WRITER

Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

1784 - 1817

Photo of Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

Icon of person Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

Johann Ludwig (also known as John Lewis, Jean Louis) Burckhardt (24 November 1784 – 15 October 1817) was a Swiss traveller, geographer and Orientalist. Burckhardt assumed the alias Sheikh Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah during his travels in Arabia. He wrote his letters in French and signed Louis. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Johann Ludwig Burckhardt has received more than 293,022 page views. His biography is available in 38 different languages on Wikipedia. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt is the 761st most popular writer (down from 703rd in 2019), the 79th most popular biography from Switzerland (down from 67th in 2019) and the 8th most popular Swiss Writer.

Johann Ludwig Burckhardt is most famous for his discovery of the temple of Abu Simbel.

Memorability Metrics

  • 290k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.62

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 38

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.75

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.66

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys
1831
Travels in Syria and the Holy Land
1822
Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys
1830
Travels in Arabia
Arabian Peninsula
John Lewis Burckhardt (1784-1817), the son of a Swiss Colonel undertook the journey to Mekkah in 1814. A master of the Arabic language and the Islamic religion, he assumed the guise of an Arab using the name of Sheikh Ibrahim in his travels, which he began in 1809 under the sponsorship of Sir Joseph Banks and the African Association. Burckhardt's description of the Hedjaz was the first accurate one to reach Europe. According to Leake in his preface ..." Burckhardt transmitted to the Association the most accurate and complete account of the Hedjaz, including the cities of Mekka and Medina, which has ever been received in Europe." His journals are invaluable for their observations on the Arab people and for his important geographical discoveries, including the site of Petra, Apameia, and the general structure of the peninsula of Mount Sinai. His knowledge of the Arabic language, and of Mohammedan manners, had enabled him to assumne the Muselman character with such success, that he resided in Mekka during the whole time of the pilgrimage, and passed through the various ceremonies of the occasion, without the slightest suspicion having arisen as to his real character. The folding plans include Makkah, Madinah, Wady Muna and Arafat.
1829
Arabic Proverbs
Reference
Written by a Swiss-born explorer of remote parts of the Arab world, this rich treasury of native Arab proverbs offers everything from homespun remarks on friendship and personal status to opinions on oppression. Carefully annotated with more than 780 sayings, it holds appeal for anyone interested in Middle Eastern cultures.
18755 / 5
Travels in Nubia
Africa, Northeast
1819

Page views of Johann Ludwig Burckhardts by language

Over the past year Johann Ludwig Burckhardt has had the most page views in the with 37,457 views, followed by German (9,479), and Arabic (8,295). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Catalan (103.07%), Latin (68.30%), and Kurdish (Sorani) (67.52%)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt ranks 761 out of 7,302. Before him are Antonio Machado, Jean Anouilh, Nestor the Chronicler, Epicharmus of Kos, Antonio Tabucchi, and Klaus Ebner. After him are Robert Ludlum, Natalia Ginzburg, Thomas Harris, Gregory Skovoroda, Katherine Mansfield, and Neal Cassady.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1784, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt ranks 8. Before him are Jérôme Bonaparte, Zachary Taylor, Friedrich Bessel, Marie-Antoine Carême, Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Louis Spohr. After him are Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Karl Thomas Mozart, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia, Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, Rafael del Riego, and Leo von Klenze. Among people deceased in 1817, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt ranks 10. Before him are Charles Messier, André Masséna, Marie Walewska, Karađorđe, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, and Princess Charlotte of Wales. After him are Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Fyodor Ushakov, Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, Abraham Gottlob Werner, Nakşidil Sultan, and William Bligh.

Others Born in 1784

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1817

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Switzerland

Among people born in Switzerland, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt ranks 79 out of 1,015. Before him are Horace Bénédict de Saussure (1740), Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778), Alejo Carpentier (1904), Sigismond Thalberg (1812), Werner Arber (1929), and Friedrich Miescher (1844). After him are Félix Vallotton (1865), Kurt Wüthrich (1938), Max Frisch (1911), Heinrich Wölfflin (1864), Alfred Cortot (1877), and Humbert I, Count of Savoy (980).

Others born in Switzerland

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In Switzerland

Among writers born in Switzerland, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt ranks 8. Before him are Carl Spitteler (1845), Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921), Erich von Däniken (1935), Karl Barth (1886), Robert Walser (1878), and Alejo Carpentier (1904). After him are Max Frisch (1911), Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741), Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz (1878), Gottfried Keller (1819), Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908), and Blaise Cendrars (1887).

Swiss born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous