← 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
Carl Linnaeus7 decades - 2
Charles XII of Sweden22 decades - 3
Emanuel Swedenborg0 decades
- 4
Anders Celsius0 decades - 5
Frederick I of Swedennot measured- - 6
Carl Wilhelm Scheele8 decades - 7
Charles XIII of Sweden0 decades - 8
Gustav III of Sweden22 decades - 9
Charles Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 10
Axel von Fersen the Younger12 decades - 11
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia0 decades - 12
Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden22 decades - 13
Sophia Magdalena of Denmark0 decades
- 14
Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden0 decades - 15
Carl Michael Bellman0 decades - 16
Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorpnot measured- - 17
Carl Peter Thunberg0 decades - 18
Alexander Roslin0 decades - 19
Hedvig Sophia of Swedennot measured-
- 20
Johan Gadolinnot measured- - 21
Joseph Martin Kraus4 decades - 22
Stephen Hales22 decades - 23
Carl Linnaeus the Younger0 decades - 24
Daniel Solander0 decades - 25
William Chambers22 decades - 26
Sophia Albertina of Sweden0 decades - 27
Torbern Bergman1 decades - 28
Philip Johan von Strahlenbergnot measured- - 29
Peter Forsskål0 decades - 30
Anders Chydenius0 decades - 31
Magnus Stenbock0 decades - 32
Axel Fredrik Cronstedtnot measured- - 33
Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt0 decades - 34
Anders Johan Lexellnot measured- - 35
Eva Ekeblad0 decades - 36
Fredrik Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Östergötlandnot measured- - 37
Martin van Meytens0 decades - 38
Pehr Kalm0 decades - 39Georg Brandt0 decades
- 40
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht0 decades - 41
Johann Gottlieb Georgi0 decades - 42
Erik Acharius0 decades - 43
Peter Artedi0 decades - 44
Johan Gottlieb Gahn0 decades - 45Anders Dahl0 decades
- 46
Johan Tobias Sergel0 decades - 47
Anders Sparrman0 decades - 48
Olof Swartz1 decades - 49
Carl Alexander Clercknot measured- - 50
Charles De Geer0 decades - 51
Fredrik Henrik af Chapman0 decades - 52
Anna Maria Lenngren0 decades - 53
Adam Afzelius0 decades - 54
Olof Celsius0 decades - 55
Johan August Sandelsnot measured- - 56
Augustin Ehrensvärd0 decades - 57
Carl Gustaf Tessin0 decades
- 58
Peter Osbeck0 decades - 59
Elisabeth Christina von Linnénot measured- - 60
Olof von Dalin0 decades
- 61Johann Jacob Bach0 decades
- 62
Georg Carl von Döbelnnot measured- - 63
Johan David Åkerblad0 decades - 64
Henrik Gabriel Porthan0 decades - 65Pedro Loefling0 decades
- 66
Johan Agrell0 decades - 67
Jacob Johan Anckarström0 decades - 68
Gustaf Lundberg0 decades - 69
Johan Henric Kellgren0 decades - 70
Carl Frederik von Breda0 decades - 71
Carl Johan Adlercreutz0 decades - 72Johan Peter Falknot measured-
- 73
Erik Laxman0 decades - 74
Leonard Gyllenhaal0 decades - 75
Carl Gustaf Pilo0 decades - 76
Thomas Thorild0 decades - 77
Brigitta Scherzenfeldtnot measured- - 78
Frederick William von Hessensteinnot measured- - 79
Jonas Alströmer0 decades - 80
Carl Hårlemannot measured-
- 81
Charles Emil Lewenhaupt the Eldernot measured- - 82
Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller0 decades - 83
Christina Piper0 decades - 84
Hans Henric von Essen0 decades - 85
Carl Gustaf Armfeldtnot measured- - 86
Cajsa Warg0 decades - 87
Hedvig Taube0 decades - 88
Axel von Fersen the Eldernot measured- - 89
Curt von Stedingk0 decades - 90
Nils Rosén von Rosenstein0 decades - 91
Erik Magnus Staël von Holsteinnot measured- - 92
William Chalmers14 decades - 93
Gustav Badinnot measured-
- 94
Carl Olof Cronstedtnot measured- - 95
Sophie Pipernot measured- - 96
Carl Gustaf af Leopold0 decades - 97
Georg Adlersparre0 decades
- 98
Johan Gustaf Renat0 decades - 99
Carl Axel Arrhenius0 decades - 100
Carl August Ehrensvärd0 decades
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.