215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time2001 BC and earlier

The 3rd millennium BC and earlier

Whose working lives fell in the 3rd millennium BC and earlier. 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 3rd millennium BC and earlier, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Sargon of Akkad2350 BC-2300 BC · Historical Figures4 decades
  2. 2Khufu2700 BC-2566 BC · Politicians15 decades
  3. 3Imhotep2800 BC-2700 BC · Egypt · Architects11 decades
  4. 4Ötzi3275 BC-3230 BC · Italy1 decades
  5. 5Narmer3200 BC-3125 BC · Historical Figures11 decades
  6. 6Djoser2800 BC-2700 BC · Politicians7 decades
  7. 7Enheduanna2300 BC-2300 BC · Writers2 decades
  8. 8Menes3200 BC-3125 BC · Historical Figures22 decades
  9. 9Sneferu2700 BC-2609 BC · Egypt · Politicians8 decades
  10. 10Pepi II Neferkare2300 BC-2180 BC · Politicians0 decades
  11. 11Qa'aborn 2890 BC · Politicians0 decades
  12. 12Hor-Aha3162 BC-3100 BC · Historical Figures0 decades
  13. 13Menkaure2532 BC-2503 BC · Politicians3 decades
  14. 14Scorpion IIborn 3500 BC · Historical Figures0 decades
  15. 15Yu the Great2297 BC-2197 BC · China · Models0 decades
  16. 16Djer3001 BC-2999 BC · Politicians2 decades
  17. 17Nynetjer3000 BC-2845 BC · Politicians0 decades
  18. 18Khasekhemwy2800 BC-2700 BC · Politicians0 decades
  19. 19Mentuhotep II2100 BC-2013 BC · Historical Figures1 decades
  20. 20Djet3000 BC-3000 BC · Historical Figures1 decades
  21. 21Unas2375 BC-2350 BC · Politicians22 decades
  22. 22Merneith3000 BC-3000 BC · Politicians0 decades
  23. 23Djedefre2610 BC-2558 BC · Politicians0 decades
  24. 24Iry-Horborn 3101 BC · Historical Figures0 decades
  25. 25Teti2350 BC-2300 BC · Politicians13 decades
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.