215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1920-1929

The 1920s

Whose names filled the books of the 1920s - 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 Hebrew books during the 1920s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Ahad Ha'am1856-1927 · 19th century · Russia · Writers15
  2. 2Rav Ashi352-427 · 4th century13
  3. 3Haggaiborn 550 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures12
  4. 4Saadia Gaon882-942 · 10th century · Academics8.4
  5. 5Habakkuk626 BC-600 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures7.5
  6. 6Sabbatai Zevi1626-1676 · 17th century · Turkey · Religious Figures5.3
  7. 7Johanan ben Zakai50 BC-70 · 1st millennium BC5.2
  8. 8Hai Gaon939-1038 · 10th century · Writers4.4
  9. 9Simeon ben Gamliel IIborn 100 · 2nd century4.1
  10. 10Hillel the Elder50 BC-100 · 1st millennium BC4.0
  11. 11Simeon ben Zomadied 200 · 2nd century3.7
  12. 12Samuel ibn Naghrillah993-1055 · 11th century · Writers3.7
  13. 13Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg1150-1217 · 12th century · Academics3.6
  14. 14Nathan the Babylonianborn 101 · 2nd century3.5
  15. 15Josephus37-100 · 1st century · Writers3.4
  16. 16Judas Maccabeus500 BC-160 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures3.1
  17. 17Isaac Abrabanel1437-1508 · 15th century · Academics2.4
  18. 18Menasseh Ben Israel1604-1657 · 17th century · Netherlands · Academics2.0
  19. 19Mendele Mocher Sforim1835-1917 · 19th century · Belarus · Writers2.0
  20. 20Rabbeinu Tam1100-1171 · 12th century · France · Writers1.7
  21. 21Yanaiborn 600 · 7th century · Writers1.6
  22. 22Baruch Spinoza1632-1677 · 17th century · Netherlands · Academics1.6
  23. 23Amram Gaon810-875 · 9th century1.6
  24. 24Hayyim ben Joseph Vital1542-1620 · 16th century · Turkey · Musicians1.5
  25. 25Azariah dei Rossi1513-1578 · 16th century · Writers1.4
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1920s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · Austria · Politicians10 decades
  2. 2Mao Zedong1893-1976 · China · Politicians13 decades
  3. 3Charlie Chaplin1889-1977 · United Kingdom · Actors11 decades
  4. 4Dwight D. Eisenhower1890-1969 · United States · Politicians9 decades
  5. 5J. R. R. Tolkien1892-1973 · United Kingdom · Writers7 decades
  6. 6Charles de Gaulle1890-1970 · France · Politicians9 decades
  7. 7Agatha Christie1890-1976 · United Kingdom · Writers10 decades
  8. 8Nikita Khrushchev1894-1971 · Russia · Politicians10 decades
  9. 9Hermann Göring1893-1946 · Germany · Politicians9 decades
  10. 10Chiang Kai-shek1887-1975 · Taiwan · Politicians4 decades
  11. 11Francisco Franco1892-1975 · Spain · Politicians9 decades
  12. 12Edward VIII1894-1972 · United Kingdom · Historical Figures9 decades
  13. 13Jawaharlal Nehru1889-1964 · India · Politicians10 decades
  14. 14B. R. Ambedkar1891-1956 · India · Academics8 decades
  15. 15Srinivasa Ramanujan1887-1920 · India · Academics0 decades
  16. 16Ho Chi Minh1890-1969 · Politicians8 decades
  17. 17Erwin Rommel1891-1944 · Germany · Historical Figures8 decades
  18. 18Josip Broz Tito1892-1980 · Hungary · Activists8 decades
  19. 19H. P. Lovecraft1890-1937 · United States · Writers6 decades
  20. 20Haile Selassie1892-1975 · Historical Figures0 decades
  21. 21Sergei Yesenin1895-1925 · Russia · Writers11 decades
  22. 22Rudolf Hess1894-1987 · Egypt · Politicians9 decades
  23. 23George S. Patton1885-1945 · United States · Writers8 decades
  24. 24David Ben-Gurion1886-1973 · Israel · Politiciansnot measured-
  25. 25Karl Dönitz1891-1980 · Germany · Politicians8 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.