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.

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FieldAllWritersPoliticiansHistorical FiguresArtistsAcademicsScientistsMusiciansReligious FiguresActorsModels
  1. 1Matsuo BashōMatsuo Bashō1644–1694 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  2. 2Chikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu Monzaemon1653–1725 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  3. 3Ihara SaikakuIhara Saikaku1642–1693 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  4. 4Takuan SōhōTakuan Sōhō1573–1646 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  5. 5Mancio ItōMancio Itō1570–1612 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  6. 6ARAsai Ryōi1612–1691 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  7. 7Takarai KikakuTakarai Kikaku1661–1707 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  8. 8Matsunaga TeitokuMatsunaga Teitoku1571–1654 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  9. 9Mukai KyoraiMukai Kyorai1651–1704 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  10. 10Nishiyama SōinNishiyama Sōin1605–1682 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  11. 11Tetsugen DokoTetsugen Doko1630–1682 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  12. 12Uejima OnitsuraUejima Onitsura1661–1738 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  13. 13Ishin SūdenIshin Sūden1569–1633 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  14. 14Kitamura KiginKitamura Kigin1625–1705 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  15. 15Kinoshita KatsutoshiKinoshita Katsutoshi1569–1649 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  16. 16Ryōnen GensōRyōnen Gensō1646–1711 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  17. 17Nozawa BonchōNozawa Bonchō1640–1714 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  18. 18SonomeSonome1664–1726 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  19. 19NRNonogouchi Ryuho1595–1669 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot 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.