← 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
Henry Morton Stanley7 decades - 2
Walter Bagehot16 decades - 3
William Thomas Stead0 decades - 4
Thomas Stevensnot measured- - 5
Flora Shawnot measured- - 6
Rachel Beernot measured- - 7
Alfred Percy Sinnettnot measured- - 8
Thomas Power O'Connornot measured- - 9
Thomas Anstey Guthrienot measured- - 10
Robert Smythe Hichensnot measured- - 11
Bessie Rayner Parkesnot measured- - 12
J. M. Robertsonnot measured- - 13
Charlotte Wilsonnot measured- - 14
Helena Swanwicknot measured- - 15
Dora Montefiorenot measured- - 16
Gertrude Elizabeth Bloodnot measured- - 17
Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronetnot measured- - 18
C. P. Scottnot measured- - 19
Henry Vizetellynot measured- - 20
Henry Nevinsonnot measured- - 21
John Dickensnot measured- - 22
Ethel Arnoldnot measured- - 23
Marion Spielmannnot measured- - 24Charlotte Carmichael Stopesnot measured-
- 25
Robert Smith Surteesnot measured- - 26
Arthur Benninot measured- - 27
Arthur St. John Adcocknot measured- - 28
Alfred Edwardsnot measured- - 29
John Otway Percy Blandnot measured- - 30
Stephen Gwynnnot measured- - 31
R. C. Lehmannnot measured- - 32
Charles Whibleynot measured- - 33
Sidney James Mark Lownot measured- - 34Edward Lawrence Levynot measured-
- 35
Margaret Heitlandnot measured- - 36
David Christie Murraynot measured- - 37
Douglas Blackburnnot measured- - 38
Beriah Gwynfe Evansnot measured- - 39
George Lacy Hilliernot measured- - 40
Catherine Gasquoine Hartleynot measured- - 41
Jessie Forsythnot measured- - 42
James Tochattinot 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.