← 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
Dmitri Mendeleev11 decades - 2
Ivan Pavlov16 decades - 3
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky5 decades - 4
Peter Carl Fabergé3 decades - 5
Nikolai Pirogov15 decades - 6
Alexander Stepanovich Popov15 decades - 7
Ivan Michurin9 decades - 8
Stepan Makarov8 decades - 9
Nikolay Zhukovsky10 decades - 10
Ivan Sechenov0 decades - 11
Vladimir Shukhov3 decades - 12
Kliment Timiryazev9 decades - 13
Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shanskynot measured- - 14
Karl Ernst von Baer0 decades - 15
Alexander Butlerov10 decades - 16
Vladimir A. Obruchev9 decades - 17
Vasili Dokuchayev7 decades - 18
Emil Lenz2 decades - 19
Mikhail Ostrogradsky3 decades - 20
Dmitri Ivanovsky1 decades - 21
Alexander Mozhaysky4 decades - 22
Grigory Potanin8 decades - 23
Aleksey Krylov9 decades - 24
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struvenot measured- - 25
Otto von Kotzebue11 decades - 26
Jakob von Uexküll0 decades - 27
Moritz von Jacobi0 decades - 28
Eduard von Toll1 decades - 29
Sergei Ivanovich Mosin0 decades - 30
Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenbergnot measured- - 31
Pavel Yablochkov0 decades - 32
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolskynot measured- - 33
Eduard Totlebennot measured- - 34
Alexander Dutovnot measured- - 35
Jan Czerski0 decades - 36
Thomas Johann Seebeck4 decades - 37
Vladimir Markovnikov0 decades - 38
Friedrich Parrot6 decades - 39
Germain Henri Hessnot measured- - 40
Roman Kondratenkonot measured- - 41
Aleksandr Stoletov4 decades - 42
Nikolay Benardosnot measured- - 43
Alexander Bungenot measured- - 44
Nikolay Zininnot measured- - 45
Rizaetdin Fäxretdinnot measured- - 46
Alexander Mikhaylovich Zaytsevnot measured- - 47
Otto Wilhelm von Struve8 decades - 48
Menachem Ussishkinnot measured- - 49
Boris Galitzinenot measured- - 50
Alexander von Middendorff0 decades - 51
Konstantin Mereschkowskinot measured- - 52
Julia Lermontova0 decades - 53
Nikolay Beketovnot measured- - 54
Georg August Schweinfurth16 decades - 55
Alexei Fedchenkonot measured- - 56
Prince Nicholas Maximilianovich, 4th Duke of Leuchtenbergnot measured- - 57
Vasily Karazinnot measured- - 58
Johann Friedrich von Brandt0 decades - 59
Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz0 decades - 60
Alexei Polivanovnot measured- - 61
Karl Ernst Clausnot measured- - 62
Yuly Shokalskynot measured- - 63
Fyodor Bredikhin2 decades - 64
Richard Maacknot measured- - 65
Andrey Beketovnot measured- - 66
Johann Heinrich von Mädler0 decades - 67
Joseph Timchenkonot measured- - 68
Pyotr Chikhachyov0 decades - 69
Wojciech Chrzanowskinot measured- - 70
Karl Maximovichnot measured- - 71
Theodor von Grotthussnot measured- - 72
Andrei Zayonchkovskinot measured- - 73
Vera Popova0 decades - 74
Friedrich Schmidtnot measured- - 75
Grigory Grumm-Grzhimaylonot measured- - 76
Sergei Navashinnot measured- - 77
Alexey Favorsky0 decades - 78
Friedrich Konrad Beilstein0 decades - 79
Gustav Raddenot measured- - 80
Orest Khvolsonnot measured- - 81
Nikolai Severtzov2 decades - 82
Eduard August von Regelnot measured- - 83
Aleksei Nikolaevich Bakhnot measured- - 84
Nikolay Slavyanovnot measured- - 85Matthias Hedenstromnot measured-
- 86
Nikolai Turczaninovnot measured- - 87
Aleksander Czekanowskinot measured- - 88
Anosov Pavel Petrovichnot measured- - 89
Stefan Drzewieckinot measured- - 90Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovetsnot measured-
- 91
Karl Eichwaldnot measured- - 92
Viktor Kyrpychovnot measured- - 93
Semen Korsakovnot measured- - 94
Aristarkh Belopolskynot measured- - 95
Ernst Rudolf von Trautvetternot measured- - 96
Peter Leopold von Schrencknot measured- - 97
Alexander Keyserlingnot measured- - 98Carl Anton von Meyernot measured-
- 99
Emil Bretschneidernot measured- - 100
Carl Schmidtnot 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.