← Fame through time1-99
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 coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Jesus22 decades - 2
Saint Peter22 decades - 3
Paul the Apostle18 decades - 4
Neronot measured- - 5
Mary, mother of Jesusnot measured- - 6
Caligula22 decades - 7
John the Baptist22 decades - 8
Seneca the Younger2 decades - 9
Mary Magdalene22 decades - 10
Trajan22 decades - 11
Claudiusnot measured- - 12
Pontius Pilate22 decades - 13
Plutarch22 decades - 14
Vespasian22 decades - 15
Pliny the Elder22 decades - 16
Titusnot measured- - 17
Tacitusnot measured- - 18
Matthew the Apostle11 decades - 19
Epictetus22 decades - 20
Domitian22 decades - 21
Thomas the Apostle22 decades - 22
Josephus21 decades - 23
Jude the Apostle0 decades - 24
Boudica3 decades - 25
Pope Linus0 decades - 26
Luke the Evangelist13 decades - 27
Mark the Evangelist14 decades - 28
Arminiusnot measured- - 29
Pliny the Younger22 decades - 30
Galba22 decades - 31
Nerva22 decades - 32
Otho22 decades - 33
Vitellius22 decades - 34
Saint Stephen7 decades - 35
Herod Antipas22 decades - 36
Ignatius of Antioch18 decades - 37
James, son of Zebedeenot measured- - 38
Pope Anacletus0 decades - 39
Juvenalnot measured- - 40
Germanicus22 decades - 41
Agrippina the Younger0 decades - 42
Salomenot measured- - 43
Barnabasnot measured- - 44
Messalinanot measured- - 45
Hero of Alexandria19 decades - 46
Philonot measured- - 47
John the Evangelist22 decades - 48
Martialnot measured- - 49
Pope Sixtus I0 decades - 50
historical Jesus16 decades - 51
Petroniusnot measured- - 52
Saint Timothy0 decades - 53
Cai Lun6 decades - 54
Lucan22 decades - 55
Herod Agrippa22 decades - 56
Saint Veronica0 decades - 57
Apollonius of Tyana22 decades - 58
Poppaea Sabina0 decades - 59
Quintilian22 decades - 60
Simon bar Kokhba0 decades - 61
Rabbi Akiva5 decades - 62
Simon Magus22 decades - 63
Agrippina the Elder0 decades - 64
Penitent thief0 decades - 65
Gaius Caesar9 decades - 66
Gnaeus Julius Agricola0 decades - 67
Sejanus22 decades - 68
Zacchaeusnot measured- - 69
Claudia Octavia0 decades - 70
Herod Archelaus16 decades - 71
Papias of Hierapolis0 decades - 72
Britannicus22 decades - 73
Herod Agrippa II2 decades - 74
Statiusnot measured- - 75
Saint Titus0 decades - 76
Drusus Julius Caesar0 decades - 77
Emperor Guangwu of Han0 decades - 78
John of Patmos3 decades - 79
Pontius Pilate's wife0 decades - 80
Apollodorus of Damascus0 decades - 81
Lucius Caesar15 decades - 82
Charaka17 decades - 83
Onesimus22 decades - 84
Caratacus12 decades - 85
Aulus Cornelius Celsus0 decades - 86
Julia Drusilla0 decades - 87
Agrippa Postumus0 decades - 88
Pedanius Dioscorides0 decades - 89
Pomponius Mela22 decades - 90
Abgar V0 decades - 91
Ptolemy of Mauretania0 decades - 92Sporusnot measured-
- 93
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo0 decades - 94
Dio Chrysostom22 decades - 95
Livillanot measured- - 96
Vipsania Agrippina1 decades - 97
Milonia Caesonia0 decades - 98
Phaedrus22 decades - 99Gaius Musonius Rufus0 decades
- 100
Julia the Younger0 decades
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.