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← Fame through time1870-1879

The 1870s

Whose names filled the books of the 1870s - 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 1870s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Voltaire1694-1778 · 18th century · France · Writers45
  2. 2Louis XIV of France1638-1715 · 17th century · France · Historical Figures30
  3. 3Molière1622-1673 · 17th century · France · Writers18
  4. 4Louis XVI of France1754-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures11
  5. 5Louis XV of France1710-1774 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures10
  6. 6Montesquieu1689-1755 · 18th century · France · Academics8.0
  7. 7Jules Favre1809-1880 · 19th century · France · Politicians7.1
  8. 8François Fénelon1651-1715 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures6.3
  9. 9Napoleon III1808-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians5.4
  10. 10Victor Hugo1802-1885 · 19th century · France · Writers4.4
  11. 11Louis XVIII of France1755-1824 · 18th century · France · Politicians4.0
  12. 12Jules Simon1814-1896 · 19th century · France · Politicians3.9
  13. 13Louis XII of France1462-1515 · 15th century · France · Historical Figures3.7
  14. 14Charles X of France1757-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians3.5
  15. 15Marie Antoinette1755-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures2.9
  16. 16Francis de Sales1567-1622 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures2.8
  17. 17Joan of Arc1412-1431 · 15th century · France2.7
  18. 18Louis Blanc1811-1882 · 19th century · Spain · Politicians2.5
  19. 19Benjamin Constant1767-1830 · 19th century · Switzerland · Politicians2.3
  20. 20Claude Bernard1813-1878 · 19th century · France · Politicians2.2
  21. 21Marie de' Medici1575-1642 · 17th century · France · Politicians2.2
  22. 22Vincent de Paul1581-1660 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures2.1
  23. 23Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme1540-1614 · 16th century · France · Writers1.8
  24. 24Jules Ferry1832-1893 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.6
  25. 25Francis II of France1544-1560 · 16th century · France · Politicians1.6
  26. 26Philip V of Spain1683-1746 · 18th century · France · Politicians1.4
  27. 27Auguste Comte1798-1857 · 19th century · France · Academics1.3
  28. 28La Grange1635-1692 · 17th century · France · Actors1.2
  29. 29Pope Julius II1443-1513 · 15th century · Italy · Religious Figures1.2
  30. 30André Chénier1762-1794 · 18th century · France · Writers1.1
  31. 31Charles the Bold1433-1477 · 15th century · France · Politicians1.1
  32. 32George Sand1804-1876 · 19th century · France · Writers1.1
  33. 33Firmin Didot1764-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians1.1
  34. 34Louis Bonaparte1778-1846 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.1
  35. 35Napoleon1769-1821 · 19th century · France · Historical Figures1.1
  36. 36Alfred de Musset1810-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers1.1
  37. 37Odilon Barrot1791-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.0
  38. 38Théophile Gautier1811-1872 · 19th century · France · Writers0.94
  39. 39Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712-1778 · 18th century · Switzerland · Academics0.92
  40. 40Camille Desmoulins1760-1794 · 18th century · France · Journalists0.90
  41. 41Augustin Thierry1795-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers0.78
  42. 42Pope John XXII1244-1334 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.76
  43. 43Pope Clement V1264-1314 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.74
  44. 44Maine de Biran1766-1824 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.73
  45. 45Pierre de Marivaux1688-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers0.71
  46. 46Joseph de Maistre1753-1821 · 18th century · France · Academics0.69
  47. 47Anne of Brittany1477-1514 · 16th century · France0.68
  48. 48Diane de Poitiers1499-1566 · 16th century · France0.68
  49. 49Jeanne d'Albret1528-1572 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.65
  50. 50Émile Ollivier1825-1913 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.61
  51. 51Margaret of Valois1553-1615 · 16th century · France · Writers0.59
  52. 52Antoine of Navarre1518-1562 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.58
  53. 53Casimir Perier1777-1832 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.57
  54. 54Victor Cousin1792-1867 · 19th century · France · Academics0.56
  55. 55Gaston Paris1839-1903 · 19th century · France · Writers0.56
  56. 56Pierre Leroux1797-1871 · 19th century · France · Academics0.53
  57. 57Charles Nodier1780-1844 · 19th century · France · Writers0.53
  58. 58Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy1480-1530 · 16th century · Spain · Artists0.53
  59. 59Casimir Delavigne1793-1843 · 19th century · France · Writers0.49
  60. 60Mary of Burgundy1457-1482 · 15th century · France · Politicians0.48
  61. 61Nostradamus1503-1566 · 16th century · France · Academics0.48
  62. 62Louis XVII of France1785-1795 · 18th century · France0.47
  63. 63Ambroise Paré1510-1590 · 16th century · France · Doctors0.47
  64. 64Edgar Quinet1803-1875 · 19th century · France · Writers0.46
  65. 65Horace Vernet1789-1863 · 19th century · France · Artists0.46
  66. 66Charlotte Corday1768-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures0.46
  67. 67Pierre Corneille1606-1684 · 17th century · France · Writers0.44
  68. 68Jean Goujon1510-1567 · 16th century · France · Architects0.42
  69. 69Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon1635-1719 · 17th century · France · Academics0.41
  70. 70Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville1746-1795 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.41
  71. 71Charles, Count of Soissons1566-1612 · 17th century · France0.41
  72. 72Stendhal1783-1842 · 19th century · France · Writers0.40
  73. 73Vincent of Beauvais1190-1264 · 13th century · Educators0.40
  74. 74Alfred de Vigny1797-1863 · 19th century · France · Writers0.40
  75. 75Gustav III of Sweden1746-1792 · 18th century · Sweden · Politicians0.38
  76. 76Eugène Delacroix1798-1863 · 19th century · France · Artists0.38
  77. 77Bernard Palissy1510-1589 · 16th century · France · Scientists0.37
  78. 78Charles, Duke of Orléans1394-1465 · 15th century · France · Writers0.37
  79. 79Eugène Sue1804-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers0.36
  80. 80Jean Bart1650-1702 · 17th century0.36
  81. 81Ambroise Thomas1811-1896 · 19th century · France · Musicians0.35
  82. 82Pope Urban V1310-1370 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.35
  83. 83Louis Racine1692-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers0.34
  84. 84Blanche of Castile1188-1252 · 13th century · Spain · Historical Figures0.34
  85. 85Pope Clement IV1190-1268 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.34
  86. 86Henri Brisson1835-1912 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.34
  87. 87Madame de Pompadour1721-1764 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.32
  88. 88Pope Gregory XI1329-1378 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.32
  89. 89Godfrey of Bouillon1060-1100 · 11th century · France · Historical Figures0.32
  90. 90Olivier de Serres1539-1619 · 16th century · Writers0.31
  91. 91David d'Angers1788-1856 · 19th century · France · Artists0.31
  92. 92Anne de Montmorency1493-1567 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.31
  93. 93Jacques Clément1567-1589 · 16th century · France0.31
  94. 94Claude Michel1738-1814 · 18th century · France · Artists0.31
  95. 95Philip I, Count of Flanders1142-1191 · 12th century · Politicians0.30
  96. 96Étienne Marcel1315-1358 · 14th century · France · Politicians0.30
  97. 97Octave Feuillet1821-1890 · 19th century · France · Writers0.29
  98. 98Gustave Doré1832-1883 · 19th century · France · Artists0.29
  99. 99Thomas Corneille1625-1709 · 17th century · France · Writers0.29
  100. 100Quatremère de Quincy1755-1849 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.29

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1870s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Friedrich Nietzsche1844-1900 · Germany · Academics15 decades
  2. 2Mark Twain1835-1910 · United States · Writers16 decades
  3. 3Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky1840-1893 · Russia · Musicians10 decades
  4. 4William McKinley1843-1901 · United States · Politicians16 decades
  5. 5Grover Cleveland1837-1908 · United States · Politicians14 decades
  6. 6Claude Monet1840-1926 · France · Artists14 decades
  7. 7Émile Zola1840-1902 · France · Writers16 decades
  8. 8Edward VII1841-1910 · United Kingdom · Historical Figures13 decades
  9. 9Sarah Bernhardt1844-1923 · France · Actors15 decades
  10. 10John D. Rockefeller1839-1937 · United States · Founders14 decades
  11. 11Andrew Carnegie1835-1919 · United States · Founders14 decades
  12. 12Leopold II of Belgium1835-1909 · Belgium · Historical Figures9 decades
  13. 13Paul Cézanne1839-1906 · France · Artists12 decades
  14. 14Pope Pius X1835-1914 · Italy · Religious Figures12 decades
  15. 15Antonín Dvořák1841-1904 · Musicians0 decades
  16. 16Empress Elisabeth of Austria1837-1898 · Germany · Historical Figures0 decades
  17. 17Empress Dowager Cixi1835-1908 · China · Historical Figures5 decades
  18. 18Pierre-Auguste Renoir1841-1919 · France · Artists12 decades
  19. 19Thomas Hardy1840-1928 · United Kingdom · Writers18 decades
  20. 20Abdul Hamid II1842-1918 · Turkey · Historical Figures13 decades
  21. 21J. P. Morgan1837-1913 · United States · Founders16 decades
  22. 22Auguste Rodin1840-1917 · France · Artists14 decades
  23. 23Henry James1843-1916 · United States · Writers18 decades
  24. 24Ramakrishna1836-1886 · India · Academics14 decades
  25. 25Peter Kropotkin1842-1921 · Russia · Activists11 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.