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WRITER

Leo Africanus

1494 - 1554

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Johannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, Arabic: الحسن محمد الوزان الفاسي; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica, later published by Giovanni Battista Ramusio as Descrittione dell'Africa (Description of Africa) in 1550, centered on the geography of the Maghreb and Nile Valley. The book was regarded among his scholarly peers in Europe as the most authoritative treatise on the subject until the modern exploration of Africa. For this work, Leo became a household name among European geographers. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Leo Africanus has received more than 703,810 page views. His biography is available in 42 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). Leo Africanus is the 636th most popular writer (up from 697th in 2019), the 197th most popular biography from Spain (up from 202nd in 2019) and the 17th most popular Spanish Writer.

Leo Africanus is most famous for his book, "The History and Description of Africa and of Its Inhabitants."

Memorability Metrics

  • 700k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 64.40

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 42

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.91

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.26

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Page views of Leo Africanuses by language


Among WRITERS

Among writers, Leo Africanus ranks 636 out of 5,755. Before him are Vasubandhu, Poliziano, Carlo Gozzi, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Curzio Malaparte, and Edmond Rostand. After him are Stieg Larsson, Luqman, Verner von Heidenstam, Amin Maalouf, Thomas Harris, and Andrea Camilleri.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1494, Leo Africanus ranks 9. Before him are François Rabelais, Fuzûlî, Georgius Agricola, Pontormo, Bona Sforza, and Jean Parisot de Valette. After him are Lucas van Leyden, William Tyndale, Rosso Fiorentino, Hans Sachs, Antonio de Mendoza, and Saitō Dōsan. Among people deceased in 1554, Leo Africanus ranks 4. Before him are Piri Reis, Lady Jane Grey, and John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony. After him are Sebastiano Serlio, João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, Hieronymus Bock, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Sibylle of Cleves, Pedro Cieza de León, and Gaspara Stampa.

Others Born in 1494

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Others Deceased in 1554

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In Spain

Among people born in Spain, Leo Africanus ranks 197 out of 2,932. Before him are Buenaventura Durruti (1896), Penélope Cruz (1974), Blanche I of Navarre (1387), Alfonso III of Asturias (848), Louis Blanc (1811), and Arnaldus de Villa Nova (1240). After him are Nicola Porpora (1686), Alfonso the Battler (1073), Henry III of Castile (1379), Ricardo Bofill (1939), Columella (4), and Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias (1629).

Others born in Spain

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Among WRITERS In Spain

Among writers born in Spain, Leo Africanus ranks 17. Before him are Henry IV of Castile (1425), Gaius Julius Hyginus (-64), Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881), Francisco de Quevedo (1584), Tirso de Molina (1579), and Camilo José Cela (1916). After him are Columella (4), Luis de Góngora (1561), Judah Halevi (1079), Jacinto Benavente (1866), Antonio Machado (1875), and Joseph of Anchieta (1534).

Spanish born Writers

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