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. 1Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy1828–1910 · Writers18 decades
  2. 2Alexander PushkinAlexander Pushkin1799–1837 · Writers21 decades
  3. 3Victor HugoVictor Hugo1802–1885 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers22 decades
  4. 4Fyodor DostoevskyFyodor Dostoevsky1821–1881 · Writers17 decades
  5. 5Anton ChekhovAnton Chekhov1860–1904 · Writers15 decades
  6. 6Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud1856–1939 · 🇦🇹 Austria · Writers12 decades
  7. 7Jane AustenJane Austen1775–1817 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades
  8. 8Alexandre DumasAlexandre Dumas1802–1870 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers22 decades
  9. 9Jules VerneJules Verne1828–1905 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers16 decades
  10. 10Oscar WildeOscar Wilde1854–1900 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers14 decades
  11. 11Nikolai GogolNikolai Gogol1809–1852 · Writers19 decades
  12. 12Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe1809–1849 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers17 decades
  13. 13Émile ZolaÉmile Zola1840–1902 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers16 decades
  14. 14Honoré de BalzacHonoré de Balzac1799–1850 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers17 decades
  15. 15Charles DickensCharles Dickens1812–1870 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers20 decades
  16. 16George SandGeorge Sand1804–1876 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers20 decades
  17. 17Guy de MaupassantGuy de Maupassant1850–1893 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers14 decades
  18. 18Arthur RimbaudArthur Rimbaud1854–1891 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers14 decades
  19. 19Mark TwainMark Twain1835–1910 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers16 decades
  20. 20Charles BaudelaireCharles Baudelaire1821–1867 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers17 decades
  21. 21Heinrich HeineHeinrich Heine1797–1856 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers21 decades
  22. 22Mikhail LermontovMikhail Lermontov1814–1841 · Writers15 decades
  23. 23Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen1805–1875 · Writers18 decades
  24. 24Giacomo LeopardiGiacomo Leopardi1798–1837 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  25. 25Taras ShevchenkoTaras Shevchenko1814–1861 · Writers13 decades
  26. 26Lord ByronLord Byron1788–1824 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers22 decades
  27. 27Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan Doyle1859–1930 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers12 decades
  28. 28Gabriele D'AnnunzioGabriele D'Annunzio1863–1938 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers14 decades
  29. 29Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Stevenson1850–1894 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers15 decades
  30. 30Mary ShelleyMary Shelley1797–1851 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers16 decades
  31. 31Gustave FlaubertGustave Flaubert1821–1880 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers17 decades
  32. 32Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale1820–1910 · Writers17 decades
  33. 33StendhalStendhal1783–1842 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers22 decades
  34. 34Emily BrontëEmily Brontë1818–1848 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers14 decades
  35. 35Bertha von SuttnerBertha von Suttner1843–1914 · Writers13 decades
  36. 36Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau1817–1862 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers13 decades
  37. 37Paul VerlainePaul Verlaine1844–1896 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers14 decades
  38. 38Alessandro ManzoniAlessandro Manzoni1785–1873 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  39. 39Lewis CarrollLewis Carroll1832–1898 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers16 decades
  40. 40George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw1856–1950 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers13 decades
  41. 41José MartíJosé Martí1853–1895 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers16 decades
  42. 42Miguel de UnamunoMiguel de Unamuno1864–1936 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers14 decades
  43. 43Alfred de MussetAlfred de Musset1810–1857 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers19 decades
  44. 44Giosuè CarducciGiosuè Carducci1835–1907 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers17 decades
  45. 45Harriet TubmanHarriet Tubman1821–1913 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers9 decades
  46. 46Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-PowellRobert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell1857–1941 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writersnot measured—
  47. 47Charlotte BrontëCharlotte Brontë1816–1855 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers17 decades
  48. 48Rudolf SteinerRudolf Steiner1861–1925 · Writers14 decades
  49. 49Gerhart HauptmannGerhart Hauptmann1862–1946 · Writers13 decades
  50. 50Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson1830–1886 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers13 decades
  51. 51François-René de ChateaubriandFrançois-René de Chateaubriand1768–1848 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers11 decades
  52. 52Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville1805–1859 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers19 decades
  53. 53Anatole FranceAnatole France1844–1924 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers15 decades
  54. 54Carl von ClausewitzCarl von Clausewitz1780–1831 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers12 decades
  55. 55Alphonse de LamartineAlphonse de Lamartine1790–1869 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers20 decades
  56. 56Nikolay NekrasovNikolay Nekrasov1821–1877 · Writers13 decades
  57. 57E. T. A. HoffmannE. T. A. Hoffmann1776–1822 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers21 decades
  58. 58Henrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen1828–1906 · 🇳🇴 Norway · Writers14 decades
  59. 59NovalisNovalis1772–1801 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers22 decades
  60. 60Alexandre Dumas filsAlexandre Dumas fils1824–1895 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers20 decades
  61. 61Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad1857–1924 · Writers14 decades
  62. 62Selma LagerlöfSelma Lagerlöf1858–1940 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Writers7 decades
  63. 63Fyodor TyutchevFyodor Tyutchev1803–1873 · Writers11 decades
  64. 64Ivan KrylovIvan Krylov1769–1844 · Writers18 decades
  65. 65Germaine de StaëlGermaine de Staël1766–1817 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers10 decades
  66. 66Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore1861–1941 · 🇮🇳 India · Writers11 decades
  67. 67Heinrich von KleistHeinrich von Kleist1777–1811 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers22 decades
  68. 68Walter ScottWalter Scott1771–1832 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers22 decades
  69. 69Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman1819–1892 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers17 decades
  70. 70Herman MelvilleHerman Melville1819–1891 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades
  71. 71Friedrich HölderlinFriedrich Hölderlin1770–1843 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers18 decades
  72. 72Gustavo Adolfo BécquerGustavo Adolfo Bécquer1836–1870 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers13 decades
  73. 73Bram StokerBram Stoker1847–1912 · Writers12 decades
  74. 74Théophile GautierThéophile Gautier1811–1872 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers19 decades
  75. 75Alphonse DaudetAlphonse Daudet1840–1897 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers16 decades
  76. 76Knut HamsunKnut Hamsun1859–1952 · 🇳🇴 Norway · Writers10 decades
  77. 77Alexander HerzenAlexander Herzen1812–1870 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · Writers16 decades
  78. 78Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers21 decades
  79. 79Ivan TurgenevIvan Turgenev1818–1883 · Writers6 decades
  80. 80Nikolay KaramzinNikolay Karamzin1766–1826 · Writers20 decades
  81. 81Ivan GoncharovIvan Goncharov1812–1891 · Writers17 decades
  82. 82Theodor FontaneTheodor Fontane1819–1898 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers17 decades
  83. 83Octave MirbeauOctave Mirbeau1848–1917 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers14 decades
  84. 84Prosper MériméeProsper Mérimée1803–1870 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers19 decades
  85. 85Frédéric MistralFrédéric Mistral1830–1914 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers17 decades
  86. 86Mikhail Saltykov-ShchedrinMikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin1826–1889 · Writers10 decades
  87. 87Ugo FoscoloUgo Foscolo1778–1827 · Writers22 decades
  88. 88Benito Pérez GaldósBenito Pérez Galdós1843–1920 · 🇪🇸 Spain · Writers14 decades
  89. 89Karl MayKarl May1842–1912 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers14 decades
  90. 90George EliotGeorge Eliot1819–1880 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers19 decades
  91. 91Arthur SchnitzlerArthur Schnitzler1862–1931 · 🇦🇹 Austria · Writers14 decades
  92. 92Henry JamesHenry James1843–1916 · 🇺🇸 United States · Writers18 decades
  93. 93Louise MichelLouise Michel1830–1905 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers15 decades
  94. 94August StrindbergAugust Strindberg1849–1912 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · Writers8 decades
  95. 95Georg BüchnerGeorg Büchner1813–1837 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers17 decades
  96. 96John KeatsJohn Keats1795–1821 · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Writers21 decades
  97. 97Carlo CollodiCarlo Collodi1826–1890 · Writers8 decades
  98. 98Vasily ZhukovskyVasily Zhukovsky1783–1852 · Writers16 decades
  99. 99Nikolay ChernyshevskyNikolay Chernyshevsky1828–1889 · Writers11 decades
  100. 100Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice Maeterlinck1862–1949 · Writers13 decades

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.