Claim profile
1–99

The 1st century

Whose working lives fell in the 1st century. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 1st century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇮🇹 Italy🇮🇱 Israel🇹🇷 Turkey🇪🇸 Spain🇩🇪 Germany🇫🇷 France🇪🇬 Egypt🇨🇳 China🇰🇷 South Korea🇺🇸 United States
FieldAllPoliticiansHistorical FiguresReligious FiguresWritersAcademicsDoctorsScientistsModelsBusiness ProfessionalsArchitects
  1. 1Saint PeterSaint Peter1 BC–65 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figures22 decades
  2. 2John the BaptistJohn the Baptist6 BC–30 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figures22 decades
  3. 3Mary MagdaleneMary Magdalenedied 100 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Academics22 decades
  4. 4Matthew the ApostleMatthew the Apostle10–74 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figures11 decades
  5. 5James, son of ZebedeeJames, son of Zebedee1–44 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figuresnot measured—
  6. 6Thomas the ApostleThomas the Apostle1–72 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figures22 decades
  7. 7Mark the EvangelistMark the Evangelist12–68 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figures14 decades
  8. 8Herod AntipasHerod Antipasborn 20 BC · 🇮🇱 Israel · Politicians22 decades
  9. 9historical Jesushistorical Jesusdied 30 · 🇮🇱 Israel16 decades
  10. 10Saint VeronicaSaint Veronica1–1 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Religious Figures0 decades
  11. 11John the EvangelistJohn the Evangelist10–98 · 🇮🇱 Israel22 decades
  12. 12John of PatmosJohn of Patmos50–100 · 🇮🇱 Israel3 decades
  13. 13Saint PetronillaSaint Petronilla50–100 · 🇮🇱 Israel0 decades

How this is measured

  • Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active — around age 35, and never after their death.
  • Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
  • Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
  • What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.