215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1850-1859

The 1850s

Whose names filled the books of the 1850s - 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 1850s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures4.3
  2. 2Louis Philip, Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern1602-1655 · 17th century · Germany1.7
  3. 3Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors1.6
  4. 4Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers1.5
  5. 5Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor1741-1790 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures1.4
  6. 6Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.3
  7. 7Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.3
  8. 8Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians0.99
  9. 9Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor1685-1740 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures0.99
  10. 10William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists0.92
  11. 11George Frederick of Waldeck-Eisenberg1620-1692 · 17th century · Models0.86
  12. 12Tannhäuser1300-1300 · 14th century · Germany · Writers0.81
  13. 13Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers0.78
  14. 14Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg1629-1698 · 17th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.77
  15. 15Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures0.76
  16. 16Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers0.75
  17. 17Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor1165-1197 · 12th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.71
  18. 18Albrecht Dürer1471-1528 · 16th century · Germany · Artists0.65
  19. 19Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor1768-1835 · 19th century0.63
  20. 20Catherine the Great1729-1796 · 18th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.62
  21. 21Władysław of Głogów1420-1460 · 15th century · Germany0.61
  22. 22Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians0.60
  23. 23Jacob Grimm1785-1863 · 19th century · Germany · Academics0.59
  24. 24Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor1678-1711 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures0.56
  25. 25Peter I of Oldenburg1755-1829 · 18th century · Politicians0.54
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1850s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Karl Marx1818-1883 · Germany · Academics17 decades
  2. 2Fyodor Dostoevsky1821-1881 · Russia · Writers17 decades
  3. 3Queen Victoria1819-1901 · United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  4. 4Otto von Bismarck1815-1898 · Germany · Politicians16 decades
  5. 5Ulysses S. Grant1822-1885 · United States · Politicians16 decades
  6. 6Florence Nightingale1820-1910 · Writers17 decades
  7. 7Louis Pasteur1822-1895 · France · Scientists14 decades
  8. 8Ada Lovelace1815-1852 · Academics3 decades
  9. 9Rutherford B. Hayes1822-1893 · United States · Politicians16 decades
  10. 10Charlotte Brontë1816-1855 · United Kingdom · Writers17 decades
  11. 11Friedrich Engels1820-1895 · United Kingdom · Academics17 decades
  12. 12Henry David Thoreau1817-1862 · United States · Writers13 decades
  13. 13Walt Whitman1819-1892 · United States · Writers17 decades
  14. 14Alexander II of Russia1818-1881 · Russia · Historical Figures17 decades
  15. 15Harriet Tubman1821-1913 · United States · Writers9 decades
  16. 16Charles Baudelaire1821-1867 · France · Writers17 decades
  17. 17George Eliot1819-1880 · United Kingdom · Writers19 decades
  18. 18Herman Melville1819-1891 · United States · Writers18 decades
  19. 19Frederick Douglass1818-1895 · United States · Writers18 decades
  20. 20Gregor Mendel1822-1884 · Scientists12 decades
  21. 21Gustave Flaubert1821-1880 · France · Writers17 decades
  22. 22John Ruskin1819-1900 · United Kingdom · Writers18 decades
  23. 23Susan B. Anthony1820-1906 · United States · Activists16 decades
  24. 24Rani of Jhansi1828-1858 · India · Activists8 decades
  25. 25William Tecumseh Sherman1820-1891 · United States · Writers14 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.