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. 1Peter StuyvesantPeter Stuyvesant1612–1672 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians22 decades
  2. 2Frederick Henry of Orange-NassauFrederick Henry of Orange-Nassau1584–1647 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  3. 3Jan van RiebeeckJan van Riebeeck1619–1677 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians7 decades
  4. 4Jan Mourad JanszoonJan Mourad Janszoon1570–1641 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  5. 5Anthony van DiemenAnthony van Diemen1593–1645 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  6. 6William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-DietzWilliam Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz1613–1664 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians22 decades
  7. 7Prince Hendrik Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-DietzPrince Hendrik Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz1657–1696 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  8. 8Cornelis de GraeffCornelis de Graeff1599–1664 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  9. 9Henry Casimir I of Nassau-DietzHenry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz1612–1640 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  10. 10Adriaen Cornelissen van der DonckAdriaen Cornelissen van der Donck1620–1655 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  11. 11Pieter de CarpentierPieter de Carpentier1586–1659 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  12. 12Gerard ReynstGerard Reynst1568–1615 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  13. 13Jacob de WittJacob de Witt1589–1674 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  14. 14Joan van HoornJoan van Hoorn1653–1711 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politicians0 decades
  15. 15Hans PutmansHans Putmansdied 1654 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  16. 16Willem Adriaan van der StelWillem Adriaan van der Stel1664–1733 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  17. 17Jacob Dircksz de GraeffJacob Dircksz de Graeff1569–1638 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  18. 18Simon van SlingelandtSimon van Slingelandt1664–1736 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  19. 19Michiel ten HoveMichiel ten Hove1640–1689 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  20. 20Gerard Pietersz. HulftGerard Pietersz. Hulft1621–1656 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  21. 21MLMaximiliaan le Maire1606–1654 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  22. 22Volkert OverlanderVolkert Overlander1570–1630 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot measured—
  23. 23Dominicus ArumaeusDominicus Arumaeus1579–1637 · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · Politiciansnot 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.