WRITER

Brendan Behan

1923 - 1964

Photo of Brendan Behan

Icon of person Brendan Behan

Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( BEE-ən; Irish: Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely acknowledged alcohol dependence, despite attempts to treat it, impacted his creative capacities and contributed to health and social problems which curtailed his artistic output and finally his life. An Irish Republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Behan was born in Dublin into a staunchly republican family, becoming a member of the IRA's youth organization Fianna Éireann at the age of fourteen. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Brendan Behan has received more than 1,191,975 page views. His biography is available in 35 different languages on Wikipedia. Brendan Behan is the 3,770th most popular writer (down from 3,481st in 2019), the 152nd most popular biography from Ireland (down from 139th in 2019) and the 24th most popular Irish Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 57.59

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 35

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.45

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.72

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Brendan Behan ranks 3,770 out of 7,302Before him are Friedrich Theodor Vischer, Alaiza Pashkevich, Dares Phrygius, Brandon Sanderson, Angelo de Gubernatis, and Adile Sultan. After him are Nick Hornby, Mary Renault, Ferdinand Freiligrath, Friederike Mayröcker, Said Akl, and Lucrezia Marinella.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1923, Brendan Behan ranks 239Before him are Betsy Blair, Alice Coachman, Rafael Addiego Bruno, Og Mandino, Mrinal Sen, and Mikhail Yegorov. After him are Karl Vaino, Gordon R. Dickson, François Cavanna, Netti Witziers-Timmer, Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat, and Giuseppe Rotunno. Among people deceased in 1964, Brendan Behan ranks 112Before him are Henry Maitland Wilson, Olga Desmond, Cedric Hardwicke, Joseph Marx, Maksym Rylsky, and Adolfo Díaz. After him are Amrit Kaur, Jean-Baptiste Janssens, Eugen Varga, Maurice Farman, Moa Martinson, and Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor.

Others Born in 1923

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1964

Go to all Rankings

In Ireland

Among people born in Ireland, Brendan Behan ranks 152 out of 549Before him are Adomnán (624), Edward Bruce (1275), Ninette de Valois (1898), Eddie Jordan (1948), Edna O'Brien (1930), and Michael William Balfe (1808). After him are William Howard Russell (1820), Jane Wilde (1821), Ronnie Drew (1934), Edward Sabine (1788), Herbert Brenon (1880), and William Orpen (1878).

Among WRITERS In Ireland

Among writers born in Ireland, Brendan Behan ranks 24Before him are Patrick Pearse (1879), Charles Maturin (1780), John Millington Synge (1871), Cornelius Ryan (1920), John Boyne (1971), and Edna O'Brien (1930). After him are Jane Wilde (1821), Elizabeth Bowen (1899), Seán O'Casey (1880), Maeve Binchy (1939), William Trevor (1928), and Colm Tóibín (1955).