Claim profile
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
  1. 1Zhu XiZhu Xi1130–1200 · 12th century · 🇨🇳 China · Writers870
  2. 2Li HongzhangLi Hongzhang1823–1901 · 19th century · 🇨🇳 China · Politicians149
  3. 3Zhang ZhidongZhang Zhidong1837–1909 · 19th century · Politicians86
  4. 4Zuo ZongtangZuo Zongtang1812–1885 · 19th century · 🇨🇳 China · Politicians43
  5. 5Ban GuBan Gu32–92 · 1st century · Writers40
  6. 6Ge HongGe Hong284–364 · 4th century · Academics40
  7. 7CSChen Shou233–297 · 3rd century · Writers14
  8. 8Mao ZedongMao Zedong1893–1976 · 20th century · 🇨🇳 China · Politicians12
  9. 9Lu XunLu 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.

CountryAll🇺🇸 United States🇫🇷 France🇩🇪 Germany🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇮🇹 Italy🇪🇸 Spain🇯🇵 Japan🇦🇹 Austria🇹🇷 Turkey🇸🇪 Sweden
FieldAllPoliticiansWritersHistorical FiguresScientistsAcademicsArtistsMusiciansDoctorsFoundersJournalists
  1. 1George SantayanaGeorge Santayana1863–1952 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics9 decades
  2. 2Marcelino Menéndez y PelayoMarcelino Menéndez y Pelayo1856–1912 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics14 decades
  3. 3Nicolás SalmerónNicolás Salmerón1838–1908 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics16 decades
  4. 4Jaime BalmesJaime Balmes1810–1848 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academics18 decades
  5. 5Marcelino Sanz de SautuolaMarcelino Sanz de Sautuola1831–1888 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  6. 6Joaquín CostaJoaquín Costa1846–1911 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  7. 7Ignacio BolívarIgnacio Bolívar1850–1944 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  8. 8Alberto ListaAlberto Lista1775–1848 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  9. 9Buenaventura Carlos AribauBuenaventura Carlos Aribau1798–1862 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  10. 10Manuel Bartolomé CossíoManuel Bartolomé Cossío1857–1935 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  11. 11Ricardo Velázquez BoscoRicardo Velázquez Bosco1843–1923 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  12. 12Eduardo Toda y GüellEduardo Toda y Güell1855–1941 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  13. 13Victoriano Guisasola y MenéndezVictoriano Guisasola y Menéndez1852–1920 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  14. 14Álvaro Flórez EstradaÁlvaro Flórez Estrada1766–1853 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  15. 15Laureano FiguerolaLaureano Figuerola1816–1903 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  16. 16Mariano Pardo de FigueroaMariano Pardo de Figueroa1828–1918 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  17. 17Julián Sanz del RíoJulián Sanz del Río1814–1869 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  18. 18Miguel Villanueva y GómezMiguel Villanueva y Gómez1852–1931 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  19. 19Fidel Fita y ColoméFidel Fita y Colomé1835–1918 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  20. 20Zoel García de GaldeanoZoel García de Galdeano1846–1924 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  21. 21Juan GüellJuan Güell1800–1872 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  22. 22Luis Octavio de Toledo y ZuluetaLuis Octavio de Toledo y Zulueta1857–1934 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  23. 23Gerónimo BoscanaGerónimo Boscana1776–1831 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  24. 24Telesforo AranzadiTelesforo Aranzadi1860–1945 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  25. 25Juan de Dios de la RadaJuan de Dios de la Rada1827–1901 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  26. 26FAFelipe Arroyo de la Cuesta1780–1842 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  27. 27Marcelino Menéndez PintadoMarcelino Menéndez Pintado1823–1899 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  28. 28Manuel Colmeiro y PenidoManuel Colmeiro y Penido1818–1894 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  29. 29MPMaria Pascuala Caro Sureda1768–1827 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  30. 30Juan Vilanova y PieraJuan Vilanova y Piera1821–1893 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  31. 31Daniel Granada ContiDaniel Granada Conti1847–1929 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  32. 32José de Carvajal y HuéJosé de Carvajal y Hué1835–1899 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Academicsnot measured—
  33. 33Eduardo EchegarayEduardo Echegaray1839–1903 · 🇪🇸 Spain · 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.