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← Fame through time1880-1889

The 1880s

Whose names filled the books of the 1880s - 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 1880s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures4.2
  2. 2Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers2.3
  3. 3Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.8
  4. 4Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers1.8
  5. 5Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.7
  6. 6Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians1.6
  7. 7William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists1.6
  8. 8Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians1.5
  9. 9Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians1.4
  10. 10Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental1652-1698 · 17th century · Politicians1.1
  11. 11Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures1.1
  12. 12Tannhäuser1300-1300 · 14th century · Germany · Writers1.1
  13. 13Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.0
  14. 14Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor1741-1790 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures1.0
  15. 15Jacob Grimm1785-1863 · 19th century · Germany · Academics0.95
  16. 16Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor1165-1197 · 12th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.94
  17. 17Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors0.94
  18. 18Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor1685-1740 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures0.88
  19. 19George Frederick of Waldeck-Eisenberg1620-1692 · 17th century · Models0.75
  20. 20Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg1629-1698 · 17th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.70
  21. 21Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers0.67
  22. 22Heinrich Heine1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers0.67
  23. 23Albrecht Dürer1471-1528 · 16th century · Germany · Artists0.65
  24. 24Conradin1252-1268 · 13th century · Germany · Musicians0.63
  25. 25Walther von der Vogelweide1170-1230 · 13th century · Austria · Musicians0.60
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1880s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Vincent van Gogh1853-1890 · Netherlands · Artists12 decades
  2. 2Oscar Wilde1854-1900 · Ireland · Writers14 decades
  3. 3Thomas Edison1847-1931 · United States · Scientists13 decades
  4. 4Alexander Graham Bell1847-1922 · United States · Scientists15 decades
  5. 5Arthur Rimbaud1854-1891 · France · Writers14 decades
  6. 6Antoni Gaudí1852-1926 · Spain · Architects5 decades
  7. 7Robert Louis Stevenson1850-1894 · United Kingdom · Writers15 decades
  8. 8Guy de Maupassant1850-1893 · France · Writers14 decades
  9. 9Paul von Hindenburg1847-1934 · Germany · Politicians10 decades
  10. 10Alexander III of Russia1845-1894 · Russia · Historical Figures16 decades
  11. 11Paul Gauguin1848-1903 · France · Artists13 decades
  12. 12Bram Stoker1847-1912 · Ireland · Writers12 decades
  13. 13Emperor Meiji1852-1912 · Japan · Historical Figures11 decades
  14. 14Ivan Pavlov1849-1936 · Russia · Scientists16 decades
  15. 15Cecil Rhodes1853-1902 · United Kingdom · Politicians12 decades
  16. 16Wilhelm Röntgen1845-1923 · Germany · Scientists11 decades
  17. 17Pope Benedict XV1854-1922 · Italy · Religious Figures11 decades
  18. 18José Martí1853-1895 · Spain · Writers16 decades
  19. 19Ludwig II of Bavaria1845-1886 · Germany · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  20. 20Billy the Kid1859-1881 · United States12 decades
  21. 21Henri Poincaré1854-1912 · France · Academics13 decades
  22. 22H. H. Asquith1852-1928 · United Kingdom · Politicians11 decades
  23. 23Ferdinand Foch1851-1929 · France · Historical Figures7 decades
  24. 24Annie Besant1847-1933 · United Kingdom · Activists15 decades
  25. 25George I of Greece1845-1913 · Denmark · Historical Figures0 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.