Claim profile
1600–1699

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 Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇩🇪 Germany🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇯🇵 Japan🇹🇷 Turkey🇳🇱 Netherlands🇪🇸 Spain🇮🇹 Italy🇸🇪 Sweden🇨🇳 China
FieldAllWritersPoliticiansHistorical FiguresArtistsAcademicsScientistsMusiciansReligious FiguresActorsModels
  1. 1Otto von GuerickeOtto von Guericke1602–1686 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists10 decades
  2. 2Prince Rupert of the RhinePrince Rupert of the Rhine1619–1682 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  3. 3Hans LippersheyHans Lippershey1570–1619 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists1 decades
  4. 4Engelbert KaempferEngelbert Kaempfer1651–1716 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists7 decades
  5. 5Johann BayerJohann Bayer1572–1625 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists8 decades
  6. 6Johann Adam Schall von BellJohann Adam Schall von Bell1592–1666 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists5 decades
  7. 7Hennig BrandHennig Brand1630–1710 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  8. 8Johann HomannJohann Homann1664–1724 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades
  9. 9Johann von Löwenstern-KunckelJohann von Löwenstern-Kunckel1630–1703 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  10. 10Gottfried KirchGottfried Kirch1639–1710 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists9 decades
  11. 11Georg MarcgraveGeorg Marcgrave1610–1644 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  12. 12Johannes FabriciusJohannes Fabricius1587–1616 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades
  13. 13Peter Schenk the ElderPeter Schenk the Elder1660–1718 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  14. 14Daniel SennertDaniel Sennert1572–1637 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  15. 15Julius SchillerJulius Schiller1580–1627 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists1 decades
  16. 16Christoph ArnoldChristoph Arnold1650–1695 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists15 decades
  17. 17Paul HermannPaul Hermann1646–1695 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists17 decades
  18. 18Giovanni FaberGiovanni Faber1574–1629 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  19. 19WHWilhelm Homberg1652–1715 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  20. 20Augustus Quirinus RivinusAugustus Quirinus Rivinus1652–1723 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  21. 21Werner RolfinckWerner Rolfinck1599–1673 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  22. 22Jakob BartschJakob Bartsch1600–1633 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  23. 23Georg Samuel DörffelGeorg Samuel Dörffel1643–1688 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  24. 24Stephan FarfflerStephan Farffler1633–1689 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  25. 25Johann Sigismund ElsholtzJohann Sigismund Elsholtz1623–1688 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  26. 26JAJohann Abraham Ihle1627–1700 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  27. 27Simon PaulliSimon Paulli1603–1680 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  28. 28Johann VeslingJohann Vesling1598–1649 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  29. 29Georg Wolfgang WedelGeorg Wolfgang Wedel1645–1721 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  30. 30Johann SchröderJohann Schröder1600–1664 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists8 decades
  31. 31Johannes HartmannJohannes Hartmann1568–1631 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  32. 32Eilhard LubinusEilhard Lubinus1565–1621 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  33. 33Christian MentzelChristian Mentzel1622–1701 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades
  34. 34CKChristian Knaut1656–1716 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades
  35. 35Ambrose GodfreyAmbrose Godfrey1660–1741 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  36. 36Georg Balthasar MetzgerGeorg Balthasar Metzger1623–1687 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  37. 37Ludwig JungermannLudwig Jungermann1572–1653 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  38. 38Albert CurtzAlbert Curtz1600–1671 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  39. 39SISalomon Idler1610–1670 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  40. 40Michael EttmüllerMichael Ettmüller1644–1683 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  41. 41Caspar MerianCaspar Merian1627–1686 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  42. 42Adrian von MynsichtAdrian von Mynsicht1588–1638 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  43. 43Johann Philipp von WurzelbauerJohann Philipp von Wurzelbauer1651–1725 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
  44. 44HCHeinrich Cunitz1580–1629 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot 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.