800–899

The 9th century

Whose working lives fell in the 9th 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 9th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Echoed

1Bai Juyi772–846 · 🇨🇳 China · Writers8 decades
2Han Yu768–824 · 🇨🇳 China · Writers7 decades
3Al-Ma'mun786–833 · Writers0 decades
4Einhard774–840 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers16 decades
5Mansur Al-Hallaj858–922 · Writers0 decades
6Al-Jahiz775–868 · Writers0 decades
7Photios I of Constantinople827–900 · Writers0 decades
8Rudaki859–941 · Writers5 decades
9Yuan Zhen779–831 · Writersnot measured—
10Ziryab777–857 · Writers0 decades
11Li He790–816 · Writers6 decades
12Huang Chao801–884 · Writers6 decades
13Liu Yuxi772–842 · Writers7 decades
14Saint Cyril the Philosopher827–869 · Writersnot measured—
15Anastasius Bibliothecariusdied 879 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers2 decades
16NNennius800–900 · Writers22 decades
17Clement of Ohrid840–916 · Writers0 decades
18Lü Dongbin796–870 · Writers1 decades
19Sugawara no Michizane845–903 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
20Kassia810–865 · Writers4 decades
21Xue Tao768–831 · Writersnot measured—
22Walafrid Strabo808–849 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers12 decades
23NNitharddied 845 · Writersnot measured—
24AAl-Baladhuri820–892 · Writers0 decades
25Andal800–900 · Writers8 decades
26Yu Xuanji844–869 · Writersnot measured—
27Ibn Khordadbeh820–912 · Writers0 decades
28Otfrid of Weissenburg790–875 · 🇩🇪 Germany · Writers0 decades
29Choe Chiwon857–901 · Writersnot measured—
30Ono no Komachi825–900 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
31Wen Tingyun812–870 · Writers0 decades
32MIMuhammad ibn Sa'd ibn Mani' al-Baghdadi784–845 · Writersnot measured—
33Jia Dao779–843 · Writers1 decades
34Ennin793–864 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
35Emperor Saga786–842 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
36Eudokia Ingerina840–882 · Writers0 decades
37GOGottschalk of Orbais805–868 · Writers1 decades
38GSGeorgios Syncellus800–810 · Writersnot measured—
39Abu Tammam804–846 · Writers3 decades
40WZWei Zhuang836–910 · Writersnot measured—
41Eulogius of Córdoba810–859 · Writers0 decades
42Zhaozhou Congshen778–897 · Writersnot measured—
43Dhuodaborn 803 · Writers3 decades
44Saint Naum830–910 · Writers0 decades
45Hanshanborn 800 · Writersnot measured—
46Li Deyu787–850 · Writers2 decades
47I'Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam800–871 · Writersnot measured—
48Du Mu803–852 · Writers0 decades
49Al-Darimi797–869 · Writers0 decades
50Ibn Abī Shaiba776–849 · Writersnot measured—
51AOAdo of Vienne800–875 · Writers0 decades
52Liu Zongyuan773–819 · Writers7 decades
53DCDuan Chengshi800–863 · Writersnot measured—
54Sarojvajraborn 800 · Writersnot measured—
55AAArib al-Ma'muniyya797–890 · Writersnot measured—
56Ibn al-Rumi836–896 · Writers0 decades
57Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli854–946 · Writersnot measured—
58Liu Gongquan778–865 · Writersnot measured—
59Ariwara no Narihira825–880 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
60AIAbdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz861–908 · Writersnot measured—
61SSSedulius Scottus801–875 · Writers0 decades
62Buhturi821–897 · Writers0 decades
63Li Shangyin813–858 · Writers6 decades
64Joseph the Hymnographer816–886 · Writers0 decades
65IIIbrahim ibn al-Mahdi779–839 · Writers0 decades
66Ali ibn al-Madini778–848 · Writersnot measured—
67MAMuhammad al Warraqdied 861 · Writersnot measured—
68STSikong Tu837–908 · Writers4 decades
69Vimalamitraborn 800 · Writers1 decades
70AIAl-Fat·h ibn Khàqan815–861 · Writersnot measured—
71Enchin814–891 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers1 decades
72Hilduin775–858 · Writersnot measured—
73Amalarius of Metz775–850 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers22 decades
74Lu Tong795–835 · Writers0 decades
75Ibn Duraid837–933 · Writers1 decades
76DGDu Guangting850–933 · Writersnot measured—
77ENErmoldus Nigellus790–838 · Writers0 decades
78LGLi Gongzuo778–848 · Writersnot measured—
79Bragi Boddasonborn 800 · Writers0 decades
80Di'bil al-Khuza'i765–860 · Writersnot measured—
81IAIshaq al-Mawsili767–850 · Writers0 decades
82Emperor Yizong of Tang833–873 · Writersnot measured—
83UBUlaia binte Almadi777–825 · Writersnot measured—
84Pei Du765–839 · Writers0 decades
85Ibn Abi al-Dunya823–894 · Writers0 decades
86Yunmen Wenyan864–909 · Writers0 decades
87IʿIbn ʿAbd Rabbih860–940 · Writersnot measured—
88ABAbu Bakr al-Shibli861–946 · Writers0 decades
89Ono no Takamura802–853 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writers0 decades
90PRPi Rixiu830–883 · Writersnot measured—
91Emperor Muzong of Tang795–824 · Writersnot measured—
92Virupa850–999 · Writers0 decades
93Vairocanaborn 800 · Writers9 decades
94ACAbbo Cernuus850–923 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers0 decades
95RORudolf of Fulda800–865 · Writers0 decades
96ZHZhang Hu792–852 · Writersnot measured—
97Niftawayh858–935 · Writers0 decades
98AIAl-Zubayr ibn Bakkar788–870 · Writersnot measured—
99Henjo816–890 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
100KIKhalifa ibn Khayyat777–854 · Writers0 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.