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 English books during the 19th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Jesus5 BC-30 · 1st century · Religious Figures94
  2. 2Homer900 BC-800 BC · 1st millennium BC · Writers15
  3. 3Cicero106 BC-43 BC · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Politicians13
  4. 4Augustus63 BC-14 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Politicians13
  5. 5Plato428 BC-348 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics10
  6. 6Virgil70 BC-19 BC · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers9.6
  7. 7Aristotle384 BC-322 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics9.4
  8. 8Socrates470 BC-399 BC · 1st millennium BC · Brazil · Academics6.4
  9. 9Herodotus484 BC-425 BC · 1st millennium BC · Turkey · Writers6.2
  10. 10Plutarch40-120 · 1st century · Academics5.6
  11. 11Ovid43 BC-17 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers4.2
  12. 12Strabo63 BC-23 · 1st millennium BC · Academics4.1
  13. 13Charlemagne748-814 · 8th century · Historical Figures3.9
  14. 14Demosthenes384 BC-322 BC · 1st millennium BC · Politicians3.8
  15. 15Lord Byron1788-1824 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Writers3.6
  16. 16Livy59 BC-17 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers3.4
  17. 17Origen185-254 · 3rd century · Egypt · Academics3.1
  18. 18Cleopatra69 BC-30 BC · 1st millennium BC · Egypt · Historical Figures3.0
  19. 19Xenophon430 BC-354 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics3.0
  20. 20Walter Scott1771-1832 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Writers3.0
  21. 21Tertullian160-240 · 2nd century · Academics2.7
  22. 22James II, Count of Urgell1388-1433 · 15th century2.6
  23. 23Robert Peel1788-1850 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Politicians2.6
  24. 24Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor1275-1313 · 14th century · France2.6
  25. 25Pericles494 BC-429 BC · 1st millennium BC · Politicians2.5
Show 75 more

Lived then

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

  1. 1Emperor Meiji1852-1912 · Japan · Historical Figures11 decades
  2. 2Itō Hirobumi1841-1909 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  3. 3Saigō Takamori1828-1877 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  4. 4Emperor Kōmei1831-1867 · Japan · Models0 decades
  5. 5Lafcadio Hearn1850-1904 · Japan · Writers14 decades
  6. 6Hiroshige1797-1858 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  7. 7Tokugawa Yoshinobu1837-1913 · Japan · Artists0 decades
  8. 8Sakamoto Ryōma1836-1867 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  9. 9Kanō Jigorō1860-1938 · Japan · Educators0 decades
  10. 10Tōgō Heihachirō1848-1934 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  11. 11Emperor Kōkaku1771-1840 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  12. 12Emperor Ninkō1800-1846 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  13. 13Yamagata Aritomo1838-1922 · Japan · Politicians3 decades
  14. 14Fukuzawa Yukichi1835-1901 · Japan · Educators7 decades
  15. 15Ōkubo Toshimichi1830-1878 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  16. 16Mori Ōgai1862-1922 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  17. 17Inukai Tsuyoshi1855-1932 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  18. 18Kitasato Shibasaburō1853-1931 · Japan · Academics0 decades
  19. 19Katsura Tarō1848-1913 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  20. 20Ōkuma Shigenobu1838-1922 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  21. 21Utagawa Kuniyoshi1798-1861 · Japan · Artists0 decades
  22. 22Terauchi Masatake1852-1919 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  23. 23Hara Takashi1856-1921 · Japan · Politicians0 decades
  24. 24Fusajirō Yamauchi1859-1940 · Japan · Foundersnot measured-
  25. 25Tokugawa Iemochi1846-1866 · Japan0 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.