COMPANION

Catherine de' Medici

1519 - 1589

Photo of Catherine de' Medici

Icon of person Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici (Italian: Caterina de' Medici, pronounced [kateˈriːna de ˈmɛːditʃi]; French: Catherine de Médicis, pronounced [katʁin də medisis]; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian (Florentine) noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and the mother of French kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, albeit at times varying, influence on the political life of France. Catherine was born in Florence to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Catherine de' Medici has received more than 12,938,962 page views. Her biography is available in 76 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 75 in 2019). Catherine de' Medici is the 11th most popular companion (down from 5th in 2019), the 80th most popular biography from Italy (down from 49th in 2019) and the most popular Italian Companion.

Catherine de' Medici was a powerful Italian noblewoman who became queen consort of France in 1547 by marrying King Henry II. She was the mother of three kings of France, including Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. Catherine was also the last direct descendent of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of Florence.

Memorability Metrics

  • 13M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 77.84

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 76

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.36

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.25

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among COMPANIONS

Among companions, Catherine de' Medici ranks 11 out of 784. Before her are Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Madame de Pompadour, Aisha, Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Madame du Barry, and Mihrimah Sultan. After her are Klara Hitler, Helena, Empress Joséphine, Eva Braun, Nurbanu Sultan, and Nefertari.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1519, Catherine de' Medici ranks 1. After her are Henry II of France, Pope Innocent IX, Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Gaspard II de Coligny, Francis, Duke of Guise, Theodore Beza, Isabella Jagiellon, Occhiali, Imagawa Yoshimoto, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, and Andrea Cesalpino. Among people deceased in 1589, Catherine de' Medici ranks 2. Before her is Henry III of France. After her are Jacques Clément, Christophe Plantin, Anna Maria of the Palatinate, Benedict the Moor, Alessandro Farnese, Johannes Sturm, Bernard Palissy, Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Michael Baius, and Charles II, Lord of Monaco.

Others Born in 1519

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Others Deceased in 1589

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Catherine de' Medici ranks 80 out of 5,161. Before her are Vitruvius (-75), Zeno of Elea (-490), Mark Antony (-83), Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (-600), Giotto (1267), and Ennio Morricone (1928). After her are Giorgio Vasari (1511), Pope Pius V (1504), Pope Pius XI (1857), Benedict of Nursia (480), Michael Collins (1930), and Pope Gregory XIII (1502).

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Among COMPANIONS In Italy

Among companions born in Italy, Catherine de' Medici ranks 1. After her are Livia (-58), Messalina (17), Zita of Bourbon-Parma (1892), Josephine of Leuchtenberg (1807), Poppaea Sabina (30), Julia the Elder (-39), Constance, Queen of Sicily (1154), Caterina Sforza (1463), Maria Luisa of Parma (1751), Bianca Maria Sforza (1472), and Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (1685).

Italian born Companions

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