WRITER

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1803 - 1882

Photo of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Icon of person Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ralph Waldo Emerson has received more than 8,963,176 page views. His biography is available in 87 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 83 in 2019). Ralph Waldo Emerson is the 236th most popular writer (down from 230th in 2019), the 204th most popular biography from United States (down from 201st in 2019) and the 18th most popular American Writer.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is most famous for his essay "Self-Reliance," which was published in 1841. The essay is a call for individualism and self-reliance, and is one of the most influential essays in American literature.

Memorability Metrics

  • 9.0M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 71.75

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 87

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.57

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 5.49

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The conduct of life
Conduct of life
1860
Poems
1847
English traits
1856
The works of Ralph Waldo Emerson
1876
Representative men
1800
Essays
Essays
1800

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Ralph Waldo Emerson ranks 236 out of 7,302. Before him are Mikhail Bulgakov, Shams Tabrizi, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Chinghiz Aitmatov, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and Jaroslav Hašek. After him are Frédéric Mistral, Isabel Allende, Jacob Grimm, Nikos Kazantzakis, Fuzûlî, and Robert Musil.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1803, Ralph Waldo Emerson ranks 4. Before him are Hector Berlioz, Christian Doppler, and Prosper Mérimée. After him are Justus von Liebig, Adolphe Adam, Maria Anna of Savoy, Albrecht von Roon, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Gottfried Semper, Flora Tristan, and Fyodor Tyutchev. Among people deceased in 1882, Ralph Waldo Emerson ranks 4. Before him are Charles Darwin, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Friedrich Wöhler. After him are Arthur de Gobineau, Theodor Schwann, Jesse James, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Bruno Bauer, William Stanley Jevons, Francesco Hayez, and Léon Gambetta.

Others Born in 1803

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Others Deceased in 1882

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Ralph Waldo Emerson ranks 204 out of 20,380. Before him are Ben Affleck (1972), Samuel P. Huntington (1927), Whitney Houston (1963), Herman Melville (1819), Buster Keaton (1895), and Johnny Cash (1932). After him are Steve McQueen (1930), Thomas Kuhn (1922), John B. Watson (1878), John Williams (1932), Carl Sagan (1934), and Cameron Diaz (1972).

Others born in United States

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Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Ralph Waldo Emerson ranks 18. Before him are William Faulkner (1897), J. D. Salinger (1919), John Steinbeck (1902), Dale Carnegie (1888), Ray Bradbury (1920), and Herman Melville (1819). After him are Arthur Miller (1915), Walt Whitman (1819), Philip K. Dick (1928), Emily Dickinson (1830), Pearl S. Buck (1892), and Gertrude Stein (1874).

American born Writers

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