WRITER

Samuel Smiles

1812 - 1904

Photo of Samuel Smiles

Icon of person Samuel Smiles

Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904) was a British author and government reformer. Although he campaigned on a Chartist platform, he promoted the idea that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His primary work, Self-Help (1859), promoted thrift and claimed that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits, while also attacking materialism and laissez-faire government. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Samuel Smiles has received more than 376,184 page views. His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 16 in 2019). Samuel Smiles is the 2,762nd most popular writer (down from 2,723rd in 2019), the 2,064th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 2,068th in 2019) and the 227th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 380k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 53.57

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 19

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.10

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.27

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Industrial biography
Biography, Industrial arts, Iron industry and trade
1863
Men of Invention and Industry
Biography, Industrial arts, Inventors
1884
Self-help
Conduct of life, Early works to 1900, Entrepreneur
1800
Character
Character, Conduct of life, Ethics
1800
Lives of the engineers
Biography, Engineering, Engineers
Stories of Great British Men and their Great Feats of engineering - diverting the Thames, draining vast swamps, etc. A very popular work at the time, extolling the will and spirit of heroic figures, turning acts of engineering into ripping tales.
1861
Thrift
Saving and investment, Saving and thrift
1875

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Samuel Smiles ranks 2,762 out of 7,302. Before him are Harold Robbins, Carl Bernstein, Meir Shalev, Antal Szerb, Thomas Kyd, and Petter Dass. After him are Alice Schwarzer, John Zerzan, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Petr Chelčický, Rosario Castellanos, and Abolqasem Lahouti.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1812, Samuel Smiles ranks 40. Before him are Henry Wilson, Filippo Pacini, Melchora Aquino, Augustus Pugin, Hermann von Fehling, and Duke Peter of Oldenburg. After him are Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Robert Fortune, Ignacio Comonfort, Luigi Carlo Farini, Rudolf von Alt, and Ercole Dembowski. Among people deceased in 1904, Samuel Smiles ranks 55. Before him are Laura Vicuña, Ernest, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Kate Chopin, Alexander William Williamson, George Frederic Watts, and Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. After him are Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Georg Sauerwein, Sumner Paine, James Longstreet, Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin, and Mahmoud Sami el-Baroudi.

Others Born in 1812

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1904

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Samuel Smiles ranks 2,064 out of 8,785. Before him are Rick Parfitt (1948), Thomas Gray (1716), Samuel Frederick Gray (1766), Arthur Sullivan (1842), Ronald Speirs (1920), and Thomas Kyd (1558). After him are Joseph Butler (1692), Tom Courtenay (1937), Edward Balliol (1283), Glenn Murcutt (1936), Robert Holdstock (1948), and Steve Winwood (1948).

Others born in United Kingdom

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Samuel Smiles ranks 227. Before him are William Smith (1813), Peter James (1948), Marjorie Boulton (1924), Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1310), Thomas Gray (1716), and Thomas Kyd (1558). After him are Robert Holdstock (1948), Josephine Tey (1896), Marion Chesney (1936), James Herriot (1916), George Herbert (1593), and John Webster (1578).

British born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous