215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1800-1899

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 English books during the 19th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Jesus5 BC-30 · 1st century · Religious Figures94
  2. 2Homer900 BC-800 BC · 1st millennium BC · Writers15
  3. 3Cicero106 BC-43 BC · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Politicians13
  4. 4Augustus63 BC-14 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Politicians13
  5. 5Plato428 BC-348 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics10
  6. 6Virgil70 BC-19 BC · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers9.6
  7. 7Aristotle384 BC-322 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics9.4
  8. 8Socrates470 BC-399 BC · 1st millennium BC · Brazil · Academics6.4
  9. 9Herodotus484 BC-425 BC · 1st millennium BC · Turkey · Writers6.2
  10. 10Plutarch40-120 · 1st century · Academics5.6
  11. 11Ovid43 BC-17 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers4.2
  12. 12Strabo63 BC-23 · 1st millennium BC · Academics4.1
  13. 13Charlemagne748-814 · 8th century · Historical Figures3.9
  14. 14Demosthenes384 BC-322 BC · 1st millennium BC · Politicians3.8
  15. 15Lord Byron1788-1824 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Writers3.6
  16. 16Livy59 BC-17 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers3.4
  17. 17Origen185-254 · 3rd century · Egypt · Academics3.1
  18. 18Cleopatra69 BC-30 BC · 1st millennium BC · Egypt · Historical Figures3.0
  19. 19Xenophon430 BC-354 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics3.0
  20. 20Walter Scott1771-1832 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Writers3.0
  21. 21Tertullian160-240 · 2nd century · Academics2.7
  22. 22James II, Count of Urgell1388-1433 · 15th century2.6
  23. 23Robert Peel1788-1850 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Politicians2.6
  24. 24Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor1275-1313 · 14th century · France2.6
  25. 25Pericles494 BC-429 BC · 1st millennium BC · Politicians2.5
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 19th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Hiroshige1797-1858 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  2. 2Tokugawa Yoshinobu1837-1913 · Japan · Artists0 decades
  3. 3Utagawa Kuniyoshi1798-1861 · Japan · Artists0 decades
  4. 4Yoshitoshi1839-1892 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  5. 5Utagawa Kunisada1786-1865 · Japan · Artists0 decades
  6. 6Keisai Eisen1790-1848 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  7. 7Katsushika Ōi1800-1866 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  8. 8Kawanabe Kyōsai1831-1889 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  9. 9Toyohara Chikanobu1838-1912 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  10. 10Utagawa Toyokuni I1769-1825 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  11. 11Kobayashi Kiyochika1847-1915 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  12. 12Kikuchi Yōsai1788-1878 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  13. 13Hashimoto Gahō1835-1908 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  14. 14Kusakabe Kimbei1841-1932 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  15. 15Kanō Hōgai1828-1888 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  16. 16Tomioka Tessai1837-1924 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  17. 17Watanabe Kazan1793-1841 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  18. 18Takeuchi Seihō1864-1942 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  19. 19Utagawa Hiroshige II1826-1869 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  20. 20Ōtagaki Rengetsu1791-1875 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  21. 21Utagawa Yoshiiku1833-1904 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  22. 22Matsuura Takeshirō1818-1888 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  23. 23Asai Chū1856-1907 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  24. 24Kiyohara Tama1861-1939 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
  25. 25Toyohara Kunichika1835-1900 · Japan · Artistsnot measured-
Show 64 more

How to read these rankings

  • Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
  • Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
  • Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.