215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1940-1949

The 1940s

Whose names filled the books of the 1940s - 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 1940s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers6.8
  2. 2Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians6.1
  3. 3Thomas Mann1875-1955 · 20th century · United States · Writers5.7
  4. 4Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors5.6
  5. 5Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers4.2
  6. 6Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures2.8
  7. 7Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics2.5
  8. 8Gottfried Keller1819-1890 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers2.2
  9. 9Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians2.1
  10. 10Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians2.1
  11. 11Jacob Burckhardt1818-1897 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers2.0
  12. 12Gerhart Hauptmann1862-1946 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.9
  13. 13Rudolf Steiner1861-1925 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers1.8
  14. 14Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.4
  15. 15William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists1.3
  16. 16Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.3
  17. 17Max Weber1864-1920 · 19th century · Germany · Academics1.3
  18. 18Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians1.3
  19. 19Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures1.2
  20. 20Hermann Göring1893-1946 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians1.2
  21. 21Hermann Hesse1877-1962 · 20th century · Switzerland · Writers1.1
  22. 22Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.1
  23. 23Adalbert Stifter1805-1868 · 19th century · Artists1.1
  24. 24Stefan George1868-1933 · 20th century · Germany · Writers1.1
  25. 25Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers1.0
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1940s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Ronald Reagan1911-2004 · United States · Politicians9 decades
  2. 2Richard Nixon1913-1994 · United States · Politicians8 decades
  3. 3Frida Kahlo1907-1954 · Mexico · Artists8 decades
  4. 4Lyndon B. Johnson1908-1973 · United States · Politicians8 decades
  5. 5Alan Turing1912-1954 · United Kingdom · Academics4 decades
  6. 6Gerald Ford1913-2006 · United States · Politicians6 decades
  7. 7Anne Frank1929-1945 · Germany · Writers7 decades
  8. 8Mother Teresa1910-1997 · Albania · Musicians9 decades
  9. 9Leonid Brezhnev1906-1982 · Russia · Politicians7 decades
  10. 10John Wayne1907-1979 · United States · Actors9 decades
  11. 11Albert Camus1913-1960 · France · Academics8 decades
  12. 12Pope John Paul I1912-1978 · Italy · Religious Figures2 decades
  13. 13Katharine Hepburn1907-2003 · United States · Actors9 decades
  14. 14Rosa Parks1913-2005 · United States · Activists6 decades
  15. 15Ayn Rand1905-1982 · United States · Writers3 decades
  16. 16James Stewart1908-1997 · United States · Actorsnot measured-
  17. 17Adolf Eichmann1906-1962 · Austria · Politicians8 decades
  18. 18Hedy Lamarr1914-2000 · Austria · Actors3 decades
  19. 19Bette Davis1908-1989 · United States · Actors9 decades
  20. 20Wernher von Braun1912-1977 · United States · Scientists7 decades
  21. 21Hannah Arendt1906-1975 · United States · Academics8 decades
  22. 22Jean-Paul Sartre1905-1980 · France · Academics9 decades
  23. 23Ian Fleming1908-1964 · United Kingdom · Writers7 decades
  24. 24Vivien Leigh1913-1967 · United Kingdom · Actors8 decades
  25. 25Akira Kurosawa1910-1998 · Japan · Directors6 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.