PHILOSOPHER

Thales of Miletus

623 BC - 546 BC

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Thales of Miletus ( THAY-leez; Greek: Θαλῆς (ὁ Μιλήσιος), Thalēs; c. 624/623 – c. 548/545 BC) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition, and he is otherwise historically recognized as the first individual known to have entertained and engaged in scientific philosophy. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Thales of Miletus has received more than 1,800,506 page views. His biography is available in 102 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 98 in 2019). Thales of Miletus is the 25th most popular philosopher (up from 26th in 2019), the 7th most popular biography from Turkey and the 2nd most popular Turkish Philosopher.

Thales of Miletus is most famous for his belief that everything in the world is made up of water, air, earth, and fire.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.8M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 87.50

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 102

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.45

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.54

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Thales of Miletuses by language


Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Thales of Miletus ranks 25 out of 1,089. Before him are Arthur Schopenhauer, Thomas Hobbes, Epicurus, Heraclitus, Baruch Spinoza, and Erasmus. After him are Seneca the Younger, Friedrich Engels, Averroes, Democritus, Diogenes, and David Hume.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 623 BC, Thales of Miletus ranks 1.  Among people deceased in 546 BC, Thales of Miletus ranks 1. After him are Anaximander and Croesus.

Others Born in 623 BC

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Others Deceased in 546 BC

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In Turkey

Among people born in Turkey, Thales of Miletus ranks 7 out of 1,128. Before him are Homer (-800), Paul the Apostle (5), Herodotus (-484), Suleiman the Magnificent (1494), Saint George (280), and Heraclitus (-535). After him are Selim II (1524), Mehmed the Conqueror (1432), Osman I (1254), Selim I (1470), Diogenes (-404), and Ahmed I (1590).

Others born in Turkey

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Turkey

Among philosophers born in Turkey, Thales of Miletus ranks 2. Before him are Heraclitus (-535). After him are Diogenes (-404), Anaximander (-610), Anaxagoras (-500), Epictetus (50), Xenophanes (-570), Gregory of Nazianzus (329), Ibn Taymiyyah (1263), Chrysippus (-281), Posidonius (-135), and Anaximenes of Miletus (-585).

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