INVENTOR
Barnes Wallis
1887 - 1979
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II. The raid was the subject of the 1955 film The Dam Busters, in which Wallis was played by Michael Redgrave. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Barnes Wallis has received more than 967,398 page views. His biography is available in 26 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 24 in 2019). Barnes Wallis is the 381st most popular inventor (down from 327th in 2019), the 4,480th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 3,630th in 2019) and the 64th most popular British Inventor.
Memorability Metrics
970k
Page Views (PV)
45.13
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
26
Languages Editions (L)
1.89
Effective Languages (L*)
4.23
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among INVENTORS
Among inventors, Barnes Wallis ranks 381 out of 426. Before him are Alfred Carlton Gilbert, William Fothergill Cooke, Karl Jatho, Wordsworth Donisthorpe, Harold Eugene Edgerton, and Kálmán Tihanyi. After him are Elmer Ambrose Sperry, Mohamed M. Atalla, Herbert E. Ives, Robert S. Langer, Oleg Losev, and John Shepherd-Barron.
Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsAlfred Carlton Gilbert
1884 - 1961
HPI: 45.41
Rank: 375
William Fothergill Cooke
1806 - 1879
HPI: 45.40
Rank: 376
Karl Jatho
1873 - 1933
HPI: 45.37
Rank: 377
Wordsworth Donisthorpe
1847 - 1914
HPI: 45.25
Rank: 378
Harold Eugene Edgerton
1903 - 1990
HPI: 45.19
Rank: 379
Kálmán Tihanyi
1897 - 1947
HPI: 45.18
Rank: 380
Barnes Wallis
1887 - 1979
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 381
Elmer Ambrose Sperry
1860 - 1930
HPI: 45.10
Rank: 382
Mohamed M. Atalla
1924 - 2009
HPI: 45.08
Rank: 383
Herbert E. Ives
1882 - 1953
HPI: 45.08
Rank: 384
Robert S. Langer
1948 - Present
HPI: 45.03
Rank: 385
Oleg Losev
1903 - 1942
HPI: 45.00
Rank: 386
John Shepherd-Barron
1925 - 2010
HPI: 44.94
Rank: 387
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1887, Barnes Wallis ranks 257. Before him are Emil Magnusson, L. S. Lowry, Arne Halse, Teodor Koskenniemi, Charles Reisner, and Florence Price. After him are Sigmund Romberg, Gustaf Rosenquist, Jorge de Paiva, Robinson Jeffers, Nils Middelboe, and Nils Granfelt. Among people deceased in 1979, Barnes Wallis ranks 231. Before him are Blas de Otero, Imre Harangi, Eduardo González Valiño, Les Clark, Ben Lyon, and Juan Aguilera. After him are Arthur Hunnicutt, Loren Murchison, Sven Utterström, Ann Dvorak, Judee Sill, and Ahmet Kireççi.
Others Born in 1887
Go to all RankingsEmil Magnusson
ATHLETE
1887 - 1933
HPI: 45.31
Rank: 251
L. S. Lowry
PAINTER
1887 - 1976
HPI: 45.27
Rank: 252
Arne Halse
ATHLETE
1887 - 1975
HPI: 45.25
Rank: 253
Teodor Koskenniemi
ATHLETE
1887 - 1965
HPI: 45.22
Rank: 254
Charles Reisner
FILM DIRECTOR
1887 - 1962
HPI: 45.18
Rank: 255
Florence Price
COMPOSER
1887 - 1953
HPI: 45.17
Rank: 256
Barnes Wallis
INVENTOR
1887 - 1979
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 257
Sigmund Romberg
COMPOSER
1887 - 1951
HPI: 45.01
Rank: 258
Gustaf Rosenquist
ATHLETE
1887 - 1961
HPI: 45.00
Rank: 259
Jorge de Paiva
FENCER
1887 - 1937
HPI: 44.72
Rank: 260
Robinson Jeffers
WRITER
1887 - 1962
HPI: 44.71
Rank: 261
Nils Middelboe
SOCCER PLAYER
1887 - 1976
HPI: 44.25
Rank: 262
Nils Granfelt
GYMNAST
1887 - 1959
HPI: 44.17
Rank: 263
Others Deceased in 1979
Go to all RankingsBlas de Otero
WRITER
1916 - 1979
HPI: 45.61
Rank: 225
Imre Harangi
ATHLETE
1913 - 1979
HPI: 45.61
Rank: 226
Eduardo González Valiño
SOCCER PLAYER
1911 - 1979
HPI: 45.60
Rank: 227
Les Clark
COMIC ARTIST
1907 - 1979
HPI: 45.56
Rank: 228
Ben Lyon
ACTOR
1901 - 1979
HPI: 45.45
Rank: 229
Juan Aguilera
SOCCER PLAYER
1903 - 1979
HPI: 45.31
Rank: 230
Barnes Wallis
INVENTOR
1887 - 1979
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 231
Arthur Hunnicutt
ACTOR
1910 - 1979
HPI: 45.07
Rank: 232
Loren Murchison
ATHLETE
1898 - 1979
HPI: 44.89
Rank: 233
Sven Utterström
SKIER
1901 - 1979
HPI: 44.85
Rank: 234
Ann Dvorak
ACTOR
1911 - 1979
HPI: 44.82
Rank: 235
Judee Sill
SINGER
1944 - 1979
HPI: 44.62
Rank: 236
Ahmet Kireççi
WRESTLER
1914 - 1979
HPI: 44.60
Rank: 237
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, Barnes Wallis ranks 4,480 out of 8,785. Before him are Chris Craft (1939), Tommy Gemmell (1943), Paul Carrack (1951), Anne-Marie Duff (1970), John Aitken (1839), and Augustus John (1878). After him are Richard Taylor (1962), William Sterndale Bennett (1816), John Farnham (1949), Sam Tingle (1921), Jonathan Lynn (1943), and Jimmy Stewart (1931).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsChris Craft
RACING DRIVER
1939 - 2021
HPI: 45.16
Rank: 4,474
Tommy Gemmell
SOCCER PLAYER
1943 - 2017
HPI: 45.16
Rank: 4,475
Paul Carrack
SINGER
1951 - Present
HPI: 45.15
Rank: 4,476
Anne-Marie Duff
ACTOR
1970 - Present
HPI: 45.14
Rank: 4,477
John Aitken
PHYSICIST
1839 - 1919
HPI: 45.14
Rank: 4,478
Augustus John
PAINTER
1878 - 1961
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 4,479
Barnes Wallis
INVENTOR
1887 - 1979
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 4,480
Richard Taylor
MATHEMATICIAN
1962 - Present
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 4,481
William Sterndale Bennett
COMPOSER
1816 - 1875
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 4,482
John Farnham
SINGER
1949 - Present
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 4,483
Sam Tingle
RACING DRIVER
1921 - 2008
HPI: 45.12
Rank: 4,484
Jonathan Lynn
FILM DIRECTOR
1943 - Present
HPI: 45.12
Rank: 4,485
Jimmy Stewart
RACING DRIVER
1931 - 2008
HPI: 45.12
Rank: 4,486
Among INVENTORS In United Kingdom
Among inventors born in United Kingdom, Barnes Wallis ranks 64. Before him are John Milne (1850), Isaac Pitman (1813), William Friese-Greene (1855), Kirkpatrick Macmillan (1835), William Fothergill Cooke (1806), and Wordsworth Donisthorpe (1847). After him are John Whitehurst (1713), Roger C. Field (1945), Lawrence Hargrave (1850), and Frank Hornby (1863).
John Milne
1850 - 1913
HPI: 46.10
Rank: 58
Isaac Pitman
1813 - 1897
HPI: 46.05
Rank: 59
William Friese-Greene
1855 - 1921
HPI: 45.85
Rank: 60
Kirkpatrick Macmillan
1835 - 1867
HPI: 45.81
Rank: 61
William Fothergill Cooke
1806 - 1879
HPI: 45.40
Rank: 62
Wordsworth Donisthorpe
1847 - 1914
HPI: 45.25
Rank: 63
Barnes Wallis
1887 - 1979
HPI: 45.13
Rank: 64
John Whitehurst
1713 - 1788
HPI: 43.40
Rank: 65
Roger C. Field
1945 - Present
HPI: 41.20
Rank: 66
Lawrence Hargrave
1850 - 1915
HPI: 40.66
Rank: 67
Frank Hornby
1863 - 1936
HPI: 39.95
Rank: 68