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 Chinese books during the 19th century — whenever they lived.
In books written inEnglish18,114German3,599French3,347Italian1,787Spanish1,162Russian325Hebrew105Chinese9
#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Per million words
- 1
Zhu Xi1130–1200 · 12th century · 🇨🇳 China · Writers870 - 2
Li Hongzhang1823–1901 · 19th century · 🇨🇳 China · Politicians149 - 3
Zhang Zhidong1837–1909 · 19th century · Politicians86 - 4
Zuo Zongtang1812–1885 · 19th century · 🇨🇳 China · Politicians43 - 5
Ban Gu32–92 · 1st century · Writers40 - 6
Ge Hong284–364 · 4th century · Academics40 - 7CSChen Shou233–297 · 3rd century · Writers14
- 8
Mao Zedong1893–1976 · 20th century · 🇨🇳 China · Politicians12 - 9
Lu Xun1881–1936 · 20th century · 🇨🇳 China · Writers11
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
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Napoleon III1808–1873 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians21 decades - 2
Giuseppe Garibaldi1807–1882 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians11 decades - 3
Philippe Pétain1856–1951 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians8 decades - 4
Georges Clemenceau1841–1929 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 5
Jean Jaurès1859–1914 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 6
Adolphe Thiers1797–1877 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians15 decades - 7
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Pierre-Joseph Proudhon1809–1865 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians8 decades - 8
Joachim Murat1767–1815 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians21 decades - 9
Raymond Poincaré1860–1934 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 10
Patrice de MacMahon1808–1893 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 11
Aristide Briand1862–1932 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians12 decades - 12
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Joseph Bonaparte1768–1844 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 13
Louis Bonaparte1778–1846 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 14
Georges-Eugène Haussmann1809–1891 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 15
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Sadi Carnot1837–1894 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians16 decades - 16
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Félix Faure1841–1899 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 17
Michel Ney1769–1815 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 18
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Paul Doumer1857–1932 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 19
Claude Bernard1813–1878 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians21 decades - 20
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Léon Gambetta1838–1882 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians15 decades - 21
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Alexandre Millerand1859–1943 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians11 decades - 22
Paul Deschanel1855–1922 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians14 decades - 23
Ferdinand de Lesseps1805–1894 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 24
Gaston Doumergue1863–1937 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 25
Jules Grévy1807–1891 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians15 decades - 26
Armand Fallières1841–1931 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians12 decades - 27
Arthur de Gobineau1816–1882 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians12 decades - 28
Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême1775–1844 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians2 decades - 29
Émile Loubet1838–1929 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians11 decades - 30
Jérôme Bonaparte1784–1860 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 31
Jules Ferry1832–1893 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians16 decades - 32
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Henri, Count of Chambord1820–1883 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 33
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Eugène de Beauharnais1781–1824 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians21 decades - 34
Louis-Nicolas Davout1770–1823 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 35
Lucien Bonaparte1775–1840 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 36
Jean-de-Dieu Soult1769–1851 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 37
Napoléon, Prince Imperial1856–1879 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians17 decades - 38
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Jean Casimir-Perier1847–1907 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 39
Pauline Bonaparte1780–1825 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 40
Charles Lucien Bonaparte1803–1857 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 41
Albert I, Prince of Monaco1848–1922 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 42
Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily1782–1866 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 43
Georges Ernest Boulanger1837–1891 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 44
Auguste de Marmont1774–1852 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 45
Prince Philippe, Count of Paris1838–1894 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians19 decades - 46
Elisa Bonaparte1777–1820 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians4 decades - 47
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Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry1778–1820 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians1 decades - 48
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Prince Napoléon-Jérôme, Prince Napoléon1822–1891 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 49
Léon Bourgeois1851–1925 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians14 decades - 50
Nicolas Oudinot1767–1847 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 51
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Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy1766–1847 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 52
Jacques MacDonald1765–1840 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 53
Louis Barthou1862–1934 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 54
Louis-Eugène Cavaignac1802–1857 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians16 decades - 55
Georges Picquart1854–1914 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 56
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Louis Jules Trochu1815–1896 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 57
Louis-Hubert Lyautey1854–1934 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians7 decades - 58
François Achille Bazaine1811–1888 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 59
Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien1772–1804 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 60
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Louis-Gabriel Suchet1770–1826 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 61
Alexandre Colonna-Walewski1810–1868 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 62
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Charles III, Prince of Monaco1818–1889 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 63
Joseph Gallieni1849–1916 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 64
Eugène Pottier1816–1887 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians12 decades - 65
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Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès1812–1895 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 66
Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu1766–1822 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 67
Jacques Charles Dupont de l'Eure1767–1855 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 68
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau1846–1904 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians2 decades - 69
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire1772–1844 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians10 decades - 70
Victor, Prince Napoléon1862–1926 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians4 decades - 71
Thomas Robert Bugeaud1784–1849 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 72
Victor Schoelcher1804–1893 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 73
Austen Henry Layard1817–1894 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians3 decades - 74
Prince Jules de Polignac, 3rd Duke of Polignac1780–1847 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 75
Édouard Mortier, Duke of Trévise1768–1835 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 76
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Victor de Broglie1785–1870 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 77
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François d'Orléans, Prince of Joinville1818–1900 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 78
Jean Maximilien Lamarque1770–1832 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 79
Ferdinand Buisson1841–1932 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 80
Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale1822–1897 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 81
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Joseph Caillaux1863–1944 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 82
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Jenny Longuet1844–1883 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 83
Émile Combes1835–1921 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians12 decades - 84
Étienne Maurice Gérard1773–1852 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 85
René Viviani1863–1925 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians13 decades - 86
Édouard René Lefèbvre de Laboulaye1811–1883 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 87
Émile Ollivier1825–1913 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians16 decades - 88
Albert, 4th duc de Broglie1821–1901 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians18 decades - 89
Eliza Lynch1835–1886 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians7 decades - 90
Jacques Laffitte1767–1844 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 91
Charles de Freycinet1828–1923 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians8 decades - 92
Georges Cadoudal1771–1804 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 93
Pierre Cambronne1770–1842 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 94
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Zénaïde Bonaparte1801–1854 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 95
François Étienne de Kellermann1770–1835 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians0 decades - 96
Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte1815–1881 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 97
Casimir Perier1777–1832 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians20 decades - 98
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Dominique Vandamme1770–1830 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot measured— - 99
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Maine de Biran1766–1824 · 🇫🇷 France · Politicians22 decades - 100
Charles-Joseph-Eugene de Mazenod1782–1861 · 🇫🇷 France · Politiciansnot 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.