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← Fame through time1980-1989

The 1980s

Whose names filled the books of the 1980s - 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 Russian books during the 1980s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Vladimir Lenin1870-1924 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians2.6
  2. 2Leo Tolstoy1828-1910 · 19th century · Russia · Writers2.1
  3. 3Peter the Great1672-1725 · 18th century · Russia · Politicians1.5
  4. 4Boris Godunov1552-1605 · 16th century · Politicians1.2
  5. 5Patriarch Nikon of Moscow1605-1681 · 17th century · Religious Figures1.1
  6. 6Alexander Blok1880-1921 · 20th century · Russia · Writers1.1
  7. 7Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia1904-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures1.1
  8. 8Ivan I of Tver1357-1425 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.0
  9. 9Leonid Brezhnev1906-1982 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians1.0
  10. 10Sergo Ordzhonikidze1886-1937 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians0.99
  11. 11Nicholas I of Russia1796-1855 · 19th century · Russia · Models0.95
  12. 12Ivan the Terrible1530-1584 · 16th century · Politicians0.82
  13. 13Alexis of Russia1629-1676 · 17th century · Historical Figures0.81
  14. 14Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia1847-1909 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.80
  15. 15Maxim Gorky1868-1936 · 20th century · Russia · Writers0.78
  16. 16Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia1690-1718 · 18th century · Politicians0.78
  17. 17Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia1832-1909 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.77
  18. 18Alexander I of Russia1777-1825 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.73
  19. 19Andrei Bely1880-1934 · 20th century · Russia · Writers0.73
  20. 20Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow1482-1563 · 16th century · Writers0.69
  21. 21Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia1864-1931 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.65
  22. 22Ivan I Aleksandrovich, Prince of Smolenskdied 1359 · 14th century0.62
  23. 23Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia1899-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.61
  24. 24Aleksey Tolstoy1882-1945 · 20th century · France · Writers0.58
  25. 25Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia1857-1905 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.56
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1980s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Donald Trumpborn 1946 · United States · Politicians4 decades
  2. 2Vladimir Putinborn 1952 · Russia · Politicians3 decades
  3. 3George W. Bushborn 1946 · United States · Politicians4 decades
  4. 4Xi Jinpingborn 1953 · China · Politicians3 decades
  5. 5Bill Clintonborn 1946 · United States · Politicians4 decades
  6. 6Benjamin Netanyahuborn 1949 · Israel · Politicians4 decades
  7. 7Freddie Mercury1946-1991 · United Kingdom · Musicians3 decades
  8. 8Robin Williams1951-2014 · United States · Actors7 decades
  9. 9Steven Spielbergborn 1946 · United States · Directors5 decades
  10. 10Arnold Schwarzeneggerborn 1947 · Austria · Actors4 decades
  11. 11Narendra Modiborn 1950 · India · Politicians2 decades
  12. 12Jackie Chanborn 1954 · United States · Actorsnot measured-
  13. 13David Bowie1947-2016 · United Kingdom · Musicians5 decades
  14. 14Meryl Streepborn 1949 · United States · Actors4 decades
  15. 15Bob Marley1945-1981 · Jamaica · Musicians5 decades
  16. 16Dolly Parton1946-2026 · United States · Musicians5 decades
  17. 17Stephen Kingborn 1947 · United States · Writers8 decades
  18. 18Sylvester Stalloneborn 1946 · United States · Actors5 decades
  19. 19Hugo Chávez1954-2013 · Venezuela · Politicians3 decades
  20. 20Hillary Clintonborn 1947 · United States · Politicians3 decades
  21. 21Cherborn 1946 · United States · Musiciansnot measured-
  22. 22Elton Johnborn 1947 · United Kingdom · Musicians5 decades
  23. 23Ozzy Osbourne1948-2025 · United Kingdom · Musicians3 decades
  24. 24Pablo Escobar1949-1993 · Colombia · Politicians4 decades
  25. 25John Travoltaborn 1954 · 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.