215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1900-1999

The 20th century

Whose names filled the books of the 20th 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 Russian books during the 20th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Leo Tolstoy1828-1910 · 19th century · Russia · Writers2.6
  2. 2Patriarch Nikon of Moscow1605-1681 · 17th century · Religious Figures2.2
  3. 3Peter the Great1672-1725 · 18th century · Russia · Politicians1.8
  4. 4Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow1482-1563 · 16th century · Writers1.5
  5. 5Boris Godunov1552-1605 · 16th century · Politicians1.4
  6. 6Vladimir Lenin1870-1924 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians1.4
  7. 7Nicholas I of Russia1796-1855 · 19th century · Russia · Models1.3
  8. 8Ivan the Terrible1530-1584 · 16th century · Politicians1.1
  9. 9Alexander I of Russia1777-1825 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures1.1
  10. 10Alexander II of Russia1818-1881 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.99
  11. 11Nicholas II of Russia1868-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.99
  12. 12Maxim Gorky1868-1936 · 20th century · Russia · Writers0.98
  13. 13Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia1904-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.97
  14. 14Ivan I of Tver1357-1425 · 14th century · Historical Figures0.92
  15. 15Alexis of Russia1629-1676 · 17th century · Historical Figures0.86
  16. 16Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia1832-1909 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.86
  17. 17Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia1690-1718 · 18th century · Politicians0.78
  18. 18Andrei Bely1880-1934 · 20th century · Russia · Writers0.74
  19. 19Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia1847-1909 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.72
  20. 20Sergo Ordzhonikidze1886-1937 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians0.72
  21. 21Ivan I Aleksandrovich, Prince of Smolenskdied 1359 · 14th century0.72
  22. 22Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia1899-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.70
  23. 23Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia1827-1892 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.65
  24. 24Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia1864-1931 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.64
  25. 25Alexander III of Russia1845-1894 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.63
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 20th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Chen-ning Yang1922-2025 · China · Scientists8 decades
  2. 2Tu Youyouborn 1930 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  3. 3Qian Xuesen1911-2009 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  4. 4Yuan Longping1930-2021 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  5. 5Duan Yongpingborn 1961 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  6. 6Liu Gangborn 1961 · China · Scientists0 decades
  7. 7Jin Yuzhangborn 1942 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  8. 8Shi Ping1911-2024 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  9. 9He Zehui1914-2011 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  10. 10Sun Yafangborn 1955 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  11. 11Qian Sanqiang1913-1992 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  12. 12Cheng Kaijia1918-2018 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  13. 13Wang Ganchang1907-1998 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  14. 14Wang Xijiborn 1921 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  15. 15Huang Xuhua1926-2025 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  16. 16Hu Xiansu1894-1968 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  17. 17Bai Chunliborn 1953 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  18. 18Deng Jiaxian1924-1986 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  19. 19Da-Wen Sunborn 1960 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  20. 20Wang Yongzhi1932-2024 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  21. 21Zhu Guangya1924-2011 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  22. 22Vivian Wing-Wah Yamborn 1963 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  23. 23Zhou Guangzhao1929-2024 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  24. 24Lu Jiaxi1915-2001 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
  25. 25Shiu-Ying Hu1910-2012 · China · Scientistsnot measured-
Show 75 more

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.