← 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
Jesus94 - 2
Homer15 - 3
Cicero13 - 4
Augustus13 - 5
Plato10 - 6
Virgil9.6 - 7
Aristotle9.4 - 8
Socrates6.4 - 9
Herodotus6.2 - 10
Plutarch5.6 - 11
Ovid4.2 - 12
Strabo4.1 - 13
Charlemagne3.9 - 14
Demosthenes3.8 - 15
Lord Byron3.6 - 16
Livy3.4 - 17
Origen3.1 - 18
Cleopatra3.0 - 19
Xenophon3.0 - 20
Walter Scott3.0 - 21
Tertullian2.7 - 22
James II, Count of Urgell2.6 - 23
Robert Peel2.6 - 24
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor2.6 - 25
Pericles2.5
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 19th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Itō Hirobumi0 decades - 2
Saigō Takamori0 decades - 3
Sakamoto Ryōma0 decades - 4
Tōgō Heihachirō0 decades - 5
Yamagata Aritomo3 decades - 6
Ōkubo Toshimichi0 decades - 7
Inukai Tsuyoshi0 decades - 8
Katsura Tarō0 decades - 9
Ōkuma Shigenobu0 decades - 10
Terauchi Masatake0 decades - 11
Hara Takashi0 decades - 12
Saionji Kinmochi0 decades - 13
Nogi Maresuke0 decades - 14
Takahashi Korekiyo0 decades - 15
Yamamoto Gonnohyōe0 decades - 16
Saitō Makoto0 decades - 17
Kuroda Kiyotaka0 decades - 18
Enomoto Takeaki0 decades - 19
Ōyama Iwaonot measured- - 20
Matsukata Masayoshi0 decades - 21
Kido Takayoshi0 decades - 22
Tanaka Giichi0 decades - 23
Yoshida Shōin0 decades - 24
Katō Takaaki0 decades - 25
Katō Tomosaburō0 decades - 26
Katsu Kaishū0 decades - 27
Itagaki Taisuke0 decades - 28
Kiyoura Keigo0 decades - 29
Sanjō Sanetomi0 decades - 30
Iwakura Tomomi0 decades - 31
Ii Naosuke0 decades - 32
Inoue Kaoru0 decades - 33
Gotō Shinpei0 decades - 34
Kabayama Sukenorinot measured- - 35
Sakuma Shōzannot measured- - 36
Saigō Tsugumichinot measured- - 37
Tokugawa Nariakinot measured- - 38
Shōjirō Gotōnot measured- - 39
Abe Masahironot measured- - 40
Mutsu Munemitsunot measured- - 41
Mori Arinorinot measured- - 42
Makino Nobuakinot measured- - 43
Yukio Ozakinot measured- - 44
Ōmura Masujirōnot measured- - 45
Nozu Michitsuranot measured- - 46
Tokugawa Iesatonot measured- - 47
Etō Shinpeinot measured- - 48
Mizuno Tadakuninot measured- - 49
Tōyama Mitsurunot measured- - 50
Date Munenarinot measured- - 51
Ōtori Keisukenot measured- - 52
Prince Arisugawa Taruhitonot measured- - 53
Uryū Sotokichinot measured- - 54
Sano Tsunetaminot measured- - 55
Prince Arisugawa Takehitonot measured- - 56
Miura Gorōnot measured- - 57
Kaneko Kentarōnot measured- - 58
Yamaoka Tesshūnot measured- - 59
Yamada Akiyoshinot measured- - 60
Ōki Takatōnot measured- - 61
Kawaji Toshiyoshinot measured- - 62
Fukushima Yasumasanot measured- - 63
Shimazu Tadayoshinot measured- - 64
Katō Hiroyukinot measured- - 65
Inoue Kowashinot measured- - 66
Prince Fushimi Sadanarunot measured- - 67
Hirata Tosukenot measured- - 68
Yamamoto Kakumanot measured- - 69
Hozumi Nobushigenot measured- - 70
Kuni Asahikonot measured- - 71
Matsudaira Yoshinaganot measured- - 72
Yamao Yōzōnot measured- - 73
Adachi Kenzōnot measured- - 74
Uehara Yūsakunot measured- - 75
Hoshi Tōrunot measured- - 76
Suematsu Kenchōnot measured- - 77
Takayuki Sasakinot measured- - 78
Komatsu Kiyokadonot measured- - 79
Shinagawa Yajirōnot measured- - 80
Nabeshima Naomasanot measured- - 81
Yokoi Shōnannot measured- - 82
Kujō Michitakanot measured- - 83
Tani Tatekinot measured- - 84
Inoue Masarunot measured- - 85
Ōshima Ken'ichinot measured- - 86
Yamagata Isaburōnot measured- - 87
Shōzō Tanakanot measured- - 88
Konoe Atsumaronot measured- - 89
Maejima Hisokanot measured- - 90
Nakayama Tadayasunot measured- - 91
Uesugi Mochinorinot measured- - 92
Konoe Tadahironot measured- - 93
Nagai Naoyukinot measured- - 94Takatsukasa Masamichinot measured-
- 95
Hijikata Hisamotonot measured- - 96
Tsuda Sennot measured- - 97
Yamamoto Tatsuonot measured- - 98
Murata Tsuneyoshinot measured- - 99
Arichi Shinanojonot measured- - 100
Oguri Tadamasanot measured-
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.