1800–1899
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.
In books written inEnglish18,114German3,599French3,347Italian1,787Spanish1,162Russian325Hebrew105Chinese9
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Per million words
- 1
Frederick William, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen1663–1735 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures8.4 - 2
Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt1700–1771 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany8.4 - 3
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg1620–1688 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures8.4 - 4
Frederick William of Saxe-Meiningen1679–1746 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures8.4
- 5
Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden1857–1928 · 19th century · Historical Figures4.0 - 6
Maria Theresa1717–1780 · 18th century · 🇦🇹 Austria · Historical Figures3.8 - 7
Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg1633–1708 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany3.8 - 8
Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg1676–1732 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians3.8 - 9
Frederick II, Elector Palatine1482–1556 · 16th century3.8 - 10
Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1418–1478 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures3.8 - 11
Frederick II of Legnica1480–1547 · 16th century3.8 - 12
John Frederick, Count Palatine of Sulzbach-Hilpoltstein1587–1644 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany2.9 - 13
John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania1542–1600 · 16th century · Religious Figures2.9
- 14
John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach1654–1686 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models2.9 - 15
John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1625–1679 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2.9 - 16
John Frederick, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt1721–1767 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2.9
- 17
John Frederick, Duke of Württemberg1582–1628 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2.9 - 18
John George, Elector of Brandenburg1525–1598 · 16th century · Religious Figures2.7
- 19
Johann Georg, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels1677–1712 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2.7 - 20HIHenry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1460–1526 · 15th century · Historical Figures2.5
- 21
Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg1417–1477 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany2.5 - 22HIHenry IV, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg1397–1427 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures2.5
- 23
Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein1853–1938 · 19th century · 🇦🇹 Austria · Politicians1.9 - 24
Jean Paul1763–1825 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers1.8 - 25
Frederick Augustus, Duke of Württemberg-Neuenstadt1654–1716 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.8 - 26
Frederick Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst1734–1793 · 18th century · Historical Figures1.8 - 27
Frederick Augustus, Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Oels1740–1805 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.8 - 28
Frederick August I, Duke of Oldenburg1711–1785 · 18th century · Models1.8 - 29
Duke Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt1831–1904 · 19th century · Historical Figures1.7 - 30
Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden1826–1907 · 19th century · Historical Figures1.7
- 31
Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg1489–1568 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.6 - 32
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria951–995 · 10th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.6 - 33HIHenry II of Augsburg1001–1063 · 11th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Religious Figures1.6
- 34HIHenry II, Count of Gorizia1150–1150 · 12th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.6
- 35
Henry II, Count of Reuss-Gera1572–1635 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.6 - 36HIHenry II, Lord of Mecklenburg1262–1329 · 13th century · Historical Figures1.6
- 37HIHenry II, Margrave of Meissen1103–1123 · 12th century · Models1.6
- 38HIHenry II, Duke of Limburg1110–1167 · 12th century · Historical Figures1.6
- 39
Henry II, Landgrave of Hesse1299–1376 · 14th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.6 - 40
Frederick I, Count Palatine of Simmern1417–1480 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.5 - 41
Frederick I1425–1476 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians1.5 - 42
Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg1646–1691 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.5 - 43
Frederick I of Prussia1657–1713 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians1.5 - 44
Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg1585–1638 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.5 - 45
Frederick I of Liegnitz1446–1488 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.5
- 46
Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg1371–1440 · 15th century1.5 - 47
Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel1357–1400 · 14th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.5 - 48
Frederick III, German Emperor1831–1888 · 19th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians1.5 - 49
Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg1852–1931 · 19th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.5 - 50HIHenry III, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1416–1464 · 15th century1.4
- 51
Henry III1215–1288 · 13th century · Writers1.4 - 52HIHenry III, Duke of Mecklenburg1337–1383 · 14th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.4
- 53
Henry III, Count of Sayn1193–1247 · 13th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.4 - 54
Henry III, Duke of Limburg1167–1221 · 13th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.4 - 55HIHenry III, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben1300–1307 · 14th century · Religious Figures1.4
- 56
Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse1440–1483 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models1.4 - 57
Henry III of Nassau-Breda1483–1538 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.4 - 58HIHenry III, Duke of Bavaria940–989 · 10th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.4
- 59WIWilliam III, Count of Weimar1000–1039 · 11th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.4
- 60
William III1425–1482 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.4 - 61
William III, Landgrave of Hesse1471–1500 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.4 - 62
Paracelsus1493–1541 · 16th century · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Doctors1.4 - 63
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor1741–1790 · 18th century · 🇦🇹 Austria · Historical Figures1.3 - 64
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor1316–1378 · 14th century · Historical Figures1.3 - 65
Frederick III of Legnica1520–1570 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.3 - 66
Frederick III of the Palatinate1515–1576 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models1.3 - 67
Frederick III, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg1744–1794 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.3 - 68
Frederick III, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg1673–1746 · 18th century · Politicians1.3 - 69
Frederick III, Margrave of Baden1327–1353 · 14th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models1.3 - 70
Frederick III, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp1597–1659 · 17th century · Historical Figures1.3 - 71
Friedrich III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth1711–1763 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models1.3 - 72
Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg1220–1297 · 13th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.3 - 73
Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg1699–1772 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.3
- 74
Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow1633–1695 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers1.2 - 75
Philip II, Margrave of Baden-Baden1559–1588 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Models1.2 - 76PIPhilip II, Count of Waldeck1453–1524 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.2
- 77
Philip II, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe1723–1787 · 18th century · Historical Figures1.2 - 78
Philip II, Duke of Pomerania1573–1618 · 17th century · Historical Figures1.2
- 79PIPhilip II, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg1501–1529 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.2
- 80PIPhilip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen1533–1596 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.2
- 81PIPhilip II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg1462–1504 · 15th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.2
- 82
William the Silent1533–1584 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians1.1 - 83
William I, German Emperor1797–1888 · 19th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.1
- 84
William I1343–1407 · 14th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.1 - 85
William I, Elector of Hesse1743–1821 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.1 - 86WIWilliam I of Weimar900–963 · 10th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.1
- 87
William, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg1648–1725 · 17th century · 🇩🇪 Germany1.1 - 88
William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen1487–1559 · 16th century1.1 - 89
Wilhelm I of Württemberg1781–1864 · 19th century · Historical Figures1.1 - 90
William I, Duke of Bavaria1330–1389 · 14th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Politicians1.1 - 91
Carl Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach1783–1853 · 19th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.0 - 92
Karl Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg1668–1721 · 18th century · Historical Figures1.0 - 93
Charles Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen1712–1743 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.0
- 94
Ferdinand I of Romania1865–1927 · 20th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures1.0 - 95
Ferdinand II of Portugal1816–1885 · 19th century · 🇦🇹 Austria · Historical Figures1.0 - 96
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor1578–1637 · 17th century · 🇦🇹 Austria · Historical Figures1.0 - 97
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria1529–1595 · 16th century · 🇦🇹 Austria · Historical Figures1.0 - 98
Hans Sachs1494–1576 · 16th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers0.99 - 99
Wilhelm II, German Emperor1859–1941 · 19th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0.99 - 100
Wilhelm II of Württemberg1848–1921 · 19th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0.95
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 19th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Echoed
- 1
Abraham Lincoln1809–1865 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 2
Edgar Allan Poe1809–1849 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers17 decades - 3
Thomas Edison1847–1931 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists13 decades - 4
Theodore Roosevelt1858–1919 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians16 decades - 5
Mark Twain1835–1910 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers16 decades - 6
James A. Garfield1831–1881 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians16 decades - 7
Henry Ford1863–1947 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders16 decades - 8
William McKinley1843–1901 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians16 decades - 9
Woodrow Wilson1856–1924 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians14 decades - 10
Ulysses S. Grant1822–1885 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians16 decades - 11
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers13 decades - 12
John D. Rockefeller1839–1937 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders14 decades - 13
James Buchanan1791–1868 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 14
Alexander Graham Bell1847–1922 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists15 decades - 15
Harriet Tubman1821–1913 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers9 decades - 16
Grover Cleveland1837–1908 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians14 decades - 17
Andrew Jackson1767–1845 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 18
Emily Dickinson1830–1886 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers13 decades - 19
Joseph Smith1805–1844 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 20
Robert E. Lee1807–1870 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists16 decades - 21
Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics19 decades - 22
Chester A. Arthur1829–1886 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians15 decades - 23
Walt Whitman1819–1892 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers17 decades - 24
Sitting Bull1831–1890 · 🇺🇸 United States15 decades - 25
John Quincy Adams1767–1848 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 26
Herman Melville1819–1891 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades - 27
Andrew Carnegie1835–1919 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics14 decades - 28
P. T. Barnum1810–1891 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians17 decades - 29
Andrew Johnson1808–1875 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 30
William Howard Taft1857–1930 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians12 decades - 31
Martin Van Buren1782–1862 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians21 decades - 32
J. P. Morgan1837–1913 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders16 decades - 33
William Henry Harrison1773–1841 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 34
Billy the Kid1859–1881 · 🇺🇸 United States12 decades - 35
Franklin Pierce1804–1869 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians20 decades - 36
Geronimo1829–1909 · 🇺🇸 United States · Actorsnot measured— - 37
John Dewey1859–1952 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics14 decades
- 38
Henry James1843–1916 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades - 39
Jefferson Davis1808–1889 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians20 decades - 40
James K. Polk1795–1849 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians20 decades - 41
William James1842–1910 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics18 decades - 42
Zachary Taylor1784–1850 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians18 decades - 43
John Tyler1790–1862 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians22 decades - 44
Rutherford B. Hayes1822–1893 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians16 decades - 45
Louisa May Alcott1832–1888 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers14 decades - 46
Frederick Douglass1818–1895 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades - 47
Nathaniel Hawthorne1804–1864 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers19 decades - 48
Benjamin Harrison1833–1901 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians19 decades - 49
Harriet Beecher Stowe1811–1896 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers17 decades - 50
Millard Fillmore1800–1874 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians19 decades - 51
Samuel Morse1791–1872 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists0 decades - 52
John Brown1800–1859 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders22 decades - 53
George Armstrong Custer1839–1876 · 🇺🇸 United States · Historical Figures7 decades - 54
James Fenimore Cooper1789–1851 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades - 55
Mary Cassatt1844–1926 · 🇺🇸 United States · Artists12 decades - 56
Edith Wharton1862–1937 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers13 decades - 57
Nellie Bly1864–1922 · 🇺🇸 United States · Journalists13 decades - 58
Levi Strauss1829–1902 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders11 decades - 59
Jesse James1847–1882 · 🇺🇸 United States14 decades - 60
Washington Irving1783–1859 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers22 decades - 61
John Wilkes Booth1838–1865 · 🇺🇸 United States · Actors16 decades - 62
Brigham Young1801–1877 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics19 decades - 63
John Singer Sargent1856–1925 · 🇺🇸 United States · Artists11 decades - 64
Ambrose Bierce1842–1914 · 🇺🇸 United States · Journalists13 decades - 65
Charles Sanders Peirce1839–1914 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics9 decades - 66
Joseph Pulitzer1847–1911 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians14 decades - 67
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1807–1882 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades - 68
Buffalo Bill1846–1917 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers15 decades - 69
Crazy Horse1849–1877 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians15 decades
- 70
Susan B. Anthony1820–1906 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers16 decades - 71
L. Frank Baum1856–1919 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers8 decades - 72
Sojourner Truth1797–1883 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers13 decades - 73
William Tecumseh Sherman1820–1891 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers14 decades - 74
Jane Addams1860–1935 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics14 decades - 75
Davy Crockett1786–1836 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians19 decades - 76
John Muir1838–1914 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists19 decades - 77
Wilhelm Steinitz1836–1900 · 🇺🇸 United States · Athletes0 decades - 78
John J. Pershing1860–1948 · 🇺🇸 United States · Lawyers12 decades - 79
William Randolph Hearst1863–1951 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians12 decades - 80
James Abbott McNeill Whistler1834–1903 · 🇺🇸 United States · Artists12 decades - 81
Samuel Colt1814–1862 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists18 decades - 82
Liliʻuokalani1838–1917 · 🇺🇸 United States · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 83
Frances Hodgson Burnett1849–1924 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers15 decades - 84
Cornelius Vanderbilt1794–1877 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders18 decades - 85
Stonewall Jackson1824–1863 · 🇺🇸 United States16 decades - 86
Robert Peary1856–1920 · 🇺🇸 United States · Historical Figures3 decades - 87
George Washington Carver1864–1943 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists9 decades - 88
Wyatt Earp1848–1929 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians10 decades - 89
Franz Boas1858–1942 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics14 decades - 90
Frederick Winslow Taylor1856–1915 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists8 decades
- 91
John James Audubon1785–1851 · 🇺🇸 United States · Artists19 decades - 92
Sacagawea1788–1812 · 🇺🇸 United States · Historical Figures9 decades - 93
Antonio Meucci1808–1889 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists14 decades - 94
Tecumseh1768–1813 · 🇺🇸 United Statesnot measured— - 95
Paul Morphy1837–1884 · 🇺🇸 United States7 decades - 96
John Stith Pemberton1831–1888 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists19 decades - 97
Kamehameha I1800–1819 · 🇺🇸 United States · Historical Figures13 decades - 98
Sam Houston1793–1863 · 🇺🇸 United States · Politicians20 decades - 99
Thorstein Veblen1857–1929 · 🇺🇸 United States · Academics11 decades - 100
Robert Fulton1765–1815 · 🇺🇸 United States · Scientists22 decades
How this is measured
- Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active — around age 35, and never after their death.
- Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
- Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
- What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.