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 Chinese books during the 1900s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Mao Zedong1893-1976 · 20th century · China · Politicians66
  2. 2Lu Xun1881-1936 · 20th century · China · Writers39
  3. 3Lin Yutang1895-1976 · 20th century · China · Writers21
  4. 4Liu Shaoqi1898-1969 · 20th century · China · Politicians13
  5. 5Soong Ching-ling1893-1981 · 20th century · China · Politicians12
  6. 6Lin Biao1907-1971 · 20th century · China · Politicians7.5
  7. 7Zhou Enlai1898-1976 · 20th century · China · Politicians7.1
  8. 8Gao Ming1305-1370 · 14th century · Writers4.1
  9. 9Deng Xiaoping1904-1997 · 20th century · China · Politicians3.5
  10. 10Laozi579 BC-500 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics2.9
  11. 11Sun Yat-sen1866-1925 · 20th century · China · Politicians1.8
  12. 12Zhu De1886-1976 · 20th century · China · Politicians1.7
  13. 13Li Hongzhang1823-1901 · 19th century · China · Politicians0.78
  14. 14Yuan Shikai1859-1916 · 19th century · China · Politicians0.77
  15. 15Confucius551 BC-479 BC · 1st millennium BC · China · Academics0.58
  16. 16Sima Qian145 BC-86 BC · 1st millennium BC · China · Writers0.52
  17. 17Qu Yuan343 BC-278 BC · 1st millennium BC · China · Writers0.36
  18. 18Zhuang Zhou369 BC-288 BC · 1st millennium BC · China · Academics0.31
  19. 19Du Fu712-770 · 8th century · China · Writers0.18
  20. 20Guan Hanqing1210-1298 · 13th century · Writers0.18
  21. 21Yan Fu1854-1921 · 19th century · Writers0.16
  22. 22Cao Xueqin1724-1760 · 18th century · China · Writers0.12
  23. 23Li Bai701-762 · 8th century · Writers0.12
  24. 24Ouyang Xiu1007-1072 · 11th century · China · Writers0.09
  25. 25Bai Juyi772-846 · 9th century · China · Writers0.09
  26. 26Kang Youwei1858-1927 · 19th century · China · Politicians0.09
  27. 27Tao Yuanming365-427 · 5th century · China · Writers0.08
  28. 28Wang Wei699-759 · 8th century · China · Writers0.08
  29. 29Hong Xiuquan1814-1864 · 19th century · China · Politicians0.07
  30. 30Hsu Shih-chang1855-1939 · 19th century · Politicians0.06
  31. 31Wu Zetian624-705 · 7th century · China · Writers0.06
  32. 32Wang Anshi1021-1086 · 11th century · China · Politicians0.05
  33. 33Xun Kuang313 BC-230 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics0.05
  34. 34Lu You1125-1210 · 12th century · China · Writers0.05
  35. 35Koxinga1624-1662 · 17th century · Japan · Politicians0.04
  36. 36Zengzi504 BC-435 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics0.04
  37. 37Dong Zhongshu179 BC-104 BC · 1st millennium BC · Politicians0.04
  38. 38Ma Zhiyuan1270-1330 · 14th century · Writers0.03
  39. 39Dai Zhen1724-1777 · 18th century · China · Academics0.03
  40. 40Cao Cao155-220 · 2nd century · China · Politicians0.03
  41. 41Yang Wanli1127-1206 · 12th century · Writers0.03
  42. 42Chen Zi'ang661-702 · 7th century · Writers0.02
  43. 43Zhuge Liang181-234 · 3rd century · China · Politicians0.02
  44. 44Emperor Taizong of Tang598-649 · 7th century · China · Historical Figures0.02
  45. 45Zeng Guofan1811-1872 · 19th century · China · Politicians0.02
  46. 46Bao Zheng999-1062 · 11th century · China · Politicians0.02
  47. 47Wang Fuzhi1619-1692 · 17th century · China · Writers0.02
  48. 48Xu Guangqi1562-1633 · 16th century · Politicians0.02
  49. 49Lin Tse-hsu1785-1850 · 19th century · Politicians0.02
  50. 50Ban Gu32-92 · 1st century · Writers0.02
  51. 51Gu Yanwu1613-1682 · 17th century · Writers0.02
  52. 52Guangxu Emperor1871-1908 · 20th century · China0.02
  53. 53Tan Sitong1865-1898 · 19th century · China · Academics0.02
  54. 54Wu Sangui1612-1678 · 17th century · China · Historical Figures0.02
  55. 55Wu Cheng'en1500-1582 · 16th century · China · Writers0.02
  56. 56Wu Jingzi1701-1754 · 18th century · Writers0.02
  57. 57Puyi1906-1967 · 20th century · China · Historical Figures0.02
  58. 58Jin Shengtan1610-1661 · 17th century · Writers0.02
  59. 59Li Yuanhong1864-1928 · 19th century · China · Politicians0.02
  60. 60Zheng He1371-1433 · 15th century · China · Historical Figures0.02
  61. 61Wen Tong1018-1079 · 11th century · Artists0.02
  62. 62Emperor Wu of Han156 BC-87 BC · 1st millennium BC · Writers0.02
  63. 63Faxian340-422 · 4th century · China · Writers0.02
  64. 64Guan Yu160-220 · 2nd century · China · Historical Figures<0.01
  65. 65Cai Lun48-121 · 1st century · China · Scientists<0.01
  66. 66Zhang Xianzhong1606-1647 · 17th century<0.01
  67. 67Ruan Yuan1764-1849 · 18th century · Academics<0.01
  68. 68Xin Qiji1140-1207 · 12th century · Writers<0.01
  69. 69Zhang Xun1854-1923 · 19th century · Politicians<0.01
  70. 70Han Yu768-824 · 9th century · China · Writers<0.01
  71. 71Tang Xianzu1550-1616 · 16th century · Writers<0.01
  72. 72Li Zicheng1606-1645 · 17th century · China · Politicians<0.01
  73. 73Wei Zhongxian1568-1627 · 17th century · China · Politicians<0.01
  74. 74Luo Guanzhong1334-1400 · 14th century · China · Writers<0.01
  75. 75Shen Kuo1031-1095 · 11th century · China · Scientists<0.01
  76. 76Li Si280 BC-208 BC · 1st millennium BC · China · Politicians<0.01
  77. 77Ruan Ji210-263 · 3rd century · Writers<0.01
  78. 78Wang Chong27-97 · 1st century · Scientists<0.01
  79. 79Mozi470 BC-391 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics<0.01
  80. 80Cao Zhi192-232 · 3rd century · Historical Figures<0.01
  81. 81Zhang Zhidong1837-1909 · 19th century · Politicians<0.01
  82. 82Empress Dowager Cixi1835-1908 · 19th century · China · Historical Figures<0.01
  83. 83Huang Huai1367-1449 · 15th century · Writers<0.01
  84. 84Zhang Juzheng1525-1582 · 16th century · China · Politicians<0.01
  85. 85Liu Zongyuan773-819 · 9th century · Writers<0.01
  86. 86Yuan Jie719-772 · 8th century · Writers<0.01
  87. 87Zhang Zai1020-1077 · 11th century · Academics<0.01

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.