INVENTOR
Les Paul
1915 - 2009
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Les Paul has received more than 3,310,192 page views. His biography is available in 58 different languages on Wikipedia. Les Paul is the 72nd most popular inventor (down from 68th in 2019), the 754th most popular biography from United States (down from 720th in 2019) and the 20th most popular American Inventor.
Les Paul is most famous for inventing the solid-body electric guitar.
Memorability Metrics
3.3M
Page Views (PV)
64.36
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
58
Languages Editions (L)
5.26
Effective Languages (L*)
4.72
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among INVENTORS
Among inventors, Les Paul ranks 72 out of 426. Before him are Étienne Lenoir, John Deere, Jacques Piccard, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, Oleg Antonov, and Josephine Cochrane. After him are George Eastman, Claude Chappe, Charles K. Kao, Kōnosuke Matsushita, Jacques de Vaucanson, and Alois Senefelder.
Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsÉtienne Lenoir
1822 - 1900
HPI: 64.72
Rank: 66
John Deere
1804 - 1886
HPI: 64.61
Rank: 67
Jacques Piccard
1922 - 2008
HPI: 64.48
Rank: 68
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow
1860 - 1940
HPI: 64.46
Rank: 69
Oleg Antonov
1906 - 1984
HPI: 64.44
Rank: 70
Josephine Cochrane
1839 - 1913
HPI: 64.43
Rank: 71
Les Paul
1915 - 2009
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 72
George Eastman
1854 - 1932
HPI: 64.05
Rank: 73
Claude Chappe
1763 - 1805
HPI: 63.66
Rank: 74
Charles K. Kao
1933 - 2018
HPI: 63.58
Rank: 75
Kōnosuke Matsushita
1894 - 1989
HPI: 63.39
Rank: 76
Jacques de Vaucanson
1709 - 1782
HPI: 63.39
Rank: 77
Alois Senefelder
1771 - 1834
HPI: 63.36
Rank: 78
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1915, Les Paul ranks 27. Before him are Aung San, Sviatoslav Richter, Fred Hoyle, Saul Bellow, Curd Jürgens, and Charles H. Townes. After him are Robert Hofstadter, Clifford Shull, Norman Foster Ramsey Jr., Aziz Nesin, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Thomas Huckle Weller. Among people deceased in 2009, Les Paul ranks 18. Before him are Maurice Jarre, David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, Abdurrahman Wahid, Mercedes Sosa, and Karl Malden. After him are Raúl Alfonsín, Robert McNamara, Milorad Pavić, Ted Kennedy, Vivian Maier, and Vitaly Ginzburg.
Others Born in 1915
Go to all RankingsAung San
POLITICIAN
1915 - 1947
HPI: 66.96
Rank: 21
Sviatoslav Richter
MUSICIAN
1915 - 1997
HPI: 66.82
Rank: 22
Fred Hoyle
ASTRONOMER
1915 - 2001
HPI: 65.72
Rank: 23
Saul Bellow
WRITER
1915 - 2005
HPI: 65.13
Rank: 24
Curd Jürgens
ACTOR
1915 - 1982
HPI: 64.99
Rank: 25
Charles H. Townes
PHYSICIST
1915 - 2015
HPI: 64.84
Rank: 26
Les Paul
INVENTOR
1915 - 2009
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 27
Robert Hofstadter
PHYSICIST
1915 - 1990
HPI: 64.15
Rank: 28
Clifford Shull
PHYSICIST
1915 - 2001
HPI: 63.65
Rank: 29
Norman Foster Ramsey Jr.
PHYSICIST
1915 - 2011
HPI: 63.49
Rank: 30
Aziz Nesin
WRITER
1915 - 1995
HPI: 62.91
Rank: 31
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
SINGER
1915 - 2006
HPI: 62.80
Rank: 32
Thomas Huckle Weller
BIOLOGIST
1915 - 2008
HPI: 62.54
Rank: 33
Others Deceased in 2009
Go to all RankingsMaurice Jarre
COMPOSER
1924 - 2009
HPI: 66.93
Rank: 12
David Carradine
ACTOR
1936 - 2009
HPI: 66.80
Rank: 13
Farrah Fawcett
ACTOR
1947 - 2009
HPI: 66.58
Rank: 14
Abdurrahman Wahid
POLITICIAN
1940 - 2009
HPI: 66.03
Rank: 15
Mercedes Sosa
SINGER
1935 - 2009
HPI: 64.78
Rank: 16
Karl Malden
ACTOR
1912 - 2009
HPI: 64.55
Rank: 17
Les Paul
INVENTOR
1915 - 2009
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 18
Raúl Alfonsín
POLITICIAN
1927 - 2009
HPI: 64.27
Rank: 19
Robert McNamara
BUSINESSPERSON
1916 - 2009
HPI: 64.13
Rank: 20
Milorad Pavić
WRITER
1929 - 2009
HPI: 64.08
Rank: 21
Ted Kennedy
POLITICIAN
1932 - 2009
HPI: 63.97
Rank: 22
Vivian Maier
PHOTOGRAPHER
1926 - 2009
HPI: 63.54
Rank: 23
Vitaly Ginzburg
PHYSICIST
1916 - 2009
HPI: 63.48
Rank: 24
In United States
Among people born in United States, Les Paul ranks 754 out of 20,380. Before him are Robert Altman (1925), Ali MacGraw (1939), David Fincher (1962), Edward Mills Purcell (1912), Richard Dean Anderson (1950), and Paul Morphy (1837). After him are H. H. Holmes (1861), Steven Weinberg (1933), John Huston (1906), Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867), Randy Quaid (1950), and Tommy Hilfiger (1951).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsRobert Altman
FILM DIRECTOR
1925 - 2006
HPI: 64.40
Rank: 748
Ali MacGraw
ACTOR
1939 - Present
HPI: 64.37
Rank: 749
David Fincher
FILM DIRECTOR
1962 - Present
HPI: 64.37
Rank: 750
Edward Mills Purcell
PHYSICIST
1912 - 1997
HPI: 64.37
Rank: 751
Richard Dean Anderson
ACTOR
1950 - Present
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 752
Paul Morphy
CHESS PLAYER
1837 - 1884
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 753
Les Paul
INVENTOR
1915 - 2009
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 754
H. H. Holmes
EXTREMIST
1861 - 1896
HPI: 64.35
Rank: 755
Steven Weinberg
PHYSICIST
1933 - 2021
HPI: 64.35
Rank: 756
John Huston
FILM DIRECTOR
1906 - 1987
HPI: 64.33
Rank: 757
Laura Ingalls Wilder
WRITER
1867 - 1957
HPI: 64.33
Rank: 758
Randy Quaid
ACTOR
1950 - Present
HPI: 64.33
Rank: 759
Tommy Hilfiger
FASHION DESIGNER
1951 - Present
HPI: 64.31
Rank: 760
Among INVENTORS In United States
Among inventors born in United States, Les Paul ranks 20. Before him are Douglas Engelbart (1925), Charles Goodyear (1800), Isaac Singer (1811), John Browning (1855), John Deere (1804), and Josephine Cochrane (1839). After him are George Eastman (1854), Ray Tomlinson (1941), Elisha Otis (1811), Leo Fender (1909), Robert Noyce (1927), and Jacque Fresco (1916).
Douglas Engelbart
1925 - 2013
HPI: 67.36
Rank: 14
Charles Goodyear
1800 - 1860
HPI: 66.16
Rank: 15
Isaac Singer
1811 - 1875
HPI: 65.47
Rank: 16
John Browning
1855 - 1926
HPI: 64.79
Rank: 17
John Deere
1804 - 1886
HPI: 64.61
Rank: 18
Josephine Cochrane
1839 - 1913
HPI: 64.43
Rank: 19
Les Paul
1915 - 2009
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 20
George Eastman
1854 - 1932
HPI: 64.05
Rank: 21
Ray Tomlinson
1941 - 2016
HPI: 63.31
Rank: 22
Elisha Otis
1811 - 1861
HPI: 61.86
Rank: 23
Leo Fender
1909 - 1991
HPI: 61.56
Rank: 24
Robert Noyce
1927 - 1990
HPI: 61.30
Rank: 25
Jacque Fresco
1916 - 2017
HPI: 61.17
Rank: 26