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← 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 French books during the 1850s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Louis XIV of France1638-1715 · 17th century · France · Historical Figures37
  2. 2Voltaire1694-1778 · 18th century · France · Writers32
  3. 3Louis XVI of France1754-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures14
  4. 4Molière1622-1673 · 17th century · France · Writers11
  5. 5François Fénelon1651-1715 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures11
  6. 6Louis XV of France1710-1774 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures9.7
  7. 7Montesquieu1689-1755 · 18th century · France · Academics7.5
  8. 8Louis XVIII of France1755-1824 · 18th century · France · Politicians6.2
  9. 9Louis XII of France1462-1515 · 15th century · France · Historical Figures5.1
  10. 10Charles X of France1757-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians4.7
  11. 11Francis de Sales1567-1622 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures3.0
  12. 12Vincent de Paul1581-1660 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures2.8
  13. 13Louis Blanc1811-1882 · 19th century · Spain · Politicians2.8
  14. 14Victor Hugo1802-1885 · 19th century · France · Writers2.5
  15. 15Philip V of Spain1683-1746 · 18th century · France · Politicians2.4
  16. 16Marie Antoinette1755-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures2.3
  17. 17Marie de' Medici1575-1642 · 17th century · France · Politicians2.1
  18. 18Joan of Arc1412-1431 · 15th century · France2.1
  19. 19Francis II of France1544-1560 · 16th century · France · Politicians1.9
  20. 20Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme1540-1614 · 16th century · France · Writers1.8
  21. 21Camille Desmoulins1760-1794 · 18th century · France · Journalists1.5
  22. 22Pope Julius II1443-1513 · 15th century · Italy · Religious Figures1.5
  23. 23Benjamin Constant1767-1830 · 19th century · Switzerland · Politicians1.4
  24. 24Napoleon III1808-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.3
  25. 25Odilon Barrot1791-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.3
  26. 26Pope John XXII1244-1334 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures1.2
  27. 27Pierre Leroux1797-1871 · 19th century · France · Academics1.2
  28. 28Louis Bonaparte1778-1846 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.1
  29. 29Pope Clement V1264-1314 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures1.1
  30. 30Charles the Bold1433-1477 · 15th century · France · Politicians1.0
  31. 31Augustin Thierry1795-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers0.98
  32. 32Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712-1778 · 18th century · Switzerland · Academics0.97
  33. 33Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon1635-1719 · 17th century · France · Academics0.93
  34. 34Firmin Didot1764-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.92
  35. 35André Chénier1762-1794 · 18th century · France · Writers0.77
  36. 36Anne of Brittany1477-1514 · 16th century · France0.77
  37. 37Pierre de Marivaux1688-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers0.73
  38. 38Margaret of Valois1553-1615 · 16th century · France · Writers0.73
  39. 39Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy1480-1530 · 16th century · Spain · Artists0.71
  40. 40George Sand1804-1876 · 19th century · France · Writers0.70
  41. 41Vincent of Beauvais1190-1264 · 13th century · Educators0.69
  42. 42Joseph de Maistre1753-1821 · 18th century · France · Academics0.69
  43. 43Louis XVII of France1785-1795 · 18th century · France0.69
  44. 44Alfred de Musset1810-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers0.67
  45. 45Jean Goujon1510-1567 · 16th century · France · Architects0.67
  46. 46Maine de Biran1766-1824 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.63
  47. 47Mary of Burgundy1457-1482 · 15th century · France · Politicians0.61
  48. 48Joseph Bonaparte1768-1844 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.60
  49. 49Charles Nodier1780-1844 · 19th century · France · Writers0.59
  50. 50Casimir Delavigne1793-1843 · 19th century · France · Writers0.59
  51. 51Jules Favre1809-1880 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.58
  52. 52La Grange1635-1692 · 17th century · France · Actors0.56
  53. 53Robert Estienne1503-1559 · 16th century · France0.55
  54. 54Diane de Poitiers1499-1566 · 16th century · France0.55
  55. 55Charlotte Corday1768-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures0.52
  56. 56Godfrey of Bouillon1060-1100 · 11th century · France · Historical Figures0.51
  57. 57Eugène Sue1804-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers0.51
  58. 58Charles Dupin1784-1873 · 19th century · France · Academics0.51
  59. 59Pope Urban V1310-1370 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.50
  60. 60Jeanne d'Albret1528-1572 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.49
  61. 61Nostradamus1503-1566 · 16th century · France · Academics0.48
  62. 62Horace Vernet1789-1863 · 19th century · France · Artists0.46
  63. 63Pope Clement IV1190-1268 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.45
  64. 64Jean Bart1650-1702 · 17th century0.44
  65. 65Lucien Bonaparte1775-1840 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.44
  66. 66Charles, Count of Soissons1566-1612 · 17th century · France0.43
  67. 67Napoleon1769-1821 · 19th century · France · Historical Figures0.41
  68. 68Ambroise Paré1510-1590 · 16th century · France · Doctors0.41
  69. 69Pope Gregory XI1329-1378 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.41
  70. 70Margaret of Parma1522-1586 · 16th century · Historical Figures0.39
  71. 71Jules Simon1814-1896 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.39
  72. 72Gustav III of Sweden1746-1792 · 18th century · Sweden · Politicians0.39
  73. 73Blanche of Castile1188-1252 · 13th century · Spain · Historical Figures0.38
  74. 74Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville1746-1795 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.37
  75. 75Olivier de Serres1539-1619 · 16th century · Writers0.37
  76. 76Peter the Hermit1050-1115 · 11th century · France · Religious Figures0.37
  77. 77Edgar Quinet1803-1875 · 19th century · France · Writers0.36
  78. 78Paul Delaroche1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Artists0.35
  79. 79Pierre Corneille1606-1684 · 17th century · France · Writers0.35
  80. 80Antoine of Navarre1518-1562 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.34
  81. 81Philip I, Count of Flanders1142-1191 · 12th century · Politicians0.34
  82. 82Stendhal1783-1842 · 19th century · France · Writers0.33
  83. 83Philip of Burgundy1323-1346 · 14th century · France0.32
  84. 84Drogo801-855 · 9th century · France · Religious Figures0.32
  85. 85Charles, Duke of Orléans1394-1465 · 15th century · France · Writers0.32
  86. 86Jacques Clément1567-1589 · 16th century · France0.32
  87. 87Quatremère de Quincy1755-1849 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.31
  88. 88Auguste Comte1798-1857 · 19th century · France · Academics0.31
  89. 89Nicolas Poussin1594-1665 · 17th century · France · Artists0.31
  90. 90Théophile Gautier1811-1872 · 19th century · France · Writers0.30
  91. 91Charles of France, Duke of Berry1686-1714 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures0.29
  92. 92Louis Racine1692-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers0.29
  93. 93Bernard Palissy1510-1589 · 16th century · France · Scientists0.28
  94. 94Anne de Montmorency1493-1567 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.28
  95. 95Gabrielle d'Estrées1573-1599 · 16th century · France0.28
  96. 96Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor1500-1558 · 16th century · Historical Figures0.28
  97. 97John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir1370-1397 · 14th century · France · Politicians0.27
  98. 98Claude Michel1738-1814 · 18th century · France · Artists0.27
  99. 99Guy Patin1601-1672 · 17th century · France · Doctors0.27
  100. 100Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan1640-1707 · 17th century · France0.27

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.