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
John Stuart Mill1806–1873 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics18 decades - 2
Charles Babbage1791–1871 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics20 decades - 3
Thomas Robert Malthus1766–1834 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics8 decades - 4
Herbert Spencer1820–1903 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics17 decades - 5
Alfred North Whitehead1861–1947 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics10 decades - 6
George Boole1855–1864 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics9 decades - 7
John Herschel1792–1871 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 8
Francis Galton1822–1911 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics17 decades - 9
Alfred Marshall1842–1924 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics16 decades - 10
James George Frazer1854–1941 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics8 decades - 11
Karl Pearson1857–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics14 decades - 12
Arthur Evans1851–1941 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics14 decades - 13
Halford Mackinder1861–1947 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics7 decades - 14
Edward Burnett Tylor1832–1917 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics1 decades - 15
Alfred Edward Housman1859–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 16
William Booth1829–1912 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics20 decades - 17
William Stanley Jevons1835–1882 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics5 decades - 18
Flinders Petrie1853–1942 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics14 decades - 19
Arthur Cayley1821–1895 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics4 decades - 20
Hertha Ayrton1854–1923 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 21
John Nelson Darby1800–1882 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics2 decades - 22
Margaret Murray1863–1963 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics12 decades - 23
William Whewell1794–1866 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics16 decades - 24
Charles Webster Leadbeater1854–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 25
John Couch Adams1819–1892 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics1 decades - 26
John Atkinson Hobson1858–1940 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 27
F. H. Bradley1846–1924 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics16 decades - 28
Charles Spearman1863–1945 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics2 decades - 29
Sidney Webb1859–1947 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics14 decades - 30
John Austin1790–1859 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics22 decades - 31
E. A. Wallis Budge1857–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics13 decades - 32
Joseph Larmor1857–1942 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics4 decades - 33
Charles Warren1840–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 34
Francis Ysidro Edgeworth1845–1926 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 35
Edith Durham1863–1944 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 36
Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse1864–1929 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 37
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson1860–1948 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 38
Moses Gaster1856–1939 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 39
Basil Hall Chamberlain1850–1935 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 40
Thomas Chalmers1780–1847 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured—
- 41
Alicia Boole Stott1860–1940 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 42JNJohn Neville Keynes1852–1949 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured—
- 43
Samuel Alexander1859–1938 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics17 decades - 44
Nassau William Senior1790–1864 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics5 decades - 45
Henry Dudeney1857–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics2 decades - 46
William Mitchell Ramsay1851–1939 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 47
Horace Lamb1849–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 48
Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller1864–1937 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 49
Frank Calvert1828–1908 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 50
William Archibald Spooner1844–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 51
Archibald Sayce1845–1933 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 52
David George Hogarth1862–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 53
Stanley Lane-Poole1854–1931 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 54
William Burnside1852–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academics0 decades - 55
Augustus Edward Hough Love1863–1940 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 56
Graham Wallas1858–1932 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 57
Percy Alexander MacMahon1854–1929 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 58
Charlotte Scott1858–1931 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 59
G. R. S. Mead1863–1933 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 60
John Burnet1863–1928 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 61
Thomas Little Heath1861–1940 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 62
John Obadiah Westwood1805–1893 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 63
Silvanus P. Thompson1851–1916 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 64
Frank Morley1860–1937 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 65
James Whitbread Lee Glaisher1848–1928 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 66
C. Lloyd Morgan1852–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 67
Walter Baldwin Spencer1860–1929 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 68
Archibald Garrod1857–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 69
William Henry Young1863–1942 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 70
Philip Henry Wicksteed1844–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 71
Ernest William Hobson1856–1933 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 72
Andrew Forsyth1858–1942 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 73
Edwin Cannan1861–1935 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 74
James Martineau1805–1900 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 75
William Gell1777–1836 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 76
William Johnson Sollas1849–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 77
Henry Jenner1848–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 78
John Batchelor1854–1944 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 79
Joseph Whitaker1850–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured—
- 80
George Nuttall1862–1937 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 81
Mary Paley Marshall1850–1944 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 82
Francis Llewellyn Griffith1862–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 83
Percy John Heawood1861–1955 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 84
Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick1845–1936 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 85
Arthur Anthony Macdonell1854–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 86
Francis Sowerby Macaulay1862–1937 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 87
Andrew Lawson1861–1952 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 88
Alfred George Greenhill1847–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 89
Israel Gollancz1863–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 90
Sophie Bryant1850–1922 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 91
William James Ashley1860–1927 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 92
Alexander Macfarlane1851–1913 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 93
William Boyd Dawkins1837–1929 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 94
Clarence Bicknell1842–1918 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 95RWRobert Woodhouse1773–1827 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured—
- 96
Leonard James Rogers1862–1933 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 97
Thomas Muir1844–1934 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 98
Godfrey Higgins1772–1833 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured— - 99JEJohn Edward Marr1857–1933 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot measured—
- 100
J. Rendel Harris1852–1941 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Academicsnot 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.