PHILOSOPHER

Democritus

460 BC - 360 BC

Photo of Democritus

Icon of person Democritus

Democritus (; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe.Democritus was born in Abdera, Thrace, around 460 BC, although there are disagreements about the exact year. His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from those of his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned together in texts. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Democritus has received more than 2,443,589 page views. His biography is available in 94 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 91 in 2019). Democritus is the 29th most popular philosopher (up from 35th in 2019), the 12th most popular biography from Greece (up from 16th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Greek Philosopher.

Democritus is most famous for his atomic theory.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.4M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 86.38

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 94

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.95

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.04

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Democrituses by language


Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Democritus ranks 29 out of 1,089. Before him are Baruch Spinoza, Erasmus, Thales of Miletus, Seneca the Younger, Friedrich Engels, and Averroes. After him are Diogenes, David Hume, Laozi, Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, and Auguste Comte.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 460 BC, Democritus ranks 2. Before him is Hippocrates. After him are Thucydides, Critias, Diogenes of Apollonia, Prodicus, and Verginia. Among people deceased in 360 BC, Democritus ranks 1. After him are Agesilaus II, Atropates, Campaspe, Dinocrates, Aeschines of Sphettus, Lais of Corinth, Bryaxis, Anniceris, Polykleitos the Younger, Agnodice, and Taxiles.

Others Born in 460 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 360 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Democritus ranks 12 out of 855. Before him are Hippocrates (-460), Pythagoras (-570), Spartacus (-109), Sophocles (-497), Epicurus (-341), and Pericles (-494). After him are Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921), El Greco (1541), Philip II of Macedon (-382), Aristophanes (-448), Plutarch (46), and Euripides (-480).

Others born in Greece

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHILOSOPHERS In Greece

Among philosophers born in Greece, Democritus ranks 6. Before him are Aristotle (-384), Plato (-427), Socrates (-470), Pythagoras (-570), and Epicurus (-341). After him are Plutarch (46), Protagoras (-486), Gorgias (-483), Theophrastus (-371), Pyrrho (-365), and Antisthenes (-445).

Greek born Philosophers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous
  • Datawheel