Claim profile
400–499

The 5th century

Whose working lives fell in the 5th 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 5th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

CountryAll🇫🇷 France🇮🇹 Italy🇯🇵 Japan🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇪🇬 Egypt🇹🇷 Turkey🇨🇳 China🇩🇪 Germany🇲🇽 Mexico🇮🇩 Indonesia
FieldAllPoliticiansHistorical FiguresWritersReligious FiguresAcademicsModelsDoctorsActorsBusiness ProfessionalsMusicians
  1. 1ProclusProclus412–485 · Academicsnot measured—
  2. 2Synesius of CyreneSynesius of Cyrene370–413 · Academics0 decades
  3. 3DDamascius450–550 · Academics20 decades
  4. 4MazdakMazdak450–529 · Academics18 decades
  5. 5EutychesEutyches378–454 · Academics22 decades
  6. 6SSengzhao384–414 · Academics6 decades
  7. 7Severus of AntiochSeverus of Antioch456–538 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Academics4 decades
  8. 8AHAmmonius Hermiae435–517 · Academics0 decades
  9. 9Zu ChongzhiZu Chongzhi429–501 · Academics0 decades
  10. 10HOHierocles of Alexandria400–500 · Academics0 decades
  11. 11WuWu464–549 · Academicsnot measured—
  12. 12IOIsidore of Alexandria450–520 · Academics0 decades
  13. 13Peter the IberianPeter the Iberian400–491 · Academics0 decades
  14. 14SallustiusSallustius400–400 · Academicsnot measured—
  15. 15AOAeneas of Gaza445–550 · Academics0 decades
  16. 16SSosipatra400–400 · Academics0 decades
  17. 17MOMarinus of Neapolis440–500 · Academics0 decades
  18. 18Yeznik of KolbYeznik of Kolb380–450 · Academicsnot measured—
  19. 19JOJulian of Eclanum386–450 · Academics0 decades
  20. 20VOVictorius of Aquitaine450–450 · Academics0 decades
  21. 21FZFan Zhen450–515 · Academics0 decades
  22. 22Asclepius of TrallesAsclepius of Tralles401–501 · Academics0 decades
  23. 23DODomninus of Larissa420–480 · Academics0 decades
  24. 24HOHeliodorus of Alexandriaborn 450 · Academics0 decades
  25. 25SOSallustius of Emesaborn 450 · Academicsnot measured—
  26. 26AAntoninus400–400 · Academicsnot measured—
  27. 27TOTheodora of Emesaborn 401 · Academicsnot measured—
  28. 28PPamprepius440–484 · Academics0 decades
  29. 29MMardonio400–400 · Academics1 decades
  30. 30HCHe Chengtian370–447 · Academics0 decades
  31. 31AApollinaris400–400 · Academicsnot measured—

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.