← Fame through time1700-1799
The 18th century
Whose working lives fell in the 18th century. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 18th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Charles X of France22 decades - 2
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgordnot measured- - 3
Philip V of Spain22 decades - 4
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayettenot measured- - 5
Jean-Paul Marat19 decades - 6
Louis XVIII of France22 decades - 7
Toussaint Louverture22 decades - 8
Madame de Pompadour22 decades - 9
Louis Antoine de Saint-Justnot measured- - 10
Joseph Fouché10 decades - 11
Carlo Buonaparte20 decades - 12
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès0 decades - 13
Louis, Duke of Burgundynot measured- - 14
Pasquale Paoli22 decades - 15
Louis Antoine de Bougainville4 decades - 16
André Masséna2 decades - 17
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Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléansnot measured- - 18
Louis, Dauphin of Francenot measured- - 19
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin0 decades - 20
Paul Barras6 decades - 21
Jacques Pierre Brissot0 decades - 22
Chevalier d'Éonnot measured- - 23
Alexandre de Beauharnais22 decades - 24
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan0 decades - 25
Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléansnot measured- - 26
François Christophe de Kellermann0 decades - 27
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick0 decades - 28
Charles Alexandre de Calonne0 decades - 29
Louis Joseph, Prince of Condénot measured- - 30
Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine0 decades - 31
Georges Couthon3 decades - 32
Augustin Robespierre0 decades - 33
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérèsnot measured- - 34
Étienne François, duc de Choiseul0 decades - 35
Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyrnot measured- - 36
Pierre Augereau1 decades - 37
Bertrand Barère14 decades - 38
Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville22 decades - 39
Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbonnot measured- - 40
François Joseph Lefebvre0 decades - 41
Guillaume-Marie-Anne Brune0 decades - 42
Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Monceynot measured- - 43
Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno0 decades - 44
Fabre d'Églantine22 decades - 45
Jean-Charles Pichegru0 decades - 46
Louis Henri, Prince of Condénot measured- - 47
Antoine Barnave2 decades - 48
Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco0 decades - 49
Bernard Germain de Lacépèdenot measured- - 50
François de Charettenot measured- - 51
Jacques Roux22 decades - 52
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvrenot measured- - 53
Jean-Marie Collot d'Herboisnot measured- - 54
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Séruriernot measured- - 55
Étienne Charles de Loménie de Briennenot measured- - 56
Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes2 decades - 57
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve0 decades - 58
Jean-Marie Roland de la Platièrenot measured- - 59
Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires17 decades - 60
Pierre Vergniaud0 decades - 61
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing0 decades - 62
Armand de Vignerot du Plessisnot measured- - 63
Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varennenot measured- - 64
Anacharsis Cloots0 decades - 65
Roger Ducos22 decades - 66
Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance0 decades - 67
Catherine-Dominique Pérignonnot measured- - 68
Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacynot measured- - 69
Herman Willem Daendels0 decades - 70
Charles, Prince of Soubise0 decades - 71
Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepasnot measured- - 72
Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette0 decades - 73
René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou0 decades - 74
Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeaunot measured- - 75
James Louis Sobieskinot measured- - 76
François de La Rochefoucauld, 7th Duke of La Rochefoucauldnot measured- - 77
Quatremère de Quincy22 decades - 78
Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchellesnot measured- - 79
Jean Joseph Mounier2 decades - 80
Marie-Joseph Chénier22 decades - 81
Jacques-François Menounot measured- - 82
Armand Louis de Gontautnot measured- - 83
Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalisnot measured- - 84
Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine0 decades - 85
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnaisnot measured- - 86
Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie0 decades - 87
Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano1 decades - 88
Jacques François Dugommiernot measured- - 89Étienne de Silhouette1 decades
- 90
Jean-Sifrein Maury0 decades - 91
Antoine Joseph Santerre0 decades - 92
Louis Marie Turreau0 decades - 93
Charles de Bonchamps0 decades - 94
Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo0 decades - 95
Felice Pasquale Baciocchi0 decades - 96
Henri François d'Aguesseau1 decades - 97
Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeauxnot measured- - 98
Luis Felipe de Ségur2 decades - 99
Jacques de Flesselles2 decades - 100
Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douainot measured-
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.