← 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
Phillis Wheatley16 decades - 2
Noah Webster22 decades - 3
Lizzie Velasquez0 decades - 4
Mercy Otis Warren5 decades - 5
Henry Laurens22 decades - 6
Joel Barlow22 decades - 7
Philip Freneau17 decades - 8
Judith Sargent Murray3 decades - 9
Mason Locke Weems0 decades - 10
Susanna Rowson0 decades - 11
Charlotte Lennox10 decades - 12
William Hill Brown0 decades - 13
Timothy Dwight IV0 decades - 14
Lucy Terry0 decades - 15
Lindley Murray21 decades - 16
Jupiter Hammon6 decades - 17
Mary Randolphnot measured- - 18
Arthur Leenot measured- - 19
Royall Tylernot measured- - 20
David Ramsaynot measured- - 21
Hugh Henry Brackenridgenot measured- - 22
Josiah Quincy IInot measured- - 23Sarah Kemble Knight0 decades
- 24
William Shortnot measured- - 25
Hannah Webster Foster0 decades - 26Solomon Spaldingnot measured-
- 27
James Swannot measured- - 28Robert Beverley, Jr.not measured-
- 29
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusonnot measured- - 30
Ann Eliza Bleeckernot measured- - 31
Jeremy Belknapnot measured- - 32
Henry Livingston, Jr.not measured- - 33
Francis Fauquiernot measured- - 34
Esther Edwards Burrnot measured- - 35
Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Mortonnot measured- - 36
Samuel Hopkinsnot measured- - 37Lewis Nicolanot measured-
- 38
Alexander Henry the eldernot measured- - 39Susanna Wrightnot measured-
- 40Mary Hemingsnot measured-
- 41
Martha Laurens Ramsaynot measured- - 42Martha Daniell Logan0 decades
- 43
Annis Boudinot Stocktonnot measured- - 44Nathaniel Gistnot measured-
- 45Elizabeth Murray Campbell Smith Inmannot measured-
- 46
Abiel Holmesnot 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.