburgnot measured- - 22
Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussianot measured- - 23
Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadtnot measured- - 24
William Louis, Duke of Württembergnot measured- - 25
Duke Johann Philipp I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg0 decades
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.