215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1930-1939

The 1930s

Whose names filled the books of the 1930s - 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 1930s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians6.4
  2. 2Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers3.7
  3. 3Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers3.6
  4. 4Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures2.5
  5. 5Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors2.3
  6. 6Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians1.8
  7. 7Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.7
  8. 8Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics1.6
  9. 9Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.4
  10. 10Max Weber1864-1920 · 19th century · Germany · Academics1.3
  11. 11William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists1.3
  12. 12Thomas Mann1875-1955 · 20th century · United States · Writers1.3
  13. 13Robert Koch1843-1910 · 19th century · Germany · Doctors1.3
  14. 14Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.2
  15. 15Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians1.2
  16. 16Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians1.2
  17. 17Tannhäuser1300-1300 · 14th century · Germany · Writers1.1
  18. 18Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers1.1
  19. 19Gottfried Keller1819-1890 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers1.1
  20. 20Gerhart Hauptmann1862-1946 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.0
  21. 21Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures0.99
  22. 22Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental1652-1698 · 17th century · Politicians0.98
  23. 23Stefan George1868-1933 · 20th century · Germany · Writers0.92
  24. 24Friedrich List1789-1846 · 19th century · United States · Academics0.90
  25. 25Carl Schmitt1888-1985 · 20th century · Germany · Academics0.78
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1930s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Ernest Hemingway1899-1961 · United States · Writers10 decades
  2. 2Alfred Hitchcock1899-1980 · United Kingdom · Directors9 decades
  3. 3Walt Disney1901-1966 · United States · Directors10 decades
  4. 4J. Robert Oppenheimer1904-1967 · United States · Scientists8 decades
  5. 5Ruhollah Khomeini1902-1989 · Iran · Politicians5 decades
  6. 6George VI1895-1952 · United Kingdom · Historical Figures10 decades
  7. 7Joseph Goebbels1897-1945 · Germany · Politicians9 decades
  8. 8George Orwell1903-1950 · United Kingdom · Writers9 decades
  9. 9Heinrich Himmler1900-1945 · Germany · Politicians9 decades
  10. 10Hirohito1901-1989 · Japan · Historical Figures10 decades
  11. 11Deng Xiaoping1904-1997 · China · Politicians11 decades
  12. 12Amelia Earhart1897-1939 · United States · Writers10 decades
  13. 13Salvador Dalí1904-1989 · Spain · Artists10 decades
  14. 14Al Capone1899-1947 · United States9 decades
  15. 15C. S. Lewis1898-1963 · United Kingdom · Writers10 decades
  16. 16Cary Grant1904-1986 · United States · Actors9 decades
  17. 17Marlene Dietrich1901-1992 · United States · Actors9 decades
  18. 18Humphrey Bogart1899-1957 · United States · Actors9 decades
  19. 19Georgy Zhukov1896-1974 · Russia · Politicians6 decades
  20. 20Louis Armstrong1901-1971 · United States · Musicians9 decades
  21. 21Pope Paul VI1897-1978 · Italy · Religious Figures6 decades
  22. 22Bing Crosby1903-1977 · United States · Musicians9 decades
  23. 23Clark Gable1901-1960 · United States · Actors9 decades
  24. 24Werner Heisenberg1901-1976 · Germany · Scientists10 decades
  25. 25John Steinbeck1902-1968 · United States · Writers9 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.