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. 1Olaus RudbeckOlaus Rudbeck1630–1702 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists4 decades
  2. 2Christopher PolhemChristopher Polhem1661–1751 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  3. 3Erik DahlberghErik Dahlbergh1625–1703 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  4. 4Princess Anna of SwedenPrincess Anna of Sweden1568–1625 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  5. 5Olof Rudbeck the YoungerOlof Rudbeck the Younger1660–1740 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  6. 6Urban HjärneUrban Hjärne1641–1724 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  7. 7Lars RobergLars Roberg1664–1742 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  8. 8ETElias Tillandz1640–1693 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
  9. 9Laurentius Paulinus GothusLaurentius Paulinus Gothus1565–1646 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
  10. 10Magnus CelsiusMagnus Celsius1621–1679 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
  11. 11Anders SpoleAnders Spole1630–1699 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
  12. 12Anders BureAnders Bure1571–1646 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
  13. 13OBOlof Bromelius1639–1705 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
  14. 14NCNils Celsius1658–1724 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · 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.