Claim profile
300–399

The 4th century

Whose working lives fell in the 4th 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 4th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇪🇬 Egypt🇮🇹 Italy🇹🇷 Turkey🇫🇷 France🇨🇳 China🇯🇵 Japan🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇮🇱 Israel🇵🇹 Portugal🇪🇸 Spain
FieldAllPoliticiansReligious FiguresWritersHistorical FiguresAcademicsModelsDoctorsActorsMusiciansArtists
  1. 1Augustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo354–430 · Academics16 decades
  2. 2HypatiaHypatia360–415 · 🇪🇬 Egypt · Academics22 decades
  3. 3JeromeJerome345–420 · Academicsnot measured—
  4. 4AmbroseAmbrose339–397 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Academicsnot measured—
  5. 5John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom349–407 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academics22 decades
  6. 6EusebiusEusebius265–340 · 🇮🇱 Israel · Academicsnot measured—
  7. 7Gregory of NazianzusGregory of Nazianzus329–389 · Academics18 decades
  8. 8Ephrem the SyrianEphrem the Syrian306–373 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academics6 decades
  9. 9PelagiusPelagius354–420 · Academicsnot measured—
  10. 10John CassianJohn Cassian360–435 · Academics7 decades
  11. 11VasubandhuVasubandhu300–399 · Academics13 decades
  12. 12Cyril of JerusalemCyril of Jerusalem313–386 · Academics22 decades
  13. 13Mesrop MashtotsMesrop Mashtots362–440 · Academics0 decades
  14. 14Pappus of AlexandriaPappus of Alexandria290–350 · 🇪🇬 Egypt · Academics0 decades
  15. 15AsangaAsanga300–301 · Academics10 decades
  16. 16TOTheon of Alexandria335–400 · Academics0 decades
  17. 17TThemistius317–388 · Academics22 decades
  18. 18Ge HongGe Hong284–364 · Academics6 decades
  19. 19PandrosionPandrosion300–360 · Academics0 decades
  20. 20Xie DaoyunXie Daoyun349–409 · Academicsnot measured—
  21. 21GMGaius Marius Victorinus290–364 · Academics0 decades
  22. 22Macrina the YoungerMacrina the Younger324–379 · Academics0 decades
  23. 23Ploutarchos of AthensPloutarchos of Athens350–430 · Academicsnot measured—
  24. 24CalcidiusCalcidius350–350 · Academics6 decades
  25. 25DaoshengDaosheng355–434 · Academicsnot measured—
  26. 26NNemesius350–420 · Academics20 decades
  27. 27HuiyuanHuiyuan334–416 · Academics2 decades
  28. 28MOMaximus of Ephesus310–372 · Academics0 decades
  29. 29AdeodatusAdeodatus372–388 · Academicsnot measured—
  30. 30AAedesius280–355 · Academicsnot measured—
  31. 31Maitreya-nāthaMaitreya-nātha270–350 · Academicsnot measured—
  32. 32D(Dexippus (philosopher)350–350 · Academicsnot measured—
  33. 33CChrysanthius310–390 · Academics3 decades
  34. 34EOEusebius of Myndusborn 300 · Academics0 decades
  35. 35PWPei Wei (Jin dynasty)267–300 · Academicsnot measured—
  36. 36PProhaeresius276–368 · Academics0 decades
  37. 37Zhi DunZhi Dun314–366 · Academics0 decades
  38. 38TOTheodorus of Asine275–360 · Academics0 decades
  39. 39BTBacurius the Iberiandied 394 · Academics0 decades
  40. 40POPriscus of Epirus305–395 · Academicsnot measured—
  41. 41FSFlavius Sallustiusborn 350 · Academics0 decades
  42. 42DODiodorus of Aspendus300–400 · Academics0 decades
  43. 43GOGeorge of Laodicea320–361 · 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.