Claim profile
1700–1799

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 Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇩🇪 Germany🇺🇸 United States🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇮🇹 Italy🇪🇸 Spain🇸🇪 Sweden🇯🇵 Japan🇹🇷 Turkey🇦🇹 Austria
FieldAllPoliticiansHistorical FiguresWritersScientistsMusiciansArtistsAcademicsArchitectsDoctorsReligious Figures
  1. 1Kobayashi IssaKobayashi Issa1763–1828 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  2. 2Yosa BusonYosa Buson1716–1784 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  3. 3RyōkanRyōkan1758–1831 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  4. 4Ueda AkinariUeda Akinari1734–1809 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  5. 5Hiraga GennaiHiraga Gennai1728–1780 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  6. 6Ogyū SoraiOgyū Sorai1666–1728 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  7. 7Fukuda Chiyo-niFukuda Chiyo-ni1703–1775 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  8. 8Sugita GenpakuSugita Genpaku1733–1817 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  9. 9Santō KyōdenSantō Kyōden1761–1816 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  10. 10Kamo no MabuchiKamo no Mabuchi1697–1769 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  11. 11Kada no AzumamaroKada no Azumamaro1669–1736 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
  12. 12Aoki Kon'yōAoki Kon'yō1698–1769 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  13. 13Ōta NanpoŌta Nanpo1749–1823 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  14. 14Tokugawa MunetakeTokugawa Munetake1715–1771 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  15. 15KHKatsuragawa Hoshū1751–1809 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  16. 16Karai SenryūKarai Senryū1718–1790 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  17. 17Yokoi KinkokuYokoi Kinkoku1761–1832 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  18. 18Motoori ŌhiraMotoori Ōhira1756–1833 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  19. 19Yoshio KōsakuYoshio Kōsaku1724–1800 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  20. 20Morishima ChūryōMorishima Chūryō1756–1810 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  21. 21Namiki SōsukeNamiki Sōsuke1695–1751 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
  22. 22MCMiura Chora1729–1780 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—

How this is measured

  • Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active — around age 35, and never after their death.
  • Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
  • Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
  • What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.