Claim profile
100–199

The 2nd century

Whose working lives fell in the 2nd 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 2nd century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇮🇹 Italy🇨🇳 China🇹🇷 Turkey🇪🇬 Egypt🇯🇵 Japan🇮🇱 Israel🇮🇳 India🇪🇸 Spain🇫🇷 France
FieldAllPoliticiansWritersHistorical FiguresAcademicsReligious FiguresDoctorsModelsScientistsActorsMusicians
  1. 1Marcus AureliusMarcus Aurelius121–180 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures22 decades
  2. 2CommodusCommodus161–192 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Models22 decades
  3. 3Antoninus PiusAntoninus Pius86–161 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  4. 4Lucius VerusLucius Verus130–169 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  5. 5LonginusLonginus100–100 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writersnot measured—
  6. 6PertinaxPertinax126–193 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians22 decades
  7. 7Pope Pius IPope Pius I95–150 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures0 decades
  8. 8LucillaLucilla150–182 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Modelsnot measured—
  9. 9Pope Alexander IPope Alexander I100–116 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures0 decades
  10. 10Faustina the YoungerFaustina the Younger125–175 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  11. 11Aulus GelliusAulus Gellius130–180 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Writers22 decades
  12. 12Pope TelesphorusPope Telesphorusdied 130 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Religious Figures0 decades
  13. 13Pescennius NigerPescennius Nigerborn 135 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians10 decades
  14. 14Bruttia CrispinaBruttia Crispina164–191 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Historical Figures0 decades
  15. 15Lucius AeliusLucius Aelius101–138 · 🇮🇹 Italy · Politicians0 decades
  16. 16Domitia LonginaDomitia Longina100–126 · 🇮🇹 Italy0 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.