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 Italian books during the 19th century — whenever they lived.
In books written inEnglish18,114German3,599French3,347Italian1,787Spanish1,162Russian325Hebrew105Chinese9
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Per million words
- 1
Giotto1267–1337 · 14th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists5.5 - 2
Antonio da Correggio1489–1534 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists5.0 - 3
Lorenzo de' Medici1449–1492 · 15th century · Politicians3.0 - 4
Dante Alighieri1265–1321 · 14th century · Writers2.9 - 5
Pietro Perugino1448–1523 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists2.9 - 6
Donato Bramante1444–1514 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Architects2.6 - 7
Torquato Tasso1544–1595 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers2.6 - 8
Caravaggio1571–1610 · 17th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists2.1 - 9
Apostolo Zeno1668–1750 · 18th century · Writers2.1 - 10
Cimabue1240–1302 · 13th century · Artists2.1 - 11
Tintoretto1519–1594 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.9 - 12
Charles Borromeo1538–1584 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures1.8 - 13
Donatello1386–1466 · 15th century · Artists1.8 - 14
Paul the Deacon720–799 · 8th century · Writers1.8 - 15
Leonardo da Vinci1452–1519 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.7 - 16
Philip Neri1515–1595 · 16th century · Religious Figures1.7 - 17
Marco Polo1254–1324 · 13th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians1.7 - 18
Cosimo de' Medici1389–1464 · 15th century · Politicians1.7 - 19
Galileo Galilei1564–1642 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Scientists1.7 - 20
Andrea Doria1466–1560 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians1.6 - 21
Giulio Romano1499–1546 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.6 - 22
Guercino1591–1666 · 17th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.5 - 23
Domenichino1581–1641 · 17th century · Artists1.5 - 24
Ugo Foscolo1778–1827 · 19th century · Writers1.4 - 25
Petrarch1304–1374 · 14th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics1.4 - 26
Andrea del Sarto1486–1530 · 16th century · Artists1.2 - 27
Pietro Aretino1492–1556 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers1.2 - 28
Alessandro Manzoni1785–1873 · 19th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers1.2 - 29
Giorgio Vasari1511–1574 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.2 - 30
Masaccio1401–1428 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.1 - 31
Baldassare Franceschini1611–1690 · 17th century · Artists1.1 - 32
Francis of Assisi1182–1226 · 13th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers1.1 - 33
Cesare Borgia1475–1507 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures1.1 - 34
Paolo Veronese1528–1588 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.1 - 35
Guido Reni1575–1642 · 17th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists1.0 - 36
Dino Compagni1255–1324 · 13th century · Writers1.0 - 37
Pietro Bembo1470–1547 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures1.00 - 38
Guido Cavalcanti1258–1300 · 13th century · Writers0.99 - 39
Niccolò Machiavelli1469–1527 · 16th century · Politicians0.99 - 40
Filippo Maria Visconti1392–1447 · 15th century · Politicians0.97 - 41
Cesare Balbo1789–1853 · 19th century · Politicians0.97 - 42
Giuseppe Mazzini1805–1872 · 19th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Activists0.93 - 43
Prospero Colonna1452–1523 · 15th century0.90 - 44
Benvenuto Cellini1500–1571 · 16th century · Artists0.90 - 45
Benedetto Varchi1503–1565 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.88 - 46
Francesco Guicciardini1483–1540 · 16th century · Writers0.88 - 47
Aloysius Gonzaga1568–1591 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures0.88 - 48
Vittorio Alfieri1749–1803 · 18th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures0.87 - 49
Silvio Pellico1789–1854 · 19th century · Writers0.87 - 50
Cesare Cantù1804–1895 · 19th century · Writers0.87 - 51
Giacomo Leopardi1798–1837 · 19th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.85 - 52
Vincenzo Gioberti1801–1852 · 19th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics0.85 - 53
Giovanni Boccaccio1313–1375 · 14th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.85 - 54
Francesco Redi1626–1697 · 17th century · Doctors0.85 - 55
Francesco Gonzaga1444–1483 · 15th century0.84 - 56
Franco Sacchetti1332–1400 · 14th century · Writers0.82 - 57
Teodato Ipato750–800 · 8th century · Politicians0.80 - 58
Salvator Rosa1615–1673 · 17th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.76 - 59
Giordano Bruno1548–1600 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics0.75 - 60
Girolamo Savonarola1452–1498 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0.74 - 61
Domenico Passignano1559–1638 · 16th century · Artists0.74 - 62
Paolo Sarpi1552–1623 · 16th century · Academics0.73 - 63
Parmigianino1503–1540 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.72 - 64
Paolo Giovio1483–1552 · 16th century · Writers0.71 - 65
Massimo d'Azeglio1798–1866 · 19th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0.71 - 66
Aldus Manutius1449–1515 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy0.71 - 67AMAldus Manutius the Younger1547–1597 · 16th century0.71
- 68
Bernardo Tasso1493–1569 · 16th century · Writers0.71 - 69
Lucrezia Borgia1480–1519 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures0.69 - 70
Pietro da Cortona1596–1669 · 17th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.69
- 71MVMatteo Villani1283–1363 · 14th century · Writers0.68
- 72
Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei1675–1755 · 18th century · Writers0.66 - 73
Luigi Alamanni1495–1556 · 16th century · Writers0.65 - 74
Vittoria Colonna1492–1547 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.64 - 75
Pietro Verri1728–1797 · 18th century · Academics0.64 - 76
Pinturicchio1454–1513 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.64 - 77
Giuliano de' Medici1453–1478 · 15th century · Politicians0.62 - 78
Marsilio Ficino1433–1499 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics0.62 - 79
Filippo Villani1325–1407 · 14th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.62 - 80
Paulus Manutius1512–1574 · 16th century · Writers0.61 - 81
Catherine de' Medici1519–1589 · 16th century · 🇫🇷 France · Historical Figures0.60 - 82
Scipione Ammirato1531–1601 · 16th century · Writers0.58 - 83
Bernardino of Siena1380–1444 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics0.58 - 84
Francesco Filelfo1398–1481 · 15th century · Academics0.56 - 85
Andrea Gritti1455–1538 · 15th century · Politicians0.56 - 86
Pontormo1494–1556 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.52 - 87
Antonio Rosmini1797–1855 · 19th century · Academics0.51 - 88
Leon Battista Alberti1404–1472 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Architects0.49 - 89
Francesco Foscari1373–1457 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0.47 - 90
Giosuè Carducci1835–1907 · 19th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.47 - 91
Andrea Dandolo1306–1354 · 14th century · Politicians0.45 - 92
Alessandro Cagliostro1743–1795 · 18th century · 🇫🇷 France · Doctors0.45 - 93
Francesco Vettori1474–1540 · 16th century · Writers0.45 - 94
Leandro Alberti1479–1552 · 16th century · Writers0.45 - 95
Amerigo Vespucci1454–1512 · 15th century · Historical Figures0.44 - 96
Erasmo of Narni1370–1443 · 15th century · 🇮🇹 Italy0.44 - 97
Anton Maria Salvini1653–1729 · 17th century · Writers0.43 - 98
Michelangelo1475–1564 · 16th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.43 - 99
Francesca da Rimini1259–1285 · 13th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0.42 - 100
Antonio Canova1757–1822 · 18th century · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists0.42
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
Queen Victoria1819–1901 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 2
Jane Austen1775–1817 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades - 3
Charles Darwin1809–1882 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists21 decades - 4
Oscar Wilde1854–1900 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers14 decades - 5
Charles Dickens1812–1870 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers20 decades - 6
Lord Byron1788–1824 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers22 decades - 7
Arthur Conan Doyle1859–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers12 decades - 8
Robert Louis Stevenson1850–1894 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers15 decades - 9
Edward VII1841–1910 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures13 decades - 10
Mary Shelley1797–1851 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers16 decades - 11
Emily Brontë1818–1848 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers14 decades - 12
Lewis Carroll1832–1898 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers16 decades - 13
George Bernard Shaw1856–1950 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers13 decades - 14
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell1857–1941 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writersnot measured— - 15
Charlotte Brontë1816–1855 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers17 decades - 16
J. M. W. Turner1775–1851 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists22 decades - 17
William IV of the United Kingdom1765–1837 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures22 decades - 18
Michael Faraday1791–1867 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists20 decades - 19
John Stuart Mill1806–1873 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics18 decades - 20
Walter Scott1771–1832 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers22 decades - 21
James Clerk Maxwell1831–1879 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists14 decades - 22
Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers21 decades - 23
David Livingstone1813–1873 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures17 decades - 24
George Eliot1819–1880 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades - 25
Charles Babbage1791–1871 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics20 decades - 26
Cecil Rhodes1853–1902 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians12 decades - 27
John Keats1795–1821 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers21 decades - 28
Thomas Robert Malthus1766–1834 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics8 decades - 29
John Ruskin1819–1900 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers18 decades - 30
David Lloyd George1863–1945 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians11 decades - 31
Anne Brontë1820–1849 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers1 decades - 32
Thomas Hardy1840–1928 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers18 decades - 33
Herbert Spencer1820–1903 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics17 decades - 34
J. M. Barrie1860–1937 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers13 decades - 35
John Dalton1766–1844 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists22 decades - 36
Emmeline Pankhurst1858–1928 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians7 decades - 37
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers20 decades - 38
Edward Elgar1857–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Musicians13 decades - 39
William Morris1834–1896 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists19 decades - 40
J. J. Thomson1856–1940 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists0 decades - 41
William Wordsworth1770–1850 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers22 decades - 42
Alfred Russel Wallace1823–1913 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures15 decades - 43
Henry Morton Stanley1841–1904 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Journalists7 decades - 44
Alfred North Whitehead1861–1947 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics10 decades - 45
James Prescott Joule1818–1889 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists3 decades - 46
George Boole1855–1864 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics9 decades - 47
Thomas Henry Huxley1825–1895 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists16 decades - 48
Victoria, Princess Royal1840–1901 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists0 decades - 49
Arthur Balfour1848–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians15 decades - 50
William Ewart Gladstone1809–1898 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians18 decades - 51
Alfred Tennyson1809–1892 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades - 52
Samuel Taylor Coleridge1772–1834 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades - 53
Dante Gabriel Rossetti1828–1882 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers15 decades - 54
H. H. Asquith1852–1928 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians11 decades - 55
John Herschel1792–1871 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 56
Francis Galton1822–1911 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics17 decades - 57
John Constable1776–1837 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists22 decades
- 58
Edward Smith1850–1912 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures17 decades - 59
Richard Francis Burton1821–1890 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures2 decades - 60
Humphry Davy1778–1829 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists22 decades - 61
Annie Besant1847–1933 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers15 decades - 62
Robert Peel1788–1850 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians22 decades - 63
Mary Anning1799–1847 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom5 decades - 64
Elizabeth Barrett Browning1806–1861 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers17 decades - 65
Thomas Young1773–1829 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists22 decades - 66
George Stephenson1781–1848 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists22 decades - 67
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston1784–1865 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politiciansnot measured— - 68
Robert Browning1812–1889 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades - 69
Robert Owen1771–1858 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Founders22 decades - 70
Joseph Lister1827–1912 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Doctors18 decades - 71
Joseph Merrick1862–1890 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists0 decades - 72
Isambard Kingdom Brunel1806–1859 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists2 decades - 73
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom1843–1878 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 74
Eadweard Muybridge1830–1904 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists7 decades - 75
John Everett Millais1829–1896 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists13 decades - 76
Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover1771–1851 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians0 decades
- 77
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury1830–1903 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politiciansnot measured— - 78
Richard Trevithick1771–1833 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists19 decades - 79
Jerome K. Jerome1859–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers13 decades - 80
George Everest1790–1866 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures2 decades - 81
Alfred Marshall1842–1924 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics16 decades - 82
Austen Chamberlain1863–1937 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politicians13 decades - 83
Richard Owen1804–1892 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists22 decades - 84
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston1859–1925 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 85
Princess Charlotte of Wales1796–1817 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures1 decades - 86
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers6 decades - 87
John Franklin1786–1847 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figures22 decades - 88
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig1861–1928 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politiciansnot measured— - 89
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom1857–1944 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 90
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn1767–1820 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 91
H. Rider Haggard1856–1925 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers14 decades - 92
James George Frazer1854–1941 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics8 decades - 93
Charles George Gordon1833–1885 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Scientists5 decades - 94
Aubrey Beardsley1872–1898 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Artists13 decades - 95
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha1844–1900 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 96
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell1792–1878 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Politiciansnot measured— - 97
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale1864–1892 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured— - 98
John Snow1813–1858 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Doctors21 decades - 99
Samuel Butler1835–1902 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades - 100
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom1846–1923 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured—
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.