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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 French books during the 1880s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Voltaire1694-1778 · 18th century · France · Writers32
  2. 2Louis XIV of France1638-1715 · 17th century · France · Historical Figures31
  3. 3Molière1622-1673 · 17th century · France · Writers29
  4. 4Louis XVI of France1754-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures13
  5. 5Louis XV of France1710-1774 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures11
  6. 6Victor Hugo1802-1885 · 19th century · France · Writers9.7
  7. 7François Fénelon1651-1715 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures6.6
  8. 8Montesquieu1689-1755 · 18th century · France · Academics6.0
  9. 9Louis XVIII of France1755-1824 · 18th century · France · Politicians4.5
  10. 10Napoleon III1808-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians3.8
  11. 11Louis XII of France1462-1515 · 15th century · France · Historical Figures3.8
  12. 12Jules Ferry1832-1893 · 19th century · France · Politicians3.8
  13. 13Joan of Arc1412-1431 · 15th century · France3.6
  14. 14Jules Simon1814-1896 · 19th century · France · Politicians3.0
  15. 15Marie Antoinette1755-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures3.0
  16. 16Charles X of France1757-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians2.8
  17. 17Pierre de Marivaux1688-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers2.6
  18. 18Vincent de Paul1581-1660 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures2.4
  19. 19Francis de Sales1567-1622 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures2.3
  20. 20Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme1540-1614 · 16th century · France · Writers2.2
  21. 21Louis Blanc1811-1882 · 19th century · Spain · Politicians2.0
  22. 22Jules Favre1809-1880 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.9
  23. 23Théophile Gautier1811-1872 · 19th century · France · Writers1.9
  24. 24George Sand1804-1876 · 19th century · France · Writers1.8
  25. 25Claude Bernard1813-1878 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.8
  26. 26Philip V of Spain1683-1746 · 18th century · France · Politicians1.8
  27. 27Auguste Comte1798-1857 · 19th century · France · Academics1.8
  28. 28Marie de' Medici1575-1642 · 17th century · France · Politicians1.8
  29. 29Alfred de Musset1810-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers1.7
  30. 30Benjamin Constant1767-1830 · 19th century · Switzerland · Politicians1.7
  31. 31Francis II of France1544-1560 · 16th century · France · Politicians1.6
  32. 32La Grange1635-1692 · 17th century · France · Actors1.4
  33. 33Louis XVII of France1785-1795 · 18th century · France1.3
  34. 34André Chénier1762-1794 · 18th century · France · Writers1.2
  35. 35Charles the Bold1433-1477 · 15th century · France · Politicians1.1
  36. 36Pope Julius II1443-1513 · 15th century · Italy · Religious Figures1.1
  37. 37Napoleon1769-1821 · 19th century · France · Historical Figures0.99
  38. 38Pope John XXII1244-1334 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.98
  39. 39Stendhal1783-1842 · 19th century · France · Writers0.93
  40. 40Jules Grévy1807-1891 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.92
  41. 41Gaston Paris1839-1903 · 19th century · France · Writers0.92
  42. 42Jeanne d'Albret1528-1572 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.91
  43. 43Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712-1778 · 18th century · Switzerland · Academics0.91
  44. 44Odilon Barrot1791-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.89
  45. 45Victor Cousin1792-1867 · 19th century · France · Academics0.89
  46. 46Camille Desmoulins1760-1794 · 18th century · France · Journalists0.87
  47. 47Augustin Thierry1795-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers0.83
  48. 48Anne of Brittany1477-1514 · 16th century · France0.82
  49. 49Joseph de Maistre1753-1821 · 18th century · France · Academics0.79
  50. 50Sarah Bernhardt1844-1923 · 19th century · France · Actors0.79
  51. 51Margaret of Valois1553-1615 · 16th century · France · Writers0.79
  52. 52Louis Bonaparte1778-1846 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.76
  53. 53Alphonse Daudet1840-1897 · 19th century · France · Writers0.75
  54. 54Frédéric Passy1822-1912 · 19th century · France · Academics0.74
  55. 55Alfred de Vigny1797-1863 · 19th century · France · Writers0.73
  56. 56Maine de Biran1766-1824 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.73
  57. 57Pope Clement V1264-1314 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.73
  58. 58Diane de Poitiers1499-1566 · 16th century · France0.66
  59. 59Firmin Didot1764-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.66
  60. 60Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle1818-1894 · 19th century · France · Writers0.65
  61. 61Edgar Quinet1803-1875 · 19th century · France · Writers0.63
  62. 62Pierre Corneille1606-1684 · 17th century · France · Writers0.63
  63. 63Charles Nodier1780-1844 · 19th century · France · Writers0.62
  64. 64Ferdinand de Lesseps1805-1894 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.57
  65. 65Charlotte Corday1768-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures0.56
  66. 66Antoine of Navarre1518-1562 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.56
  67. 67Louis Racine1692-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers0.56
  68. 68Francis Garnier1839-1873 · 19th century · France · Historical Figures0.55
  69. 69Casimir Delavigne1793-1843 · 19th century · France · Writers0.53
  70. 70Eugène Delacroix1798-1863 · 19th century · France · Artists0.53
  71. 71Ambroise Paré1510-1590 · 16th century · France · Doctors0.51
  72. 72Horace Vernet1789-1863 · 19th century · France · Artists0.51
  73. 73Félix Faure1841-1899 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.50
  74. 74Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy1480-1530 · 16th century · Spain · Artists0.49
  75. 75Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville1746-1795 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.49
  76. 76Jean Goujon1510-1567 · 16th century · France · Architects0.48
  77. 77Olivier de Serres1539-1619 · 16th century · Writers0.48
  78. 78Arsène Arnaud Claretie1840-1913 · 19th century · France · Journalists0.47
  79. 79Gustave Flaubert1821-1880 · 19th century · France · Writers0.47
  80. 80Pope Urban V1310-1370 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.47
  81. 81Octave Feuillet1821-1890 · 19th century · France · Writers0.47
  82. 82Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon1635-1719 · 17th century · France · Academics0.46
  83. 83Eugène Sue1804-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers0.45
  84. 84Anne de Montmorency1493-1567 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.44
  85. 85François Coppée1842-1908 · 19th century · France · Writers0.44
  86. 86Charles, Count of Soissons1566-1612 · 17th century · France0.44
  87. 87Paul Bourget1852-1935 · 19th century · France · Writers0.44
  88. 88Bernard Palissy1510-1589 · 16th century · France · Scientists0.43
  89. 89Ambroise Thomas1811-1896 · 19th century · France · Musicians0.42
  90. 90Gustave Doré1832-1883 · 19th century · France · Artists0.42
  91. 91Mary of Burgundy1457-1482 · 15th century · France · Politicians0.41
  92. 92Edmond François Valentin About1828-1885 · 19th century · France · Writers0.41
  93. 93Vincent of Beauvais1190-1264 · 13th century · Educators0.41
  94. 94Gustav III of Sweden1746-1792 · 18th century · Sweden · Politicians0.40
  95. 95Thomas Corneille1625-1709 · 17th century · France · Writers0.40
  96. 96Charles, Duke of Orléans1394-1465 · 15th century · France · Writers0.40
  97. 97Jules Verne1828-1905 · 19th century · France · Writers0.39
  98. 98Margaret of Parma1522-1586 · 16th century · Historical Figures0.39
  99. 99Claude Michel1738-1814 · 18th century · France · Artists0.39
  100. 100Ernest Renan1823-1892 · 19th century · France · Academics0.38

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.