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. 1PtolemyPtolemy100–170 · Academicsnot measured—
  2. 2TertullianTertullian160–240 · Academics22 decades
  3. 3IrenaeusIrenaeus130–202 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academics22 decades
  4. 4NagarjunaNagarjuna150–250 · Academics15 decades
  5. 5Marcion of SinopeMarcion of Sinope85–160 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academics0 decades
  6. 6Justin MartyrJustin Martyr100–165 · Academics22 decades
  7. 7PolycarpPolycarp69–155 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academicsnot measured—
  8. 8Clement of AlexandriaClement of Alexandria150–215 · Academics22 decades
  9. 9TheclaThecla100–100 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academics22 decades
  10. 10VValentinusdied 160 · Academicsnot measured—
  11. 11BBasilides117–140 · 🇪🇬 Egypt · Academics22 decades
  12. 12Zheng XuanZheng Xuan127–200 · Academics5 decades
  13. 13Pompeia PlotinaPompeia Plotina70–121 · Academics0 decades
  14. 14ATAgrippa the Skeptic100–100 · Academicsnot measured—
  15. 15CCarpocrates100–138 · Academics11 decades
  16. 16BBardaisan154–222 · Academics10 decades
  17. 17MOMenelaus of Alexandria70–140 · Academics0 decades
  18. 18FFavorinus85–200 · Academics20 decades
  19. 19Theon of SmyrnaTheon of Smyrna70–135 · Academics1 decades
  20. 20PPPeregrinus Proteus95–165 · Academics0 decades
  21. 21XOXenophon of Ephesus101–300 · Academics0 decades
  22. 22AAlbinus100–200 · Academicsnot measured—
  23. 23Junius RusticusJunius Rusticus100–170 · Academics2 decades
  24. 24RIRabbi Ishmael70–135 · Academics6 decades
  25. 25Polemon of LaodiceaPolemon of Laodicea90–144 · Academics0 decades
  26. 26AAtticus150–200 · Academicsnot measured—
  27. 27XYXu Yue160–227 · Academics0 decades
  28. 28AOAdrastus of Aphrodisiasdied 199 · Academics0 decades
  29. 29WFWang Fu78–163 · Academics7 decades
  30. 30XYXun Yue148–209 · Academics0 decades
  31. 31YMYin Mo101–201 · Academics0 decades
  32. 32AOAdrianus of Tyre113–193 · Academics0 decades
  33. 33AAspasius80–150 · Academicsnot measured—
  34. 34AOApollonius of Chalcedon101–200 · Academics0 decades
  35. 35MOMenodotus of Nicomedia100–200 · Academics0 decades
  36. 36GCGnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus113–200 · Academicsnot measured—
  37. 37EEpiphanes100–200 · Academicsnot measured—
  38. 38OOOenomaus of Gadaradied 200 · Academics0 decades
  39. 39He XiuHe Xiu129–182 · Academics0 decades
  40. 40Secundus the SilentSecundus the Silent100–200 · Academics0 decades
  41. 41AAgathobulus100–200 · Academics0 decades
  42. 42PEPublius Egnatius Celer100–100 · Academics0 decades
  43. 43GTGaius the Platonistborn 75 · Academicsnot measured—
  44. 44LCLucius Calbenus Taurus150–200 · Academicsnot measured—
  45. 45LLesbonaxdied 200 · Academics1 decades
  46. 46RNRabbi Nehemiahborn 101 · Academics0 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.