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← Fame through time1840-1849

The 1840s

Whose names filled the books of the 1840s - anyone at all, however long dead - counted as mentions per million words printed, so a period that simply published more does not inflate anyone.

Talked about then

Whose names appeared most in German books during the 1840s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures3.3
  2. 2Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors2.1
  3. 3Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers2.0
  4. 4Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.6
  5. 5Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor1741-1790 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures1.5
  6. 6Louis Philip, Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern1602-1655 · 17th century · Germany1.4
  7. 7Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.4
  8. 8Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers1.1
  9. 9Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.1
  10. 10William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists0.95
  11. 11Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures0.93
  12. 12Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor1685-1740 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures0.90
  13. 13George Frederick of Waldeck-Eisenberg1620-1692 · 17th century · Models0.85
  14. 14Bruno Bauer1809-1882 · 19th century · Germany · Academics0.69
  15. 15Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor1165-1197 · 12th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.68
  16. 16Charles XII of Sweden1682-1718 · 18th century · Sweden · Historical Figures0.67
  17. 17Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor1768-1835 · 19th century0.66
  18. 18Albrecht Dürer1471-1528 · 16th century · Germany · Artists0.65
  19. 19Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg1629-1698 · 17th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.63
  20. 20Catherine the Great1729-1796 · 18th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.62
  21. 21Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians0.61
  22. 22Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers0.59
  23. 23Peter I of Oldenburg1755-1829 · 18th century · Politicians0.57
  24. 24Władysław of Głogów1420-1460 · 15th century · Germany0.56
  25. 25Ulrich von Hutten1488-1523 · 16th century · Germany · Academics0.54
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1840s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Abraham Lincoln1809-1865 · United States · Politicians22 decades
  2. 2Edgar Allan Poe1809-1849 · United States · Writers17 decades
  3. 3Charles Dickens1812-1870 · United Kingdom · Writers20 decades
  4. 4Charles Darwin1809-1882 · United Kingdom · Scientists21 decades
  5. 5Frédéric Chopin1810-1849 · France · Musicians16 decades
  6. 6Richard Wagner1813-1883 · Germany · Musicians19 decades
  7. 7Hans Christian Andersen1805-1875 · Denmark · Writers18 decades
  8. 8Andrew Johnson1808-1875 · United States · Politicians22 decades
  9. 9Nikolai Gogol1809-1852 · Russia · Writers19 decades
  10. 10Napoleon III1808-1873 · France · Politicians21 decades
  11. 11Pope Leo XIII1810-1903 · Italy · Religious Figures15 decades
  12. 12Søren Kierkegaard1813-1855 · Denmark · Academics3 decades
  13. 13Emily Brontë1818-1848 · United Kingdom · Writers14 decades
  14. 14Giuseppe Garibaldi1807-1882 · France11 decades
  15. 15Joseph Smith1805-1844 · United States · Politicians22 decades
  16. 16Mikhail Lermontov1814-1841 · Russia · Writers15 decades
  17. 17Robert E. Lee1807-1870 · United States16 decades
  18. 18Giuseppe Verdi1813-1901 · Italy · Musicians18 decades
  19. 19Franz Liszt1811-1886 · Austria · Musicians19 decades
  20. 20John Stuart Mill1806-1873 · United Kingdom · Academics18 decades
  21. 21Felix Mendelssohn1809-1847 · Musicians18 decades
  22. 22P. T. Barnum1810-1891 · United States · Politicians17 decades
  23. 23Robert Schumann1810-1856 · Germany · Musicians19 decades
  24. 24Jefferson Davis1808-1889 · United States · Politicians20 decades
  25. 25Taras Shevchenko1814-1861 · Russia · Writers13 decades
Show 75 more

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.