Claim profile
1000–1 BC

The 1st millennium BC

Whose working lives fell in the 1st millennium BC. 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 millennium BC, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇮🇹 Italy🇹🇷 Turkey🇨🇳 China🇮🇳 India🇪🇬 Egypt🇫🇷 France🇯🇵 Japan🇪🇸 Spain🇧🇷 Brazil🇩🇪 Germany
FieldAllPoliticiansHistorical FiguresWritersAcademicsModelsArtistsScientistsReligious FiguresDoctorsArchitects
  1. 1Julius CaesarJulius Caesar100 BC–44 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  2. 2AugustusAugustus63 BC–14 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  3. 3CiceroCicero106 BC–43 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  4. 4VirgilVirgil70 BC–19 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  5. 5OvidOvid43 BC–17 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  6. 6TiberiusTiberius42 BC–37 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politiciansnot measured—
  7. 7HoraceHorace65 BC–8 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writersnot measured—
  8. 8PompeyPompey106 BC–48 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politiciansnot measured—
  9. 9Mark AntonyMark Antony83 BC–30 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  10. 10LivyLivy59 BC–17 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  11. 11ParmenidesParmenides515 BC–470 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics22 decades
  12. 12Cato the ElderCato the Elder234 BC–149 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians19 decades
  13. 13VitruviusVitruvius80 BC–15 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Architects22 decades
  14. 14LucretiusLucretius94 BC–55 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  15. 15CatullusCatullus84 BC–54 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  16. 16EmpedoclesEmpedocles494 BC–434 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics22 decades
  17. 17PlautusPlautus250 BC–184 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  18. 18Marcus Vipsanius AgrippaMarcus Vipsanius Agrippa63 BC–12 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  19. 19Zeno of EleaZeno of Elea490 BC–425 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics11 decades
  20. 20Diodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus90 BC–20 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  21. 21Gaius MariusGaius Marius157 BC–86 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians4 decades
  22. 22SallustSallust86 BC–35 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  23. 23LiviaLivia59 BC–29 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politiciansnot measured—
  24. 24GorgiasGorgias483 BC–375 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics22 decades
  25. 25Numa PompiliusNuma Pompilius753 BC–671 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  26. 26Gaius MaecenasGaius Maecenasdied 8 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  27. 27Marcus Terentius VarroMarcus Terentius Varro116 BC–27 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics0 decades
  28. 28PropertiusPropertius47 BC–16 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  29. 29Tiberius GracchusTiberius Gracchus162 BC–133 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  30. 30Nero Claudius DrususNero Claudius Drusus38 BC–9 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians1 decades
  31. 31Publius Quinctilius VarusPublius Quinctilius Varusdied 9 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  32. 32EnniusEnnius239 BC–169 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  33. 33Servius TulliusServius Tullius600 BC–535 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  34. 34TibullusTibullus50 BC–15 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  35. 35Lucius Tarquinius PriscusLucius Tarquinius Priscus700 BC–578 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  36. 36Dionysius I of SyracuseDionysius I of Syracuse430 BC–367 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  37. 37Cornelius NeposCornelius Nepos100 BC–25 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  38. 38ArchytasArchytas430 BC–345 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics22 decades
  39. 39Octavia the YoungerOctavia the Younger66 BC–11 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy0 decades
  40. 40PhilolausPhilolaus470 BC–390 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics22 decades
  41. 41HippasusHippasus600 BC–500 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Academics12 decades
  42. 42Livius AndronicusLivius Andronicus280 BC–200 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers20 decades
  43. 43Quintus SertoriusQuintus Sertoriusborn 123 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  44. 44TLTitus Labienus98 BC–45 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  45. 45ZeuxisZeuxis500 BC–400 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Artists22 decades
  46. 46JuliaJulia73 BC–54 BC · 🇮🇹 Italynot measured—
  47. 47Gaius OctaviusGaius Octavius100 BC–59 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  48. 48CalpurniaCalpurnia76 BC–44 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  49. 49Gnaeus NaeviusGnaeus Naevius275 BC–201 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0 decades
  50. 50ServiliaServiliaborn 100 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures22 decades
  51. 51GLGaius Lucilius180 BC–102 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers0 decades
  52. 52AAlexis372 BC–270 BC · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writersnot measured—

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.