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. 1William III of EnglandWilliam III of England1650–1702 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures2 decades
  2. 2Abel TasmanAbel Tasman1603–1659 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures8 decades
  3. 3William II, Prince of OrangeWilliam II, Prince of Orange1626–1650 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures22 decades
  4. 4WJWillem Janszoon1570–1630 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  5. 5Willem SchoutenWillem Schouten1577–1625 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  6. 6Dirk HartogDirk Hartog1580–1621 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures8 decades
  7. 7Willem de VlaminghWillem de Vlamingh1640–1698 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  8. 8Jacob van HeemskerckJacob van Heemskerck1567–1607 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  9. 9Adriaen BlockAdriaen Block1567–1627 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  10. 10Hendrick HamelHendrick Hamel1630–1692 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  11. 11Countess Emilia of NassauCountess Emilia of Nassau1569–1629 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  12. 12Johan NieuhofJohan Nieuhof1618–1672 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  13. 13Pieter NuytsPieter Nuyts1598–1655 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  14. 14Martin VriesMartin Vries1589–1647 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  15. 15Willem BontekoeWillem Bontekoe1587–1657 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figures0 decades
  16. 16JJJan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout1600–1700 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  17. 17CJCornelius Jacobsen May1580–1624 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  18. 18JRJan Rijp1570–1613 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  19. 19JVJohannes van Walbeeck1602–1649 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  20. 20Pieter de MareesPieter de Marees1570–1700 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  21. 21Willem VerstegenWillem Verstegen1612–1659 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot measured—
  22. 22Reijnjer van TzumReijnjer van Tzum1600–1670 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Historical Figuresnot 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.