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
Ludwig van Beethoven1770–1827 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians21 decades - 2
Richard Wagner1813–1883 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians19 decades - 3
Johannes Brahms1833–1897 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians17 decades - 4
Robert Schumann1810–1856 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians19 decades - 5
Richard Strauss1864–1949 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians13 decades - 6
Carl Maria von Weber1786–1826 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians21 decades - 7
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff1797–1848 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians14 decades - 8
Max Bruch1838–1920 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians17 decades - 9
Giacomo Meyerbeer1791–1864 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians15 decades - 10
Hans von Bülow1830–1894 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians17 decades - 11
Carl Reinecke1824–1910 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians17 decades - 12
Arthur Nikisch1855–1922 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians13 decades - 13
Friedrich Kalkbrenner1785–1849 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 14
Carl Loewe1796–1869 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians15 decades - 15
Eugen d'Albert1864–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians13 decades - 16
Hugo Riemann1849–1919 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians15 decades - 17
Heinrich August Marschner1795–1861 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians0 decades - 18
Xaver Scharwenka1850–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 19
Conradin Kreutzer1780–1849 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musicians15 decades - 20
Johannes Lepsius1858–1926 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 21
Julius Klengel1859–1933 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 22
Lilli Lehmann1848–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 23
Kuno von Moltke1847–1923 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 24
Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen1853–1923 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 25
Hans von Koessler1853–1926 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 26
Martin Krause1853–1918 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 27
Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse1863–1945 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 28
Carl Teike1864–1922 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 29
Pauline de Ahna1863–1950 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 30
Walther Wolfgang von Goethe1818–1885 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 31
Karl Heinrich Barth1847–1922 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 32
Luise Adolpha Le Beau1850–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 33
Arthur Friedheim1859–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 34
Louis Köhler1820–1886 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 35
Carl Bohm1844–1920 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 36
Ignaz Lachner1807–1895 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 37
William Balck1858–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 38
Otto von Moser1860–1931 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 39
August Gottfried Ritter1811–1885 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 40
Hermann Kretzschmar1848–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 41
Louise Reichardt1779–1826 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 42
Hermann Grädener1844–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 43
Fritz Spindler1817–1905 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 44
Conrad Ansorge1862–1930 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 45
Albert Methfessel1785–1869 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 46
Agnes Zimmermann1847–1925 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 47
Siegfried Ochs1858–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 48
Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer1789–1878 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 49LVLudwig von Brenner1833–1902 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 50
Angelo Neumann1838–1910 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 51
Hans Sommer1837–1922 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 52
Henri Berger1844–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 53
Marianne Kirchgessner1769–1808 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 54
John Brinckman1814–1870 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 55
James Kwast1852–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 56MDMargarethe Danzi1768–1800 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 57
Hugo Kaun1863–1932 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 58
Carl Albert Löschhorn1819–1905 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 59
Felicita Vestvali1831–1880 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 60JVJohanna van Beethoven1786–1869 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 61KKKaspar Kummer1795–1870 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 62
Richard Eilenberg1848–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 63HLHelene Liebmann1795–1835 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 64
Ida Marie Lipsius1837–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 65
Hermann Ritter1849–1926 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 66
Dorothea von Ertmann1781–1849 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 67
Stephan Krehl1864–1924 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 68
Wilhelm Altmann1862–1951 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 69
Ludwig Erk1807–1883 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 70
Robert Radecke1830–1911 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 71
Karl Anton Eckert1820–1879 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 72
Heinrich Werner1800–1833 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 73
Gustav Hollaender1855–1915 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 74
Heinrich Panofka1807–1887 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 75
Theodor Döhler1814–1856 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 76
Moritz Brosig1815–1887 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 77AMAndreas Moser1859–1925 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 78
Bertha Schwarz1855–1947 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 79
Bernhard Cossmann1822–1910 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 80
Johann Christian Lobe1797–1881 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 81
Carl Cannabich1771–1806 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 82
Jean Louis Nicodé1853–1919 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 83
Heinrich Ehrlich1822–1899 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 84
Ludwig Deppe1828–1890 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 85
Franz von Blon1861–1945 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 86
Eugen Gura1842–1906 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 87
Ferdinand Pfohl1862–1949 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 88
Friedrich Koch1862–1927 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 89
Philipp Wolfrum1854–1919 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 90
Ferdinand Thieriot1838–1919 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 91
Meno Burg1789–1853 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 92
Theodor Avé-Lallemant1806–1890 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 93FBFranz Behr1837–1898 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 94
Carl Herman Unthan1848–1929 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 95
Oskar Fleischer1856–1933 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 96
Otto Singer1833–1894 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 97JHJohann Heinrich Walch1775–1855 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured—
- 98
Heinrich Schulz-Beuthen1838–1915 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 99
Julius Eichberg1824–1893 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot measured— - 100
Heinrich Reimann1850–1906 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Musiciansnot 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.