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.
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Echoed
- 1
Carl Linnaeus1707–1778 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists7 decades - 2
Anders Celsius1701–1744 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 3
Emanuel Swedenborg1688–1772 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
- 4
Carl Wilhelm Scheele1742–1786 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists8 decades - 5
Carl Peter Thunberg1743–1828 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 6
Johan Gadolin1760–1852 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 7
Carl Linnaeus the Younger1741–1783 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 8
Daniel Solander1733–1782 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 9
Stephen Hales1677–1761 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists22 decades - 10
Philip Johan von Strahlenberg1676–1747 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 11
Peter Forsskål1732–1763 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 12
Torbern Bergman1735–1784 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists1 decades - 13
Axel Fredrik Cronstedt1722–1765 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 14
Anders Johan Lexell1740–1784 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 15GBGeorg Brandt1694–1768 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
- 16
Johan Gottlieb Gahn1745–1818 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 17PLPedro Loefling1729–1756 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
- 18ADAnders Dahl1751–1789 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
- 19
Anders Sparrman1748–1820 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 20
Erik Laxman1737–1796 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 21
Erik Acharius1757–1819 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 22
Johann Gottlieb Georgi1729–1802 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 23
Peter Artedi1705–1735 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 24
Elisabeth Christina von Linné1743–1782 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 25
Adam Afzelius1750–1837 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 26
Nils Rosén von Rosenstein1706–1773 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 27
Peter Osbeck1723–1805 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 28
Olof Swartz1760–1817 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists1 decades - 29
Carl Axel Arrhenius1757–1824 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 30
Johan Gustaf Renat1682–1744 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 31JPJohan Peter Falk1732–1774 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 32
Pehr Kalm1716–1779 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 33
Clas Alströmer1736–1794 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 34
Anders Jahan Retzius1742–1821 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 35
Johan Gottschalk Wallerius1709–1785 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 36
Johan Wilcke1732–1796 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 37
Johan Andreas Murray1740–1791 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 38FHFredrik Hasselquist1722–1752 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades
- 39
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Peter Jacob Hjelm1746–1813 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 40
Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin1717–1783 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 41DRDaniel Rolander1723–1793 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 42
Peter Jonas Bergius1730–1790 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 43
Jonas Carlsson Dryander1748–1810 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 44
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Johan Afzelius1753–1837 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientists0 decades - 45
Johannes Browallius1707–1755 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 46
Carl Fredrik Fallén1764–1830 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 47MCMaria Christina Bruhn1732–1808 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 48
Sven Rinman1720–1792 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 49CTChristopher Tärnström1711–1746 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 50GRGöran Rothman1739–1778 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 51ABAndreas Berlin1746–1773 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 52BABengt Anders Euphrasén1755–1796 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 53EBElsa Beata Bunge1734–1819 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 54
Samuel Gustaf Hermelin1744–1820 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 55
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Anton Rolandsson Martin1729–1785 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 56
Carl Fredrik Mennander1712–1786 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 57
Johann Jacob Ferber1743–1790 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 58OTOlof Torén1718–1753 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 59EPErik Prosperin1739–1803 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 60
Carl Gustaf Ekeberg1716–1784 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 61
Jacob Johan Anckarström the Elder1729–1777 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 62CFCarl Fredric Adler1720–1761 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 63JSJohan Stensson Rothman1684–1763 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured—
- 64
Reinhold Angerstein1718–1760 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot measured— - 65
Samuel Liljeblad1761–1815 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Scientistsnot 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.