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. 1Johann Jakob ScheuchzerJohann Jakob Scheuchzer1672–1733 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientists10 decades
  2. 2Jean-Philippe de CheseauxJean-Philippe de Cheseaux1718–1751 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  3. 3Johann Georg von ZimmermannJohann Georg von Zimmermann1728–1795 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientists17 decades
  4. 4JFJakob Friedrich Ehrhart1742–1795 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  5. 5Johann AmmanJohann Amman1707–1741 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientists0 decades
  6. 6Pierre PrevostPierre Prevost1751–1839 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientists14 decades
  7. 7Johannes GessnerJohannes Gessner1709–1790 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientists9 decades
  8. 8Johann Jacob RoemerJohann Jacob Roemer1763–1819 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientists1 decades
  9. 9Jean MaritzJean Maritz1680–1743 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  10. 10Antoine PolierAntoine Polier1741–1795 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  11. 11Jean Nicolas Sébastien AllamandJean Nicolas Sébastien Allamand1713–1787 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  12. 12DEDurs Egg1748–1831 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  13. 13SESamuel Elisée Bridel-Brideri1762–1828 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  14. 14Pierre-Louis GuinandPierre-Louis Guinand1748–1824 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  15. 15LSLouis Secretan1758–1839 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  16. 16JGJohannes Grubenmann1707–1771 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  17. 17GSGottlieb Siegmund Gruner1717–1778 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  18. 18Carl Ulysses von Salis-MarschlinsCarl Ulysses von Salis-Marschlins1760–1818 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  19. 19Abraham GagnebinAbraham Gagnebin1707–1800 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  20. 20Johannes ScheuchzerJohannes Scheuchzer1684–1738 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Scientistsnot measured—
  21. 21Laurent-Joseph MurithLaurent-Joseph Murith1742–1816 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · 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.