← Fame through time1600-1699
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 coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Louis XIV of France22 decades - 2
Charles I of England12 decades - 3
James VI and I5 decades - 4
Charles II of England12 decades - 5
Aurangzeb20 decades - 6
Shah Jahan16 decades - 7
James II of England3 decades - 8
William III of England2 decades - 9
Philip IV of Spain20 decades - 10
Jahangirnot measured- - 11
Shivaji14 decades - 12
Alexis of Russia21 decades - 13
Michael of Russia19 decades - 14
Christina, Queen of Swedennot measured- - 15
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperornot measured- - 16
John III Sobieski10 decades - 17
Prince Eugene of Savoy22 decades - 18
Abel Tasman8 decades - 19
Ivan V of Russia3 decades - 20
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperornot measured- - 21
Kösem Sultan0 decades - 22
Henry Hudson22 decades - 23
Samuel de Champlain17 decades - 24
Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empirenot measured- - 25
False Dmitry I10 decades - 26
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor22 decades - 27
Mary II of England0 decades - 28
John Smith22 decades - 29
Maria Theresa of Spain22 decades - 30
Sigismund III Vasa0 decades - 31
Abbas the Great13 decades - 32
Bahadur Shah I0 decades - 33
Anne of Denmark6 decades - 34
Catherine of Braganza21 decades - 35
Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemianot measured- - 36
Feodor III of Russianot measured- - 37
Shunzhi Emperor0 decades - 38
Man in the Iron Mask22 decades - 39
Charles XI of Sweden0 decades - 40
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburgnot measured- - 41
Ahmed II0 decades - 42
Władysław IV Vasa0 decades - 43
John IV of Portugal0 decades - 44
Chongzhen Emperor0 decades - 45
Frederick V of the Palatinatenot measured- - 46
Mary of Modena21 decades - 47
William II, Prince of Orangenot measured- - 48
William Dampier20 decades - 49
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Sallenot measured- - 50
Anne, Duchess of York0 decades - 51
Ismail Ibn Sharif0 decades - 52
Gaston, Duke of Orléans17 decades - 53
John II Casimir Vasa0 decades - 54
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavarianot measured- - 55
Maria Antonia of Austria0 decades - 56
Mary Henrietta, Princess Royalnot measured- - 57
Charles X Gustav of Sweden19 decades
- 58
Peter II of Portugal0 decades - 59
Hasekura Tsunenaga0 decades - 60
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turennenot measured- - 61
Go-Yōzei0 decades - 62
Christian V of Denmark0 decades - 63
Azam Shah0 decades - 64
Afonso VI of Portugal0 decades - 65Halime Sultannot measured-
- 66
Empress Meishōnot measured- - 67
Victor Amadeus I of Savoy7 decades - 68
Charles V, Duke of Lorraine2 decades - 69
Ferdinand IV, King of the Romansnot measured-
- 70
Safi of Persia0 decades - 71
Emperor Go-Mizunoo0 decades - 72
Tianqi Emperor0 decades - 73
Maria Anna Victoria of Bavarianot measured- - 74
George William, Elector of Brandenburgnot measured- - 75
Jacques Marquette9 decades - 76
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg0 decades - 77
Emperor Reigen0 decades - 78
John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg22 decades - 79
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki19 decades - 80Willem Janszoon0 decades
- 81
Wu Sangui6 decades - 82
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac0 decades - 83
Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg22 decades - 84
Claudia Felicitas of Austrianot measured- - 85
John Rolfe20 decades - 86
Eleonore of Austrianot measured- - 87
Christina of Lorraine21 decades - 88
Karl I, Prince of Liechtensteinnot measured- - 89
Louis Jolliet15 decades - 90Dilras Banu0 decades
- 91
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gothanot measured- - 92
Antonio19 decades - 93
Louise de Keroual, Duchess of Portsmouthnot measured- - 94
Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 95Jacob Roggeveen0 decades
- 96
Christian Albert I of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 97
Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucesternot measured- - 98
Narai10 decades - 99
Frederick III, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 100
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós14 decades
How to read these rankings
- Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
- Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
- Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.