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 Italian books during the 1990s, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Caravaggio1571-1610 · 17th century · Italy · Artists7.1
  2. 2Giotto1267-1337 · 14th century · Italy · Artists4.9
  3. 3Benedetto Croce1866-1952 · 20th century · Italy · Academics4.9
  4. 4Antonio da Correggio1489-1534 · 16th century · Italy · Artists4.6
  5. 5Leonardo da Vinci1452-1519 · 15th century · Italy · Artists3.8
  6. 6Dante Alighieri1265-1321 · 14th century · Writers3.6
  7. 7Tintoretto1519-1594 · 16th century · Italy · Artists3.6
  8. 8Donato Bramante1444-1514 · 15th century · Italy · Architects3.6
  9. 9Donatello1386-1466 · 15th century · Artists3.4
  10. 10Charles Borromeo1538-1584 · 16th century · Italy · Religious Figures3.0
  11. 11Silvio Berlusconi1936-2023 · 20th century · Italy · Politicians2.8
  12. 12Piero della Francesca1415-1492 · 15th century · Italy · Artists2.7
  13. 13Giacomo Leopardi1798-1837 · 19th century · Italy · Writers2.6
  14. 14Francis of Assisi1182-1226 · 13th century · Italy · Writers2.6
  15. 15Guercino1591-1666 · 17th century · Italy · Artists2.6
  16. 16Pietro Aretino1492-1556 · 16th century · Italy · Writers2.4
  17. 17Torquato Tasso1544-1595 · 16th century · Italy · Writers2.3
  18. 18Giordano Bruno1548-1600 · 16th century · Italy · Academics2.3
  19. 19Lorenzo de' Medici1449-1492 · 15th century · Politicians2.2
  20. 20Aldo Moro1916-1978 · 20th century · Italy · Politicians2.2
  21. 21Philip Neri1515-1595 · 16th century · Religious Figures2.0
  22. 22Giulio Romano1499-1546 · 16th century · Italy · Artists2.0
  23. 23Alessandro Manzoni1785-1873 · 19th century · Italy · Writers2.0
  24. 24Pontormo1494-1556 · 16th century · Italy · Artists1.9
  25. 25Italo Calvino1923-1985 · 20th century · Italy · Journalists1.9
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.