215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1990-1999

The 1990s

Whose names filled the books of the 1990s - 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 1990s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Thomas Mann1875-1955 · 20th century · United States · Writers15
  2. 2Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers7.2
  3. 3Max Weber1864-1920 · 19th century · Germany · Academics6.2
  4. 4Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers5.3
  5. 5Helmut Kohl1930-2017 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians5.2
  6. 6Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics4.6
  7. 7Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians3.8
  8. 8Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors3.7
  9. 9Christa Wolf1929-2011 · 20th century · Germany · Writers3.5
  10. 10Karl Kraus1874-1936 · 20th century · Austria · Writers3.4
  11. 11Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians3.4
  12. 12Walter Benjamin1892-1940 · 20th century · Academics3.3
  13. 13Heinrich Heine1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers3.1
  14. 14Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures3.1
  15. 15Heinrich Mann1871-1950 · 20th century · Germany · Writers3.1
  16. 16Willy Brandt1913-1992 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians3.0
  17. 17Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures2.8
  18. 18Bertolt Brecht1898-1956 · 20th century · Austria · Writers2.8
  19. 19Carl Schmitt1888-1985 · 20th century · Germany · Academics2.7
  20. 20Erich Honecker1912-1994 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians2.6
  21. 21George Frederick of Waldeck-Eisenberg1620-1692 · 17th century · Models2.5
  22. 22Richard Strauss1864-1949 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians2.4
  23. 23Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · 19th century · Germany · Writers2.4
  24. 24Anna Seghers1900-1983 · 20th century · Germany · Writers2.3
  25. 25Günter Grass1927-2015 · 20th century · Germany · Writers2.2
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1990s, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Michael Jackson1958-2009 · United States · Musicians5 decades
  2. 2Barack Obamaborn 1961 · United States · Politicians2 decades
  3. 3Steve Jobs1955-2011 · United States · Founders4 decades
  4. 4Pope Leo XIVborn 1955 · United States · Religious Figures0 decades
  5. 5Madonnaborn 1958 · United States · Musiciansnot measured-
  6. 6Osama bin Laden1957-2011 · Saudi Arabia · Historical Figures3 decades
  7. 7Diego Maradona1960-2020 · Argentina · Footballers4 decades
  8. 8Bill Gatesborn 1955 · United States · Founders4 decades
  9. 9Brad Pittborn 1963 · United States · Actors3 decades
  10. 10Nicolás Maduroborn 1962 · Venezuela · Politicians2 decades
  11. 11Michael Jordanborn 1963 · United States · Basketball Players4 decades
  12. 12Diana, Princess of Wales1961-1997 · United Kingdom · Historical Figures0 decades
  13. 13Kamala Harrisborn 1964 · United States · Politicians1 decades
  14. 14Johnny Deppborn 1963 · United States · Actors3 decades
  15. 15Tom Cruiseborn 1962 · United States · Actors4 decades
  16. 16Tom Hanksborn 1956 · United States · Actors4 decades
  17. 17Tupac Shakur1971-1996 · United States · Musicians3 decades
  18. 18Keanu Reevesborn 1964 · Canada · Actors3 decades
  19. 19Whitney Houston1963-2012 · United States · Musicians4 decades
  20. 20Keir Starmerborn 1962 · United Kingdom · Politicians0 decades
  21. 21Sandra Bullockborn 1964 · United States · Actors3 decades
  22. 22Jim Carreyborn 1962 · United States · Actors3 decades
  23. 23George Clooneyborn 1961 · United States · Actors3 decades
  24. 24Bruce Willisborn 1955 · United States · Actors4 decades
  25. 25Jeff Bezosborn 1964 · United States · Founders2 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.