215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1950-1959

The 1950s

Whose names filled the books of the 1950s - 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 1950s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers5.9
  2. 2Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics5.4
  3. 3Thomas Mann1875-1955 · 20th century · United States · Writers4.9
  4. 4Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers4.7
  5. 5Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures3.1
  6. 6Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors2.7
  7. 7Friedrich Engels1820-1895 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Academics2.6
  8. 8Walter Ulbricht1893-1973 · 20th century · Politicians2.4
  9. 9Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers2.3
  10. 10Max Weber1864-1920 · 19th century · Germany · Academics1.9
  11. 11Wilhelm Pieck1876-1960 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians1.8
  12. 12Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians1.7
  13. 13Gottfried Keller1819-1890 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers1.7
  14. 14Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians1.7
  15. 15Rudolf Steiner1861-1925 · 19th century · Switzerland · Writers1.7
  16. 16Gerhart Hauptmann1862-1946 · 19th century · Germany · Writers1.6
  17. 17Stefan George1868-1933 · 20th century · Germany · Writers1.4
  18. 18William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists1.4
  19. 19Rosa Luxemburg1871-1919 · 20th century · Germany · Activists1.4
  20. 20Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.3
  21. 21Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians1.3
  22. 22Heinrich Heine1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers1.3
  23. 23Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures1.3
  24. 24Karl Liebknecht1871-1919 · 20th century · Politicians1.2
  25. 25Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.2
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1950s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1John F. Kennedy1917-1963 · United States · Politicians11 decades
  2. 2Jimmy Carter1924-2024 · United States · Politicians7 decades
  3. 3Pope John Paul II1920-2005 · Poland · Religious Figures5 decades
  4. 4George H. W. Bush1924-2018 · United States · Politicians2 decades
  5. 5Nelson Mandela1918-2013 · South Africa · Politicians6 decades
  6. 6Judy Garland1922-1969 · United States · Actors9 decades
  7. 7Marlon Brando1924-2004 · United States · Actors7 decades
  8. 8Frank Sinatra1915-1998 · United States · Musicians8 decades
  9. 9Indira Gandhi1917-1984 · India · Politicians7 decades
  10. 10Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh1921-2021 · United Kingdom0 decades
  11. 11Mohammad Reza Pahlavi1919-1980 · Historical Figures4 decades
  12. 12Henry Kissinger1923-2023 · United States · Politicians7 decades
  13. 13Christopher Lee1922-2015 · United Kingdom · Actors6 decades
  14. 14Roald Dahl1916-1990 · Norway · Writers6 decades
  15. 15Isaac Asimov1920-1992 · United States · Writers7 decades
  16. 16Ingrid Bergman1915-1982 · Sweden · Actors8 decades
  17. 17James Dean1931-1955 · United States · Actors9 decades
  18. 18Richard Feynman1918-1988 · United States · Scientists4 decades
  19. 19Nicolae Ceaușescu1918-1989 · Politiciansnot measured-
  20. 20Orson Welles1915-1985 · United States · Directors9 decades
  21. 21Lee Kuan Yew1923-2015 · Singapore · Politicians7 decades
  22. 22Kirk Douglas1916-2020 · United States · Actors8 decades
  23. 23Eva Perón1919-1952 · Argentina · Actors8 decades
  24. 24Édith Piaf1915-1963 · France · Musicians6 decades
  25. 25Charles Bronson1921-2003 · United States · Actors5 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.