← 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
David Lloyd George11 decades - 2
Cecil Rhodes12 decades - 3
William Ewart Gladstone18 decades - 4
H. H. Asquith11 decades - 5
Emmeline Pankhurst7 decades - 6Robert Peel22 decades
- 7
Arthur Balfour15 decades - 8
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerstonnot measured- - 9
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisburynot measured- - 10
Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover0 decades - 11
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haignot measured- - 12
John Russell, 1st Earl Russellnot measured- - 13
Henry Campbell-Bannerman11 decades - 14
Austen Chamberlain13 decades - 15
Lord Randolph Churchill15 decades - 16
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Roseberynot measured- - 17
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany0 decades - 18
Eleanor Marx8 decades - 19
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodonnot measured- - 20
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenbynot measured- - 21
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridgenot measured- - 22
John French, 1st Earl of Ypresnot measured- - 23
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoenot measured- - 24
Keir Hardie13 decades - 25
Arthur Henderson12 decades - 26
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elginnot measured- - 27
George Reid18 decades - 28
Daniel Burley Woolfallnot measured- - 29
Richard Cobden18 decades - 30
John Bowring20 decades - 31
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdownenot measured- - 32
Edward Carson, Baron Carsonnot measured- - 33
Robert Cecilnot measured- - 34
Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Readingnot measured- - 35
Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromernot measured- - 36
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurstnot measured- - 37
Cosmo Gordon Langnot measured- - 38
Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimynot measured- - 39
George Lansburynot measured- - 40
Ernest Mason Satownot measured- - 41
Charlotte Despardnot measured- - 42
Charles Omannot measured- - 43
Anthony Panizzinot measured- - 44
Leander Starr Jamesonnot measured- - 45
Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumernot measured- - 46
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldanenot measured- - 47
Randal Cremer2 decades - 48
Leonard Darwinnot measured- - 49
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowdennot measured- - 50Frank Hornbynot measured-
- 51
John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuchnot measured- - 52
John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temairnot measured- - 53
Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstonenot measured- - 54
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennysonnot measured- - 55
Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewenot measured- - 56
Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwentnot measured- - 57
Randall Davidsonnot measured- - 58
Reginald McKennanot measured- - 59
Rosslyn Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyssnot measured- - 60
John Burnsnot measured- - 61
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisburynot measured- - 62
Horace Darwinnot measured- - 63
Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellingtonnot measured- - 64
Tom Mannnot measured- - 65
William Adamsonnot measured- - 66
Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Stricklandnot measured- - 67
Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novarnot measured- - 68
Augustine Birrellnot measured- - 69
Horatio Bottomleynot measured- - 70
Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuennot measured- - 71
Robert Stoutnot measured- - 72
Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermerenot measured- - 73
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmondnot measured- - 74
Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshirenot measured- - 75
Samuel Morton Petonot measured- - 76
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Eshernot measured- - 77
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portlandnot measured- - 78Everard F. im Thurnnot measured-
- 79
William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selbornenot measured- - 80
John Bigham, 1st Viscount Merseynot measured- - 81
Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Oliviernot measured- - 82
Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfournot measured- - 83
Jane Cobdennot measured- - 84
Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonaldnot measured- - 85
Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedfordnot measured- - 86
Henry Horne, 1st Baron Hornenot measured- - 87
Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxtonnot measured- - 88
Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernonnot measured- - 89
St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midletonnot measured- - 90
William Hall-Jonesnot measured- - 91
Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewoodnot measured- - 92
George Julius Poulett Scropenot measured- - 93
Lawrence Dundas, 1st Marquess of Zetlandnot measured- - 94
George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucannot measured- - 95
Ben Tillettnot measured- - 96
Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdraynot measured- - 97
Samuel Samuelnot measured- - 98
Alfred Mitchell-Innesnot measured- - 99
Lord Edward Gleichennot measured- - 100
Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoornot 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.