215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1900-1909

The 1900s

Whose names filled the books of the 1900s - anyone at all, however long dead - counted as mentions per million words printed, so a period that simply published more does not inflate anyone.

Talked about then

Whose names appeared most in German books during the 1900s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians2.9
  2. 2Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures2.3
  3. 3Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers2.2
  4. 4Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers2.2
  5. 5Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers2.2
  6. 6Tannhäuser1300-1300 · 14th century · Germany · Writers1.6
  7. 7Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.5
  8. 8William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists1.2
  9. 9Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental1652-1698 · 17th century · Politicians1.1
  10. 10Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians1.0
  11. 11Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians1.0
  12. 12Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures0.94
  13. 13Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors0.93
  14. 14Gottfried Keller1819-1890 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers0.77
  15. 15Emil Fischer1852-1919 · 19th century · Germany · Scientists0.75
  16. 16Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers0.75
  17. 17Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures0.74
  18. 18Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor1165-1197 · 12th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.72
  19. 19George Frederick of Waldeck-Eisenberg1620-1692 · 17th century · Models0.65
  20. 20Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor1685-1740 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures0.65
  21. 21Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics0.64
  22. 22Robert Koch1843-1910 · 19th century · Germany · Doctors0.58
  23. 23Heinrich Heine1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers0.57
  24. 24Hugo Wolf1860-1903 · 19th century · Musicians0.57
  25. 25Otto Ludwig1813-1865 · 19th century · Writers0.55
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1900s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Winston Churchill1874-1965 · United Kingdom · Politicians13 decades
  2. 2Vladimir Lenin1870-1924 · Russia · Politicians12 decades
  3. 3Mahatma Gandhi1869-1948 · India · Activists10 decades
  4. 4Marie Curie1867-1934 · France · Scientists4 decades
  5. 5George V1865-1936 · United Kingdom · Historical Figures16 decades
  6. 6Grigori Rasputin1869-1916 · Russia · Politicians11 decades
  7. 7Herbert Hoover1874-1964 · United States · Politicians11 decades
  8. 8Nicholas II of Russia1868-1918 · Russia · Historical Figures14 decades
  9. 9Sun Yat-sen1866-1925 · China · Politicians12 decades
  10. 10Calvin Coolidge1872-1933 · United States · Politicians11 decades
  11. 11Warren G. Harding1865-1923 · United States · Politicians11 decades
  12. 12Rudyard Kipling1865-1936 · United Kingdom · Writers13 decades
  13. 13Frank Lloyd Wright1867-1959 · United States · Architects12 decades
  14. 14Rosa Luxemburg1871-1919 · Germany · Activists13 decades
  15. 15Neville Chamberlain1869-1940 · United Kingdom · Politicians16 decades
  16. 16H. G. Wells1866-1946 · United Kingdom · Writers16 decades
  17. 17Bertrand Russell1872-1970 · United Kingdom · Academics13 decades
  18. 18Harry Houdini1874-1926 · United States · Actors7 decades
  19. 19Marcel Proust1871-1922 · France · Writers12 decades
  20. 20Henri Matisse1869-1954 · France · Artists12 decades
  21. 21Sergei Rachmaninoff1873-1943 · United States · Musiciansnot measured-
  22. 22Robert Frost1874-1963 · United States · Writers13 decades
  23. 23W. B. Yeats1865-1939 · Writers12 decades
  24. 24G. K. Chesterton1874-1936 · United Kingdom · Writers12 decades
  25. 25Beatrix Potter1866-1943 · United Kingdom · Writers10 decades
Show 75 more

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.