← 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
Friedrich Engels17 decades - 2
John Stuart Mill18 decades - 3
Charles Babbage20 decades - 4
Herbert Spencer17 decades - 5
Thomas Robert Malthus8 decades - 6
George Boole9 decades - 7
Francis Galton17 decades - 8
Alfred North Whitehead10 decades - 9
John Herschel0 decades - 10
Alfred Marshallnot measured- - 11
Karl Pearson14 decades - 12
Arthur Evans14 decades - 13
James George Frazer8 decades - 14
Alfred Edward Housman0 decades - 15
William Boothnot measured- - 16
Flinders Petrie14 decades - 17
Halford Mackinder7 decades - 18
Edward Burnett Tylor1 decades - 19
William Stanley Jevons5 decades - 20
Arthur Cayley4 decades - 21
Margaret Murraynot measured- - 22
William Whewell16 decades - 23
John Couch Adams1 decades - 24
Hertha Ayrton0 decades - 25John Nelson Darby2 decades
- 26
John Austin22 decades - 27Charles Spearman2 decades
- 28
Charles Webster Leadbeater0 decades - 29
F. H. Bradley16 decades - 30
John Atkinson Hobson0 decades - 31
Sidney Webb14 decades - 32
Joseph Larmor4 decades - 33
Francis Ysidro Edgeworth0 decades - 34
E. A. Wallis Budge13 decades - 35
Charles Warrennot measured- - 36
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompsonnot measured- - 37
Moses Gasternot measured- - 38
Edith Durham0 decades - 39John Neville Keynesnot measured-
- 40
Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse0 decades - 41
Basil Hall Chamberlainnot measured- - 42
Thomas Chalmersnot measured- - 43Alicia Boole Stott0 decades
- 44
Henry Dudeney2 decades - 45
Philip Henry Wicksteednot measured- - 46
Thomas Little Heathnot measured- - 47John Burnetnot measured-
- 48
Samuel Alexandernot measured- - 49
William Mitchell Ramsaynot measured- - 50
Frank Calvertnot measured- - 51
Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller0 decades - 52
Horace Lambnot measured- - 53
Nassau William Senior5 decades - 54
John Obadiah Westwoodnot measured- - 55
William Archibald Spoonernot measured- - 56
Archibald Sayce0 decades - 57
David George Hogarthnot measured- - 58
Stanley Lane-Poolenot measured- - 59
Graham Wallasnot measured- - 60
Ernest William Hobsonnot measured- - 61
Augustus Edward Hough Lovenot measured- - 62
William Burnsidenot measured- - 63
Percy Alexander MacMahonnot measured- - 64
Charlotte Scottnot measured- - 65
G. R. S. Meadnot measured- - 66
Claude Montefiorenot measured- - 67
Silvanus P. Thompsonnot measured- - 68
Frank Morleynot measured- - 69
James Whitbread Lee Glaishernot measured- - 70
C. Lloyd Morgannot measured- - 71
Archibald Garrodnot measured- - 72
Walter Baldwin Spencernot measured- - 73
William Henry Youngnot measured- - 74
Andrew Forsythnot measured- - 75
Joseph Whitakernot measured- - 76
Edwin Cannannot measured- - 77
James Martineaunot measured- - 78
William Gellnot measured- - 79
John Batchelornot measured- - 80
William Johnson Sollasnot measured- - 81
Henry Jennernot measured- - 82
Mary Paley Marshallnot measured- - 83
George Nuttallnot measured- - 84
Eleanor Mildred Sidgwicknot measured- - 85Francis Llewellyn Griffithnot measured-
- 86
Percy John Heawoodnot measured- - 87
Arthur Anthony Macdonellnot measured- - 88
Andrew Lawsonnot measured- - 89
Francis Sowerby Macaulaynot measured- - 90
Israel Gollancznot measured- - 91
Thomas Muirnot measured- - 92
Alfred George Greenhillnot measured- - 93George Frederick Stoutnot measured-
- 94
William James Ashleynot measured- - 95William Edward Soothillnot measured-
- 96
Sophie Bryantnot measured- - 97
Alexander Macfarlanenot measured- - 98
William Boyd Dawkinsnot measured- - 99
Godfrey Higginsnot measured- - 100Robert Woodhousenot 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.