← 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
Catherine the Great22 decades - 2
Marie Antoinette22 decades - 3
James Cook22 decades - 4
Frederick the Great22 decades - 5
Maria Theresa22 decades - 6
Paul I of Russia21 decades - 7
Anne, Queen of Great Britain0 decades - 8
Louis XVI of France22 decades - 9
George II of Great Britainnot measured- - 10
Peter III of Russia21 decades - 11
Louis XV of France22 decades - 12
Elizabeth of Russia20 decades - 13
Catherine I of Russia18 decades - 14
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor22 decades - 15
George III of the United Kingdom0 decades - 16
Blackbeard22 decades - 17
Qianlong Emperor3 decades - 18
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor22 decades - 19
Nader Shah4 decades - 20
Charles XII of Sweden22 decades - 21
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor6 decades - 22
Charles IV of Spain17 decades - 23
Anne Bonny2 decades - 24
Ahmad Shah Durrani4 decades - 25
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitznot measured- - 26
Frederick William I of Prussianot measured- - 27
Augustus II the Strong19 decades - 28
Charlotte Corday22 decades - 29
Vitus Bering0 decades - 30
Charles XIV John of Swedennot measured- - 31
Frederick William II of Prussianot measured- - 32
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher3 decades - 33
Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor22 decades - 34
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor22 decades - 35
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria8 decades - 36
Frederick, Prince of Wales0 decades - 37
George Vancouver14 decades - 38
Daniel Boone22 decades - 39
Christian VII of Denmark0 decades - 40
Phutthayotfa Chulalok0 decades - 41
Augustus III of Poland22 decades - 42
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérousenot measured- - 43
Maria Carolina of Austria0 decades - 44
Alexander Selkirk22 decades - 45
Frederick V of Denmark0 decades
- 46
Elisabeth Farnese22 decades - 47
Maria Luisa of Parma17 decades - 48
Vittorio Alfieri22 decades - 49
Caroline of Ansbach0 decades - 50
Frederick I of Swedennot measured- - 51
Caroline Matilda of Great Britainnot measured- - 52
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albanynot measured- - 53
Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg0 decades - 54
Taksin6 decades - 55
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gothanot measured- - 56
Louis Joseph, Dauphin of Francenot measured- - 57
Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russianot measured- - 58
Mariana Victoria of Spainnot measured- - 59
Frederick IV of Denmark0 decades - 60
Józef Poniatowski0 decades - 61
William V, Prince of Orangenot measured- - 62
Mary Wortley Montagu22 decades - 63
John V of Portugal0 decades - 64
Grigory Orlov18 decades - 65
Prithvi Narayan Shah4 decades - 66
Alamgir II0 decades - 67
Charles XIII of Sweden0 decades - 68
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover0 decades - 69
Ahilyabai Holkar0 decades - 70
Letizia Ramolino3 decades - 71
Jeanne Baret0 decades - 72
Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeldnot measured- - 73
Siraj ud-Daulah0 decades - 74
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen22 decades - 75
Frederick I of Württemberg8 decades - 76
Filippo I, Duke of Parmanot measured- - 77
Maria Josepha of Austria0 decades - 78
Vasily Tatishchev16 decades - 79
Anne Marie d'Orléans0 decades - 80
Marie Adélaïde of Savoy16 decades - 81
Peter III of Portugal0 decades - 82
Marie Joséphine of Savoy0 decades - 83
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia15 decades - 84
Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France0 decades - 85
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany16 decades - 86
Princess Augusta of Great Britain0 decades - 87
Go-Momozono0 decades - 88
Gia Long7 decades - 89
Sultan Husayn0 decades - 90
Christian VI of Denmark0 decades - 91
Tahmasp II0 decades - 92
Maria Josepha of Bavaria0 decades - 93
Higashiyamanot measured- - 94
Karl Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden0 decades - 95
Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orangenot measured- - 96
Lachlan Macquarie4 decades - 97
Semyon Chelyuskin5 decades - 98
Momozononot measured- - 99
Johann Reinhold Forster14 decades - 100
Louise of Great Britain0 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.