Inventor

Cornelis Drebbel

Dutch inventor and submarine pioneer

1572 - 1633

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Cornelis Drebbel

His biography is available in 30 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2024). Cornelis Drebbel is the 143rd most popular inventor (down from 64th in 2024), the 249th most popular biography from Netherlands (down from 88th in 2019) and the most popular Dutch Inventor.

Cornelis Drebbel is most famous for inventing the first working submarine in 1620.

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42k

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Past 12 months

65.00

HPI

Historical Popularity Index

Data Insights

#1 / 28

Cornelis Drebbel is the most memorable of the 28 notable people born in Alkmaar, in what is now modern-day Netherlands, ahead of Emanuel de Witte, Joan Blaeu, and Allaert van Everdingen.

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Among Inventors

Among inventors, Cornelis Drebbel ranks 143 out of 433. Before him are Zénobe Gramme, Elias Howe, Mary the Jewess, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, Taiichi Ohno, and Louis Le Prince. After him are John Kay, Robert Stirling, Peter Cooper, Siegfried Marcus, Richard Jordan Gatling, and Robert Cailliau.

Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Zénobe Gramme
1826 - 1901
HPI: 65.54
Rank: 137
Elias Howe
1819 - 1867
HPI: 65.40
Rank: 138
Mary the Jewess
100 - 100
HPI: 65.39
Rank: 139
Jean-Pierre Blanchard
1753 - 1809
HPI: 65.37
Rank: 140
Taiichi Ohno
1912 - 1990
HPI: 65.31
Rank: 141
Louis Le Prince
1841 - 1890
HPI: 65.07
Rank: 142
Cornelis Drebbel
1572 - 1633
HPI: 65.00
Rank: 143
John Kay
1704 - 1779
HPI: 64.88
Rank: 144
Robert Stirling
1790 - 1878
HPI: 64.85
Rank: 145
Peter Cooper
1791 - 1883
HPI: 64.84
Rank: 146
Siegfried Marcus
1831 - 1898
HPI: 64.83
Rank: 147
Richard Jordan Gatling
1818 - 1903
HPI: 64.82
Rank: 148
Robert Cailliau
1947 - Present
HPI: 64.78
Rank: 149

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1572, Cornelis Drebbel ranks 9. Before him are John Donne, Ben Jonson, Sigismund Báthory, Jane Frances de Chantal, Susenyos I, and Izumo no Okuni. After him are Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, Francis II, Duke of Lorraine, Marie Elisabeth of France, Cyril Lucaris, Fakhr al-Din II, and Thomas Dekker. Among people deceased in 1633, Cornelis Drebbel ranks 6. Before him are Jacopo Peri, Isabella Clara Eugenia, Scipione Borghese, Pieter Lastman, and Xu Guangqi. After him are Patriarch Filaret of Moscow, Catherine of Cleves, Lew Sapieha, Sigrid of Sweden, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, and George Herbert.

Others Born in 1572

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John Donne
WRITER
1572 - 1631
HPI: 71.83
Rank: 3
Ben Jonson
WRITER
1572 - 1637
HPI: 69.70
Rank: 4
Sigismund Báthory
POLITICIAN
1572 - 1613
HPI: 67.97
Rank: 5
Jane Frances de Chantal
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1572 - 1641
HPI: 67.40
Rank: 6
Susenyos I
POLITICIAN
1572 - 1632
HPI: 66.58
Rank: 7
Izumo no Okuni
DANCER
1572 - Present
HPI: 66.26
Rank: 8
Cornelis Drebbel
INVENTOR
1572 - 1633
HPI: 65.00
Rank: 9
Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
POLITICIAN
1572 - 1632
HPI: 64.67
Rank: 10
Francis II, Duke of Lorraine
POLITICIAN
1572 - 1632
HPI: 64.17
Rank: 11
Marie Elisabeth of France
NOBLEMAN
1572 - 1578
HPI: 64.07
Rank: 12
Cyril Lucaris
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1572 - 1638
HPI: 63.62
Rank: 13
Fakhr al-Din II
POLITICIAN
1572 - 1635
HPI: 60.22
Rank: 14
Thomas Dekker
WRITER
1572 - 1632
HPI: 55.12
Rank: 15

Others Deceased in 1633

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Jacopo Peri
COMPOSER
1561 - 1633
HPI: 75.40
Rank: 1
Isabella Clara Eugenia
POLITICIAN
1566 - 1633
HPI: 72.47
Rank: 2
Scipione Borghese
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1577 - 1633
HPI: 68.74
Rank: 3
Pieter Lastman
PAINTER
1583 - 1633
HPI: 67.19
Rank: 4
Xu Guangqi
MATHEMATICIAN
1562 - 1633
HPI: 66.30
Rank: 5
Cornelis Drebbel
INVENTOR
1572 - 1633
HPI: 65.00
Rank: 6
Patriarch Filaret of Moscow
POLITICIAN
1553 - 1633
HPI: 64.77
Rank: 7
Catherine of Cleves
NOBLEMAN
1548 - 1633
HPI: 63.59
Rank: 8
Lew Sapieha
POLITICIAN
1557 - 1633
HPI: 63.26
Rank: 9
Sigrid of Sweden
NOBLEMAN
1566 - 1633
HPI: 62.50
Rank: 10
Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues
POLITICIAN
1579 - 1633
HPI: 61.78
Rank: 11
George Herbert
WRITER
1593 - 1633
HPI: 61.06
Rank: 12

In Netherlands

Among people born in Netherlands, Cornelis Drebbel ranks 249 out of 2,139. Before him are Pieter Boddaert (1730), Princess Sophie of the Netherlands (1824), Jan Peter Balkenende (1956), Gemma Frisius (1508), George Blake (1922), and Alexandrine Tinné (1835). After him are Wim Suurbier (1945), Piet Pieterszoon Hein (1577), Johann Weyer (1515), Nicolaes Maes (1634), Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527), and Frans de Waal (1948).

Others born in Netherlands

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Pieter Boddaert
BIOLOGIST
1730 - 1795
HPI: 65.27
Rank: 243
Princess Sophie of the Netherlands
POLITICIAN
1824 - 1897
HPI: 65.24
Rank: 244
Jan Peter Balkenende
POLITICIAN
1956 - Present
HPI: 65.22
Rank: 245
Gemma Frisius
MATHEMATICIAN
1508 - 1555
HPI: 65.13
Rank: 246
George Blake
DIPLOMAT
1922 - 2020
HPI: 65.03
Rank: 247
Alexandrine Tinné
EXPLORER
1835 - 1869
HPI: 65.00
Rank: 248
Cornelis Drebbel
INVENTOR
1572 - 1633
HPI: 65.00
Rank: 249
Wim Suurbier
SOCCER PLAYER
1945 - 2020
HPI: 64.98
Rank: 250
Piet Pieterszoon Hein
PIRATE
1577 - 1629
HPI: 64.98
Rank: 251
Johann Weyer
PHYSICIAN
1515 - 1588
HPI: 64.97
Rank: 252
Nicolaes Maes
PAINTER
1634 - 1693
HPI: 64.96
Rank: 253
Hans Vredeman de Vries
ARCHITECT
1527 - 1607
HPI: 64.88
Rank: 254
Frans de Waal
PSYCHOLOGIST
1948 - 2024
HPI: 64.85
Rank: 255