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 Russian books during the 19th century — whenever they lived.
In books written inEnglish18,114German3,599French3,347Italian1,787Spanish1,162Russian325Hebrew105Chinese9
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Per million words
- 1
Patriarch Nikon of Moscow1605–1681 · 17th century · Religious Figures6.7 - 2
Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow1482–1563 · 16th century · Writers3.1 - 3
Nikolai Rezanov1764–1807 · 18th century · Historical Figures1.3 - 4
Boris Godunov1552–1605 · 16th century · Politicians0.99 - 5
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia1859–1919 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.94 - 6
Patriarch Joachim1621–1690 · 17th century0.86 - 7
Vasili IV of Russia1552–1612 · 16th century · Historical Figures0.86 - 8
Nikolay Karamzin1766–1826 · 19th century · Writers0.85 - 9
Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia1843–1865 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.83 - 10
Anna of Russia1693–1740 · 18th century · Politicians0.82 - 11
Nikolay Semyonov1896–1986 · 20th century · Scientists0.75 - 12
Ivan I of Tver1357–1425 · 14th century · Historical Figures0.66 - 13
Avraamy Palitsyn1550–1626 · 16th century · Writers0.64 - 14
Ivan I Aleksandrovich, Prince of Smolenskdied 1359 · 14th century0.62 - 15
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia1779–1831 · 19th century · Politicians0.62 - 16
Elizabeth of Russia1709–1761 · 18th century · Historical Figures0.58 - 17
Alexandra Velyaminova1301–1364 · 14th century0.57 - 18
Peter the Great1672–1725 · 18th century · Politicians0.53 - 19
Maximus the Greek1475–1556 · 16th century · Writers0.53 - 20
Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia1783–1801 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.43 - 21
Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia1864–1931 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.42 - 22
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia1832–1909 · 19th century · Politicians0.42 - 23
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia1895–1918 · 20th century · Historical Figures0.39 - 24
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia1827–1892 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.39 - 25
Grigory Orlov1734–1783 · 18th century · Historical Figures0.38 - 26
Alexander I of Russia1777–1825 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.36 - 27
Leo Tolstoy1828–1910 · 19th century · Writers0.35 - 28
Alexander Bestuzhev1797–1837 · 19th century · Writers0.34 - 29
Ivan the Terrible1530–1584 · 16th century · Politicians0.33 - 30
Pyotr Panin1721–1789 · 18th century0.33 - 31
Ippolit Bogdanovich1743–1803 · 18th century · Writers0.33 - 32
Peter III of Russia1728–1762 · 18th century · 🇩🇪 Germany · Historical Figures0.31
- 33
Stefan Yavorsky1658–1722 · 17th century · Academics0.30 - 34
Grigory Potemkin1739–1791 · 18th century · Politicians0.30 - 35
Boris of Tver1400–1461 · 15th century0.29 - 36
Ivan Mazepa1639–1709 · 17th century · Politicians0.29 - 37
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia1899–1918 · 20th century · Historical Figures0.29 - 38
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia1850–1908 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.29 - 39
Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn1643–1714 · 17th century · Politicians0.28 - 40
Paul I of Russia1754–1801 · 18th century · Historical Figures0.28 - 41
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia1860–1919 · 19th century · Politicians0.28 - 42
Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov1727–1797 · 18th century · Writers0.28 - 43
Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia1690–1718 · 18th century · Politicians0.27 - 44
Nicholas I of Russia1796–1855 · 19th century · Models0.26 - 45
Alexander Pushkin1799–1837 · 19th century · Writers0.26 - 46
Dimitry of Rostov1651–1709 · 17th century · Writers0.26 - 47
Alexander Griboyedov1795–1829 · 19th century · Politicians0.25 - 48
Alexander Herzen1812–1870 · 19th century · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Writers0.24 - 49
Vissarion Belinsky1811–1848 · 19th century · Academics0.23 - 50
Konstantin Aksakov1817–1860 · 19th century · Writers0.23 - 51
Nikita Panin1718–1783 · 18th century · Politicians0.22
- 52
Symeon of Polotsk1629–1680 · 17th century · Writers0.21 - 53
Aleksei Musin-Pushkin1744–1817 · 18th century · Writers0.21 - 54
Alexis of Russia1629–1676 · 17th century · Historical Figures0.21 - 55
Xenia Shestova1560–1631 · 16th century0.20 - 56
Mikhail Lermontov1814–1841 · 19th century · Writers0.19 - 57
Olga Nikolaevna of Russia1822–1892 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.19 - 58
Pavel Fedotov1815–1852 · 19th century · Artists0.19 - 59
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia1858–1915 · 19th century · Writers0.19 - 60
Dmitry Shuisky1560–1612 · 16th century0.19 - 61
Alexey Venetsianov1780–1847 · 19th century · Artists0.18 - 62
Nikolay Alexandrovich Lvov1753–1803 · 18th century · Academics0.18 - 63
Catherine Pavlovna of Russia1788–1819 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.18 - 64
Fyodor Alekseyev1755–1824 · 18th century · Artists0.18 - 65
Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia1825–1844 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.17 - 66
Konstantin Batyushkov1787–1855 · 19th century · Writers0.15 - 67
Mykhailo Maksymovych1804–1873 · 19th century · Writers0.15 - 68
Nicholas Repnin1734–1801 · 18th century · Writers0.15 - 69
Kirill Razumovsky1728–1803 · 18th century · Politicians0.14 - 70
Grand Duchess Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia1714–1728 · 18th century0.14 - 71
Natalya Alexeevna of Russia1673–1716 · 18th century · Writers0.14 - 72
Nikolai Leskov1831–1895 · 19th century · Writers0.13 - 73
Aleksei Fedorovich Adashev1510–1561 · 16th century · Politicians0.13 - 74
Alexander Shishkov1754–1841 · 18th century · Writers0.13 - 75
Joseph Volotsky1440–1515 · 15th century · Writers0.12 - 76
Alexander Menshikov1673–1729 · 18th century · Politicians0.12 - 77
Nikolay Dobrolyubov1836–1861 · 19th century · Academics0.11 - 78
Ivan the Young1458–1490 · 15th century · Historical Figures0.11 - 79
Konstantin of Uglich1389–1434 · 15th century0.11 - 80
Dmitry Pozharsky1577–1642 · 17th century · Politicians0.11 - 81
Gleb Uspensky1843–1902 · 19th century · Writers0.10
- 82
Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy1645–1729 · 17th century · Writers0.10 - 83
Alexander Suvorov1730–1800 · 18th century0.10
- 84
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia1871–1899 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.10 - 85
Alexander Ivanov1806–1858 · 19th century · Artists0.10 - 86
Ivan Krylov1769–1844 · 19th century · Writers0.09 - 87
Ivan Dmitriev1760–1837 · 18th century · Writers0.09 - 88
Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov1787–1869 · 19th century · Politicians0.09 - 89
Mikhail of Tver1271–1318 · 14th century · Politicians0.08 - 90
Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov1711–1762 · 18th century · Politicians0.08 - 91
Maxim Gorky1868–1936 · 20th century · Writers0.08 - 92
Vladimir Odoevsky1803–1869 · 19th century · Writers0.08 - 93
Oleg I of Chernigov1052–1115 · 11th century · Historical Figures0.08 - 94
Mikhail Vorontsov1782–1856 · 19th century · Politicians0.08 - 95
Faddey Bulgarin1789–1859 · 19th century · Writers0.08 - 96
Tikhon of Zadonsk1724–1783 · 18th century · Religious Figures0.08
- 97
Konstantin of Rostov1185–1218 · 13th century · Politicians0.08 - 98
Peter II of Russia1715–1730 · 18th century · Politicians0.08 - 99
Kirill II of Kyiv1250–1280 · 13th century0.08 - 100
Alexander II of Russia1818–1881 · 19th century · Historical Figures0.08
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
Max Planck1858–1947 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 2
Wilhelm Röntgen1845–1923 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists11 decades - 3
Karl Benz1844–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists11 decades - 4
Ernst Haeckel1834–1919 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists16 decades - 5
Justus von Liebig1803–1873 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists17 decades - 6
Georg Ohm1789–1854 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists12 decades - 7
Hermann von Helmholtz1821–1894 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 8
Gottlieb Daimler1834–1900 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists11 decades - 9
Otto Lilienthal1848–1896 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades - 10
Werner von Siemens1816–1892 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades - 11
Philipp Lenard1862–1947 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists11 decades - 12
Carl Zeiss1816–1888 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades - 13
Ferdinand von Zeppelin1838–1917 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists5 decades - 14
Robert Bosch1861–1942 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades - 15
Nikolaus Otto1832–1891 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 16
August Kekulé1829–1896 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades - 17
Robert Bunsen1811–1899 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists9 decades - 18
Joseph von Fraunhofer1787–1826 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades - 19
Wilhelm Maybach1846–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists8 decades - 20
Karl Drais1785–1851 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 21
Hugo Junkers1859–1935 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists11 decades - 22
Wilhelm Ostwald1853–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades - 23
Philipp Franz von Siebold1796–1866 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists6 decades - 24
Friedrich Wöhler1800–1882 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists17 decades - 25
Ernst Abbe1840–1905 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists12 decades - 26
Adolf von Baeyer1835–1917 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists12 decades - 27
Emil Fischer1852–1919 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists15 decades - 28
Karl Ferdinand Braun1850–1918 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists12 decades - 29
Friedrich Bessel1784–1846 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists8 decades - 30
Wilhelm Eduard Weber1804–1891 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists2 decades - 31
Carl von Linde1842–1934 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists7 decades - 32
Johann Gottfried Galle1812–1910 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 33
Wilhelm Wien1864–1928 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists9 decades - 34
Friedrich Sertürner1783–1841 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 35
Julius von Mayer1814–1878 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists15 decades - 36
Eduard Buchner1860–1917 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades - 37
Eduard Strasburger1844–1912 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists5 decades - 38
Julius Richard Petri1852–1921 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 39
Albrecht Kossel1853–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 40
Max Wolf1863–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 41
Otto Wallach1847–1931 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades - 42EGEugen Goldstein1850–1930 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists1 decades
- 43
Otto Schott1851–1935 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 44
Hermann Schlegel1804–1884 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists1 decades
- 45
Adolf Engler1844–1930 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists7 decades - 46
Max Skladanowsky1863–1939 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists3 decades - 47
Princess Theresa of Bavaria1850–1925 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 48
Carl Correns1864–1933 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades - 49
Julius von Payer1841–1915 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists2 decades - 50
Albrecht Penck1858–1945 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 51
Agnes Pockels1862–1935 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 52
Otto Warburg1859–1938 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists12 decades - 53
Emil Warburg1846–1931 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 54
Georg Friedrich von Reichenbach1771–1826 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 55
Arthur Schuster1851–1934 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 56
Hans Meyer1858–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 57
Friedrich Kohlrausch1840–1910 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 58
Carl Duisberg1861–1935 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 59
Curt von François1852–1931 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 60
Franz Xaver Gabelsberger1789–1849 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 61
Fanny Hesse1850–1934 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 62
Franz von Soxhlet1848–1926 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 63LSLouis Schmeisser1848–1917 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured—
- 64
Wilhelm Roux1850–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists14 decades - 65
Paul Walden1863–1957 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists3 decades - 66
Richard Pfeiffer1858–1945 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 67
Wilhelm Julius Foerster1832–1921 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists13 decades - 68
Hugo Borchardt1844–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 69
Hugo von Seeliger1849–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 70
August Toepler1836–1912 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 71
Ulrich Jasper Seetzen1767–1811 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 72
Richard Mollier1863–1935 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 73
Otto Lehmann1855–1922 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 74
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper1856–1901 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 75
Theodor Curtius1857–1928 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists4 decades - 76
Ludwig Knorr1859–1921 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 77
Oswald Schmiedeberg1838–1921 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 78
Adolf Martens1850–1914 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 79
Ernst Georg Ravenstein1834–1913 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 80
Wilhelm Mauser1834–1882 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 81
Theodor Wolf1841–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 82
Otto Bütschli1848–1920 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 83
Ernst Otto Beckmann1853–1923 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 84
Arthur Rudolf Hantzsch1857–1935 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 85
Rainer Ludwig Claisen1851–1930 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 86
Karl Alfred von Zittel1839–1904 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientists0 decades - 87
Heinrich Ehrhardt1840–1928 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 88
Wilhelm Hallwachs1859–1922 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 89
Adolf von Schlagintweit1829–1857 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 90
Carl Gräbe1841–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 91
Hermann von Barth1845–1876 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 92
Paul Gerson Unna1850–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 93
Carl Schorlemmer1834–1892 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 94
Hans Heinrich Landolt1831–1910 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 95
Julius Neubronner1852–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 96
Otto Lummer1860–1925 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 97
August Ritter1826–1908 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 98
Karl Everhard Goebel1855–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 99
Karl Moritz Schumann1851–1904 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot measured— - 100
Georg Knorr1859–1911 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Scientistsnot 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.