EXTREMIST
Ed Gein
1906 - 1984
Ed Gein
Edward Theodore Gein ( GEEN; August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was an American murderer, suspected serial killer and body snatcher. Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, gathered widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ed Gein has received more than 24,032,090 page views. His biography is available in 40 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 38 in 2019). Ed Gein is the 21st most popular extremist (down from 17th in 2019), the 422nd most popular biography from United States (down from 365th in 2019) and the 9th most popular American Extremist.
Ed Gein is most famous for his crimes. He was a serial killer and necrophile. He would often dig up the bodies of recently buried women and use their skin to make masks, belts, and other objects.
Memorability Metrics
24M
Page Views (PV)
67.78
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
40
Languages Editions (L)
4.89
Effective Languages (L*)
3.95
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among EXTREMISTS
Among extremists, Ed Gein ranks 21 out of 283. Before him are John Wayne Gacy, Ramón Mercader, Andrei Chikatilo, Ted Kaczynski, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Ulrike Meinhof. After him are Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Albert Fish, Charles Ponzi, Carlos the Jackal, Patrizia Reggiani, and George Habash.
Most Popular Extremists in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsJohn Wayne Gacy
1942 - 1994
HPI: 69.68
Rank: 15
Ramón Mercader
1913 - 1978
HPI: 69.45
Rank: 16
Andrei Chikatilo
1936 - 1994
HPI: 69.42
Rank: 17
Ted Kaczynski
1942 - 2023
HPI: 69.32
Rank: 18
Ayman al-Zawahiri
1951 - 2022
HPI: 69.28
Rank: 19
Ulrike Meinhof
1934 - 1976
HPI: 68.35
Rank: 20
Ed Gein
1906 - 1984
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 21
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
1971 - 2019
HPI: 67.76
Rank: 22
Albert Fish
1870 - 1936
HPI: 67.59
Rank: 23
Charles Ponzi
1882 - 1949
HPI: 67.29
Rank: 24
Carlos the Jackal
1949 - Present
HPI: 67.08
Rank: 25
Patrizia Reggiani
1948 - Present
HPI: 66.28
Rank: 26
George Habash
1926 - 2008
HPI: 66.17
Rank: 27
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1906, Ed Gein ranks 29. Before him are Roberto Rossellini, Ernst Ruska, Emmanuel Levinas, Ilse Koch, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Soichiro Honda. After him are Hermann Fegelein, Alexey Stakhanov, Giuseppe Farina, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Léon Degrelle, and Hans Asperger. Among people deceased in 1984, Ed Gein ranks 14. Before him are Johnny Weissmuller, Mohamed Naguib, Julio Cortázar, Martin Niemöller, Alfred Kastler, and Tigran Petrosian. After him are Ray Kroc, Stanislaw Ulam, Martin Ryle, Carl Ferdinand Cori, Karl Wolff, and Irwin Shaw.
Others Born in 1906
Go to all RankingsRoberto Rossellini
FILM DIRECTOR
1906 - 1977
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 23
Ernst Ruska
PHYSICIST
1906 - 1988
HPI: 69.46
Rank: 24
Emmanuel Levinas
PHILOSOPHER
1906 - 1995
HPI: 68.96
Rank: 25
Ilse Koch
POLITICIAN
1906 - 1967
HPI: 68.78
Rank: 26
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1906 - 1945
HPI: 68.54
Rank: 27
Soichiro Honda
BUSINESSPERSON
1906 - 1991
HPI: 68.35
Rank: 28
Ed Gein
EXTREMIST
1906 - 1984
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 29
Hermann Fegelein
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1906 - 1945
HPI: 67.74
Rank: 30
Alexey Stakhanov
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1906 - 1977
HPI: 67.57
Rank: 31
Giuseppe Farina
RACING DRIVER
1906 - 1966
HPI: 67.52
Rank: 32
Léopold Sédar Senghor
WRITER
1906 - 2001
HPI: 67.49
Rank: 33
Léon Degrelle
POLITICIAN
1906 - 1994
HPI: 67.40
Rank: 34
Hans Asperger
PHYSICIAN
1906 - 1980
HPI: 66.78
Rank: 35
Others Deceased in 1984
Go to all RankingsJohnny Weissmuller
SWIMMER
1904 - 1984
HPI: 69.12
Rank: 8
Mohamed Naguib
POLITICIAN
1901 - 1984
HPI: 68.99
Rank: 9
Julio Cortázar
WRITER
1914 - 1984
HPI: 68.73
Rank: 10
Martin Niemöller
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1892 - 1984
HPI: 68.41
Rank: 11
Alfred Kastler
PHYSICIST
1902 - 1984
HPI: 68.28
Rank: 12
Tigran Petrosian
CHESS PLAYER
1929 - 1984
HPI: 68.21
Rank: 13
Ed Gein
EXTREMIST
1906 - 1984
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 14
Ray Kroc
BUSINESSPERSON
1902 - 1984
HPI: 66.95
Rank: 15
Stanislaw Ulam
MATHEMATICIAN
1909 - 1984
HPI: 66.95
Rank: 16
Martin Ryle
ASTRONOMER
1918 - 1984
HPI: 66.46
Rank: 17
Carl Ferdinand Cori
CHEMIST
1896 - 1984
HPI: 65.21
Rank: 18
Karl Wolff
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1900 - 1984
HPI: 64.99
Rank: 19
Irwin Shaw
WRITER
1913 - 1984
HPI: 64.73
Rank: 20
In United States
Among people born in United States, Ed Gein ranks 422 out of 20,380. Before him are Herman Hollerith (1860), Melvin Calvin (1911), Jesse James (1847), William McKinley (1843), Kim Basinger (1953), and Natalie Wood (1938). After him are Jessica Lange (1949), Peter Fonda (1940), John R. Bolton (1948), George Clooney (1961), Ed Harris (1950), and Shirley MacLaine (1934).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsHerman Hollerith
INVENTOR
1860 - 1929
HPI: 67.81
Rank: 416
Melvin Calvin
CHEMIST
1911 - 1997
HPI: 67.81
Rank: 417
Jesse James
MAFIOSO
1847 - 1882
HPI: 67.79
Rank: 418
William McKinley
POLITICIAN
1843 - 1901
HPI: 67.79
Rank: 419
Kim Basinger
ACTOR
1953 - Present
HPI: 67.79
Rank: 420
Natalie Wood
ACTOR
1938 - 1981
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 421
Ed Gein
EXTREMIST
1906 - 1984
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 422
Jessica Lange
ACTOR
1949 - Present
HPI: 67.77
Rank: 423
Peter Fonda
ACTOR
1940 - 2019
HPI: 67.76
Rank: 424
John R. Bolton
DIPLOMAT
1948 - Present
HPI: 67.75
Rank: 425
George Clooney
ACTOR
1961 - Present
HPI: 67.72
Rank: 426
Ed Harris
ACTOR
1950 - Present
HPI: 67.70
Rank: 427
Shirley MacLaine
ACTOR
1934 - Present
HPI: 67.69
Rank: 428
Among EXTREMISTS In United States
Among extremists born in United States, Ed Gein ranks 9. Before him are John Wilkes Booth (1838), Charles Manson (1934), Ted Bundy (1946), Jeffrey Dahmer (1960), John Wayne Gacy (1942), and Ted Kaczynski (1942). After him are Albert Fish (1870), H. H. Holmes (1861), Jim Jones (1931), William Kemmler (1860), Timothy McVeigh (1968), and George Jung (1942).
John Wilkes Booth
1838 - 1865
HPI: 78.68
Rank: 3
Charles Manson
1934 - 2017
HPI: 76.56
Rank: 4
Ted Bundy
1946 - 1989
HPI: 74.79
Rank: 5
Jeffrey Dahmer
1960 - 1994
HPI: 69.81
Rank: 6
John Wayne Gacy
1942 - 1994
HPI: 69.68
Rank: 7
Ted Kaczynski
1942 - 2023
HPI: 69.32
Rank: 8
Ed Gein
1906 - 1984
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 9
Albert Fish
1870 - 1936
HPI: 67.59
Rank: 10
H. H. Holmes
1861 - 1896
HPI: 64.35
Rank: 11
Jim Jones
1931 - 1978
HPI: 64.19
Rank: 12
William Kemmler
1860 - 1890
HPI: 63.20
Rank: 13
Timothy McVeigh
1968 - 2001
HPI: 62.12
Rank: 14
George Jung
1942 - 2021
HPI: 61.95
Rank: 15