ATHLETE

Louis Zamperini

1917 - 2014

Photo of Louis Zamperini

Icon of person Louis Zamperini

Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran, an Olympic distance runner and a Christian evangelist. He took up running in high school and qualified for the United States in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, finishing 8th while setting a new lap record in the process. Zamperini was commissioned in the United States Army Air Forces as a lieutenant. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Louis Zamperini has received more than 7,779,039 page views. His biography is available in 27 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 25 in 2019). Louis Zamperini is the 42nd most popular athlete (down from 5th in 2019), the 1,898th most popular biography from United States (down from 603rd in 2019) and the 15th most popular American Athlete.

Louis Zamperini was a world-class distance runner who was a member of the 1936 US Olympic team. He served in World War II as a bombardier and survived a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and tortured for two years.

Memorability Metrics

  • 7.8M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 58.24

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 27

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.64

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.56

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ATHLETES

Among athletes, Louis Zamperini ranks 42 out of 6,025Before him are Vasily Alekseyev, Aladár Gerevich, Tom Courtney, Alberto Juantorena, Leonidas of Rhodes, and Albin Lermusiaux. After him are Jan Železný, Viktor Saneyev, Gaston Aumoitte, Archie Hahn, Sohn Kee-chung, and Tommie Smith.

Most Popular Athletes in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1917, Louis Zamperini ranks 84Before him are Stéphane Hessel, Alparslan Türkeş, Pedro Infante, Carson McCullers, Roque Máspoli, and Cyrus Vance. After him are Yukio Tsuda, Ko Arima, Hirokazu Ninomiya, Nikolai Ogarkov, Otto Kittel, and Will Eisner. Among people deceased in 2014, Louis Zamperini ranks 89Before him are Gottfried John, B. K. S. Iyengar, Run Run Shaw, Riz Ortolani, Mike Nichols, and Milan Galić. After him are Jean-Luc Dehaene, Fred Phelps, Stuart Hall, Jack Bruce, Mango, and Valeri Kubasov.

Others Born in 1917

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 2014

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Louis Zamperini ranks 1,898 out of 20,380Before him are Victor French (1934), Jim Garrison (1921), Liv Tyler (1977), Edward T. Hall (1914), Thomas J. Watson (1874), and Gary Busey (1944). After him are Don Murray (1929), Peter Criss (1945), Ken Norton (1943), Ernie Hudson (1945), Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944), and Winsor McCay (1867).

Among ATHLETES In United States

Among athletes born in United States, Louis Zamperini ranks 15Before him are Florence Griffith Joyner (1959), Ellery Harding Clark (1874), Frank Zane (1942), Larry Scott (1938), Max Emmerich (1879), and Tom Courtney (1933). After him are Archie Hahn (1880), Tommie Smith (1944), Alvin Kraenzlein (1876), Jim Hines (1946), Betty Robinson (1911), and Wilma Rudolph (1940).