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
Henry Ford1863–1947 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders16 decades - 2
John D. Rockefeller1839–1937 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders14 decades - 3
J. P. Morgan1837–1913 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders16 decades - 4
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John Brown1800–1859 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders22 decades - 5
Levi Strauss1829–1902 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders11 decades - 6
Cornelius Vanderbilt1794–1877 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders18 decades - 7
King C. Gillette1855–1932 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 8
Elisha Otis1811–1861 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 9
James Buchanan Duke1856–1925 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 10
Henry J. Heinz1844–1919 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 11
Johns Hopkins1795–1873 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders21 decades - 12
Jay Gould1836–1892 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders17 decades - 13
Jean Lafitte1776–1826 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders12 decades - 14
William Crapo Durant1861–1947 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 15
Solomon R. Guggenheim1861–1948 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders8 decades - 16
Milton S. Hershey1857–1945 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders6 decades - 17
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Will Keith Kellogg1860–1951 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 18
George Peabody1795–1869 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders19 decades - 19
Ransom E. Olds1864–1950 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 20
Henry Clay Frick1849–1919 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 21
Marcus Goldman1821–1904 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 22
William Henry Vanderbilt1821–1885 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 23
Harry Gordon Selfridge1858–1947 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 24
Peter Cooper1791–1883 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders20 decades - 25
Charles Yerkes1837–1905 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 26
Samuel P. Bush1863–1948 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 27
Cyrus West Field1819–1892 · 🇺🇸 United States · Founders0 decades - 28
John Francis Dodge1864–1920 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 29
William Wrigley1861–1932 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 30
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Julius Rosenwald1862–1932 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 31
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Charles Lewis Tiffany1812–1902 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 32
Eliphalet Remington1793–1861 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 33
William Colgate1783–1857 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 34
Charles Francis Brush1849–1929 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 35
William Fargo1818–1881 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 36
Samuel Slater1768–1835 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 37
Mary Ellen Pleasant1814–1904 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 38
James J. Hill1838–1916 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 39
Leonard Jerome1817–1891 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 40
Edward Henry Harriman1848–1909 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 41
James Gamble1803–1891 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 42
Theodore Roosevelt Sr.1831–1878 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 43
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Henry Wells1805–1878 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 44
Daniel Guggenheim1856–1930 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 45
George Dunton Widener1861–1912 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 46
Marshall Field1834–1906 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 47
John Munro Longyear1850–1922 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 48
Bertha Palmer1849–1918 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 49
Richard Warren Sears1863–1914 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 50
Joseph Seligman1819–1880 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 51
Frederic Tudor1783–1864 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 52
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Cornelius Vanderbilt II1843–1899 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 53
William D. Boyce1858–1929 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 54
Henry E. Huntington1850–1927 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 55
Henry Huttleston Rogers1840–1909 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 56
William Procter1801–1884 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 57
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Philip Danforth Armour1832–1901 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 58
Samuel Henry Kress1863–1955 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 59
William B. Franklin1823–1903 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 60
William Rockefeller Sr.1810–1906 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 61
Gustavus Franklin Swift1839–1903 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 62
Elwood Haynes1857–1925 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 63
Samuel Sachs1851–1935 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 64
William Cornelius Van Horne1843–1915 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 65
Collis Potter Huntington1821–1900 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 66
Matthias W. Baldwin1795–1866 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 67
Martha Matilda Harper1857–1950 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 68
Charles Ranlett Flint1850–1934 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 69
James Ward Packard1863–1928 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 70
Fredericka Mandelbaum1825–1894 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 71
Adolphus Busch I1839–1913 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 72
Benjamin Altman1840–1913 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 73
R. J. Reynolds1850–1918 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 74
Charles Crocker1822–1888 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 75
Frederick Stark Pearson1861–1915 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 76
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John Murray Forbes1813–1898 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 77
George Safford Parker1863–1937 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 78
Charles Williams Nash1864–1948 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 79
William Backhouse Astor, Sr.1792–1875 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 80
Robert S. Brookings1850–1932 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 81
William Wirt Winchester1837–1881 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 82
Walter Donald Douglas1861–1912 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 83
James Forten1766–1842 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 84
Minor Cooper Keith1848–1929 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 85
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Claus Spreckels1828–1908 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 86
Edward C. Clark1811–1882 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 87
Godfrey Lowell Cabot1861–1962 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 88
Charles Deering1852–1927 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 89
Henry Osborne Havemeyer1847–1907 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 90
William Phelps Eno1858–1945 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 91
Louis Bamberger1855–1944 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 92
Charles T. Hinde1832–1915 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 93
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Rowland Hussey Macy1822–1877 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 94
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Bernard Kroger1860–1938 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 95
Alvah Curtis Roebuck1864–1948 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 96
Frederick Miller1824–1888 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 97
Peter Demens1849–1919 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 98
George Dayton1857–1938 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 99
Henry Varnum Poor1812–1905 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot measured— - 100
Benjamin Newton Duke1855–1929 · 🇺🇸 United States · Foundersnot 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.