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PHILOSOPHER

Thomas Hobbes

1588 - 1679

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Thomas Hobbes ( HOBZ; 5 April 1588 – 20 December 1679) was an English philosopher. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy.Hobbes was born prematurely due to his mother's fear of the Spanish Armada. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Thomas Hobbes has received more than 6,333,752 page views. His biography is available in 104 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 100 in 2019). Thomas Hobbes is the 20th most popular philosopher, the 15th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 14th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular British Philosopher.

Thomas Hobbes is most famous for his political philosophy, which is a form of social contract theory. Hobbes believed that the natural state of humanity is one of war, and that without a strong government to enforce the peace, life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Memorability Metrics

  • 6.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 84.85

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 104

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 15.69

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.47

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Thomas Hobbes ranks 20 out of 1,081Before him are Francis Bacon, Augustine of Hippo, Thales of Miletus, Thomas Aquinas, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Montesquieu. After him are Democritus, Arthur Schopenhauer, Epicurus, Seneca the Younger, Erasmus, and Auguste Comte.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1588, Thomas Hobbes ranks 1After him are Marin Mersenne, Constance of Austria, Henri, Prince of Condé, Hendrick ter Brugghen, Marina Mniszech, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg, Robert Filmer, Johann Heinrich Alsted, Isaac Beeckman, and Pierre Séguier. Among people deceased in 1679, Thomas Hobbes ranks 1After him are Jan Steen, Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, John of Austria the Younger, John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, Joost van den Vondel, Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, Willem van Aelst, Marie de Rohan, Margherita de' Medici, and Francesco Barberini.

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Others Deceased in 1679

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Thomas Hobbes ranks 15 out of 7,765Before him are Winston Churchill (1874), Charlie Chaplin (1889), Stephen Hawking (1942), James Watt (1736), Henry VIII of England (1491), and Queen Victoria (1819). After him are Richard III of England (1452), Michael Faraday (1791), Agatha Christie (1890), Alan Turing (1912), Margaret Thatcher (1925), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847).

Among PHILOSOPHERS In United Kingdom

Among philosophers born in United Kingdom, Thomas Hobbes ranks 3Before him are John Locke (1632) and Francis Bacon (1561). After him are David Hume (1711), Thomas More (1478), Herbert Spencer (1820), William of Ockham (1285), Jeremy Bentham (1748), Roger Bacon (1220), Joseph Priestley (1733), John Venn (1834), and Duns Scotus (1265).