215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1800-1899

The 19th century

Whose names filled the books of the 19th century - 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 19th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures3.8
  2. 2Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers1.8
  3. 3Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors1.4
  4. 4Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor1741-1790 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures1.3
  5. 5Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316-1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.3
  6. 6Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633-1695 · 17th century · Germany · Writers1.2
  7. 7Hans Sachs1494-1576 · 16th century · Germany · Writers0.99
  8. 8William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel1532-1592 · 16th century · Germany · Scientists0.85
  9. 9Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor1685-1740 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures0.85
  10. 10Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1757-1828 · 18th century · Politicians0.84
  11. 11George Frederick of Waldeck-Eisenberg1620-1692 · 17th century · Models0.84
  12. 12Władysław of Głogów1420-1460 · 15th century · Germany0.78
  13. 13Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures0.78
  14. 14Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers0.77
  15. 15Louis Philip, Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern1602-1655 · 17th century · Germany0.75
  16. 16Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor1165-1197 · 12th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.72
  17. 17Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental1652-1698 · 17th century · Politicians0.71
  18. 18Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor1768-1835 · 19th century0.65
  19. 19Albrecht Dürer1471-1528 · 16th century · Germany · Artists0.64
  20. 20Frederick William IV of Prussia1795-1861 · 19th century · Politicians0.59
  21. 21Conradin1252-1268 · 13th century · Germany · Musicians0.58
  22. 22Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg1629-1698 · 17th century · Germany · Historical Figures0.55
  23. 23Catherine the Great1729-1796 · 18th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.55
  24. 24Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians0.55
  25. 25Francis Anthony, Count of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch1657-1702 · 17th century · Germany0.53
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 19th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1E. T. A. Hoffmann1776-1822 · Germany · Writers21 decades
  2. 2Heinrich von Kleist1777-1811 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  3. 3Helmuth von Moltke the Elder1800-1891 · Germany · Writers13 decades
  4. 4Gerhart Hauptmann1862-1946 · Germany · Writers13 decades
  5. 5Karl May1842-1912 · Germany · Writers14 decades
  6. 6Novalis1772-1801 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  7. 7Friedrich Hölderlin1770-1843 · Germany · Writers18 decades
  8. 8Theodor Fontane1819-1898 · Germany · Writers17 decades
  9. 9Georg Büchner1813-1837 · Germany · Writers17 decades
  10. 10Theodor Storm1817-1888 · Germany · Writers17 decades
  11. 11Wilhelm Grimm1786-1859 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  12. 12Leopold von Ranke1795-1886 · Germany · Writers16 decades
  13. 13Bettina von Arnim1785-1859 · Germany · Writers18 decades
  14. 14Friedrich Schlegel1772-1829 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  15. 15Wilhelm Hauff1802-1827 · Germany · Writers20 decades
  16. 16Frank Wedekind1864-1918 · Germany · Writers12 decades
  17. 17Clemens Brentano1778-1842 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  18. 18Eduard Mörike1804-1875 · Germany · Writers18 decades
  19. 19Wilhelm Dilthey1833-1911 · Germany · Writers14 decades
  20. 20Ernst Moritz Arndt1769-1860 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  21. 21Elisabeth of Wied1843-1916 · Germany · Writers0 decades
  22. 22Friedrich Rückert1788-1866 · Germany · Writers22 decades
  23. 23Anne Catherine Emmerich1774-1824 · Germany · Writers8 decades
  24. 24Multatuli1820-1887 · Germany · Writers9 decades
  25. 25Philipp Mainländer1841-1876 · Germany · Writers2 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.