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

  1. 1Voltaire1694-1778 · 18th century · France · Writers37
  2. 2Louis XIV of France1638-1715 · 17th century · France · Historical Figures32
  3. 3Louis XVI of France1754-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures16
  4. 4Molière1622-1673 · 17th century · France · Writers15
  5. 5Louis XV of France1710-1774 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures10
  6. 6Montesquieu1689-1755 · 18th century · France · Academics7.7
  7. 7Louis XVIII of France1755-1824 · 18th century · France · Politicians5.7
  8. 8François Fénelon1651-1715 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures5.5
  9. 9Louis XII of France1462-1515 · 15th century · France · Historical Figures5.2
  10. 10Victor Hugo1802-1885 · 19th century · France · Writers3.3
  11. 11Charles X of France1757-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians3.1
  12. 12Marie Antoinette1755-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures2.4
  13. 13Joan of Arc1412-1431 · 15th century · France2.4
  14. 14Francis de Sales1567-1622 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures2.4
  15. 15Philip V of Spain1683-1746 · 18th century · France · Politicians2.2
  16. 16Francis II of France1544-1560 · 16th century · France · Politicians1.9
  17. 17Marie de' Medici1575-1642 · 17th century · France · Politicians1.9
  18. 18Napoleon III1808-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.9
  19. 19Vincent de Paul1581-1660 · 17th century · France · Religious Figures1.9
  20. 20Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme1540-1614 · 16th century · France · Writers1.8
  21. 21Louis Blanc1811-1882 · 19th century · Spain · Politicians1.6
  22. 22Benjamin Constant1767-1830 · 19th century · Switzerland · Politicians1.5
  23. 23Pope Julius II1443-1513 · 15th century · Italy · Religious Figures1.5
  24. 24Jules Favre1809-1880 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.4
  25. 25Jules Simon1814-1896 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.4
  26. 26Pierre de Marivaux1688-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers1.2
  27. 27Jules Ferry1832-1893 · 19th century · France · Politicians1.1
  28. 28Camille Desmoulins1760-1794 · 18th century · France · Journalists0.90
  29. 29Pope John XXII1244-1334 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.89
  30. 30George Sand1804-1876 · 19th century · France · Writers0.85
  31. 31Firmin Didot1764-1836 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.80
  32. 32Claude Bernard1813-1878 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.79
  33. 33Pope Clement V1264-1314 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.78
  34. 34Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712-1778 · 18th century · Switzerland · Academics0.76
  35. 35Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon1635-1719 · 17th century · France · Academics0.76
  36. 36Odilon Barrot1791-1873 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.76
  37. 37Louis XVII of France1785-1795 · 18th century · France0.73
  38. 38Louis Bonaparte1778-1846 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.73
  39. 39Anne of Brittany1477-1514 · 16th century · France0.73
  40. 40La Grange1635-1692 · 17th century · France · Actors0.73
  41. 41Auguste Comte1798-1857 · 19th century · France · Academics0.69
  42. 42Charles the Bold1433-1477 · 15th century · France · Politicians0.69
  43. 43Alfred de Musset1810-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers0.68
  44. 44André Chénier1762-1794 · 18th century · France · Writers0.66
  45. 45Margaret of Valois1553-1615 · 16th century · France · Writers0.61
  46. 46Gustav III of Sweden1746-1792 · 18th century · Sweden · Politicians0.58
  47. 47Théophile Gautier1811-1872 · 19th century · France · Writers0.57
  48. 48Diane de Poitiers1499-1566 · 16th century · France0.56
  49. 49Olivier de Serres1539-1619 · 16th century · Writers0.55
  50. 50Nostradamus1503-1566 · 16th century · France · Academics0.53
  51. 51Jeanne d'Albret1528-1572 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.52
  52. 52Augustin Thierry1795-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers0.52
  53. 53Napoleon1769-1821 · 19th century · France · Historical Figures0.51
  54. 54Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy1480-1530 · 16th century · Spain · Artists0.49
  55. 55Joseph Bonaparte1768-1844 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.49
  56. 56Charlotte Corday1768-1793 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures0.48
  57. 57Joseph de Maistre1753-1821 · 18th century · France · Academics0.48
  58. 58Ambroise Paré1510-1590 · 16th century · France · Doctors0.48
  59. 59Mary of Burgundy1457-1482 · 15th century · France · Politicians0.47
  60. 60Pierre Corneille1606-1684 · 17th century · France · Writers0.46
  61. 61Stendhal1783-1842 · 19th century · France · Writers0.45
  62. 62Claude Michel1738-1814 · 18th century · France · Artists0.45
  63. 63Pierre Leroux1797-1871 · 19th century · France · Academics0.44
  64. 64Charles Nodier1780-1844 · 19th century · France · Writers0.43
  65. 65Maine de Biran1766-1824 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.43
  66. 66Lucien Bonaparte1775-1840 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.42
  67. 67Casimir Delavigne1793-1843 · 19th century · France · Writers0.42
  68. 68Charles, Count of Soissons1566-1612 · 17th century · France0.40
  69. 69Louis Racine1692-1763 · 18th century · France · Writers0.40
  70. 70Vincent of Beauvais1190-1264 · 13th century · Educators0.40
  71. 71Jean Goujon1510-1567 · 16th century · France · Architects0.39
  72. 72Pope Urban V1310-1370 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.39
  73. 73Thomas Corneille1625-1709 · 17th century · France · Writers0.38
  74. 74Horace Vernet1789-1863 · 19th century · France · Artists0.38
  75. 75Gaston Paris1839-1903 · 19th century · France · Writers0.37
  76. 76Antoine of Navarre1518-1562 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.36
  77. 77Félix Faure1841-1899 · 19th century · France · Politicians0.36
  78. 78Jacques Clément1567-1589 · 16th century · France0.36
  79. 79Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville1746-1795 · 18th century · France · Politicians0.36
  80. 80Pope Clement IV1190-1268 · 13th century · France · Religious Figures0.35
  81. 81Pope Gregory XI1329-1378 · 14th century · France · Religious Figures0.35
  82. 82Charles Dupin1784-1873 · 19th century · France · Academics0.35
  83. 83John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir1370-1397 · 14th century · France · Politicians0.33
  84. 84Alfred de Vigny1797-1863 · 19th century · France · Writers0.33
  85. 85Blanche of Castile1188-1252 · 13th century · Spain · Historical Figures0.32
  86. 86Jean Bart1650-1702 · 17th century0.31
  87. 87Godfrey of Bouillon1060-1100 · 11th century · France · Historical Figures0.31
  88. 88Charles, Duke of Orléans1394-1465 · 15th century · France · Writers0.31
  89. 89Victor Cousin1792-1867 · 19th century · France · Academics0.30
  90. 90Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours1489-1512 · 16th century · France0.29
  91. 91Charles of France, Duke of Berry1686-1714 · 18th century · France · Historical Figures0.29
  92. 92Drogo801-855 · 9th century · France · Religious Figures0.28
  93. 93Paul Bourget1852-1935 · 19th century · France · Writers0.28
  94. 94Alphonse Daudet1840-1897 · 19th century · France · Writers0.28
  95. 95Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor1500-1558 · 16th century · Historical Figures0.28
  96. 96Sarah Bernhardt1844-1923 · 19th century · France · Actors0.27
  97. 97Anne de Montmorency1493-1567 · 16th century · France · Politicians0.27
  98. 98Eugène Sue1804-1857 · 19th century · France · Writers0.26
  99. 99Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan1640-1707 · 17th century · France0.26
  100. 100Philip I, Count of Flanders1142-1191 · 12th century · Politicians0.26

Lived then

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

  1. 1Fyodor Dostoevsky1821-1881 · Russia · Writers17 decades
  2. 2Leo Tolstoy1828-1910 · Russia · Writers18 decades
  3. 3Alexander Pushkin1799-1837 · Russia · Writers21 decades
  4. 4Anton Chekhov1860-1904 · Russia · Writers15 decades
  5. 5Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky1840-1893 · Russia · Musicians10 decades
  6. 6Nikolai Gogol1809-1852 · Russia · Writers19 decades
  7. 7Alexander I of Russia1777-1825 · Russia · Historical Figures21 decades
  8. 8Dmitri Mendeleev1834-1907 · Russia · Scientists11 decades
  9. 9Alexander II of Russia1818-1881 · Russia · Historical Figures17 decades
  10. 10Nicholas I of Russia1796-1855 · Russia · Models19 decades
  11. 11Mikhail Lermontov1814-1841 · Russia · Writers15 decades
  12. 12Alexander III of Russia1845-1894 · Russia · Historical Figures16 decades
  13. 13Taras Shevchenko1814-1861 · Russia · Writers13 decades
  14. 14Ivan Pavlov1849-1936 · Russia · Scientists16 decades
  15. 15Peter Kropotkin1842-1921 · Russia · Activists11 decades
  16. 16Konstantin Tsiolkovsky1857-1935 · Russia · Scientists5 decades
  17. 17Ilya Repin1844-1930 · Russia · Artists10 decades
  18. 18Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov1844-1908 · Russia · Musicians9 decades
  19. 19Konstantin Stanislavski1863-1938 · Russia · Actors9 decades
  20. 20Modest Mussorgsky1839-1881 · Russia · Musicians11 decades
  21. 21Ivan Turgenev1818-1883 · Russia · Writers6 decades
  22. 22Ivan Aivazovsky1817-1900 · Russia · Artists2 decades
  23. 23Nikolay Nekrasov1821-1877 · Russia · Writers13 decades
  24. 24Fyodor Tyutchev1803-1873 · Russia · Writers11 decades
  25. 25Alexander Borodin1833-1887 · Russia · Musicians8 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.