WRITER

Alistair MacLean

1922 - 1987

Photo of Alistair MacLean

Icon of person Alistair MacLean

Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably The Guns of Navarone (1957) and Ice Station Zebra (1963). In the late 1960s, encouraged by film producer Elliott Kastner, MacLean began to write original screenplays, concurrently with an accompanying novel. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Alistair MacLean has received more than 1,291,420 page views. His biography is available in 32 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 30 in 2019). Alistair MacLean is the 1,575th most popular writer (down from 1,567th in 2019), the 1,215th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 1,258th in 2019) and the 138th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 58.06

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 32

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.89

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.45

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

South by Java Head
1958
The guns of Navarone
1957
The dark crusader
1961
H.M.S. Ulysses
World War, 1939-1945
British light cruiser on the sea road to Murmansk during the World War.
1955
Ice Station Zebra
Large type books
1963
Bear Island
1971

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Alistair MacLean ranks 1,575 out of 7,302. Before him are Jonas Lie, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sister Nivedita, Gustav Landauer, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, and Ahmad ibn Mājid. After him are Eino Leino, Ruth Rendell, Jean Chapelain, Alasdair Gray, Dean Koontz, and Langston Hughes.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1922, Alistair MacLean ranks 99. Before him are Yvonne De Carlo, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Salvatore Giuliano, Sven Nykvist, Jonas Mekas, and Michael Cacoyannis. After him are Gianna Beretta Molla, José Froilán González, Shigeru Mizuki, Carl Reiner, Egon Bahr, and Ferenc Deák. Among people deceased in 1987, Alistair MacLean ranks 53. Before him are Anthony de Mello, Kishore Kumar, Bob Fosse, Rouben Mamoulian, Camille Chamoun, and Eugen Jochum. After him are Seyni Kountché, Yakov Zeldovich, Gordon Gollob, Charan Singh, Federico Mompou, and Gretl Braun.

Others Born in 1922

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Others Deceased in 1987

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Alistair MacLean ranks 1,215 out of 8,785. Before him are Sister Nivedita (1867), John Toshack (1949), Smithson Tennant (1761), Robert Shaw (1927), Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763), and Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1375). After him are Ruth Rendell (1930), Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (1480), Henry Thomas Buckle (1821), David Thewlis (1963), Alasdair Gray (1934), and Charles Algernon Parsons (1854).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Alistair MacLean ranks 138. Before him are Lord Alfred Douglas (1870), Evelyn Waugh (1903), John Gay (1685), Michael Moorcock (1939), Hugh Lofting (1886), and Sister Nivedita (1867). After him are Ruth Rendell (1930), Alasdair Gray (1934), Robert Faurisson (1929), A. S. Byatt (1936), Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837), and Joseph Needham (1900).

British born Writers

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