ASTRONOMER
Vera Rubin
1928 - 2016
Vera Rubin
Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves. These results were later confirmed over subsequent decades. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Vera Rubin has received more than 1,003,408 page views. Her biography is available in 59 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 50 in 2019). Vera Rubin is the 48th most popular astronomer (up from 61st in 2019), the 730th most popular biography from United States (up from 993rd in 2019) and the 6th most popular American Astronomer.
Vera Rubin was an astronomer and professor of astronomy at Georgetown University. She was most famous for her discovery that galaxies rotate at the same speed regardless of their distance from Earth. This discovery contradicted the prevailing theory that stars farther away from Earth should be moving slower than those closer to Earth.
Memorability Metrics
1.0M
Page Views (PV)
64.50
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
59
Languages Editions (L)
8.08
Effective Languages (L*)
3.61
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among ASTRONOMERS
Among astronomers, Vera Rubin ranks 48 out of 644. Before her are Sosigenes of Alexandria, Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, Jérôme Lalande, Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Gerard Kuiper, and Ferdinand Verbiest. After her are Clyde Tombaugh, Riccardo Giacconi, William Lassell, Varāhamihira, Pierre Janssen, and Heinrich Louis d'Arrest.
Most Popular Astronomers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsSosigenes of Alexandria
80 BC - 100 BC
HPI: 65.20
Rank: 42
Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille
1713 - 1762
HPI: 65.20
Rank: 43
Jérôme Lalande
1732 - 1807
HPI: 65.11
Rank: 44
Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli
1397 - 1482
HPI: 65.08
Rank: 45
Gerard Kuiper
1905 - 1973
HPI: 65.07
Rank: 46
Ferdinand Verbiest
1623 - 1688
HPI: 64.64
Rank: 47
Vera Rubin
1928 - 2016
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 48
Clyde Tombaugh
1906 - 1997
HPI: 64.47
Rank: 49
Riccardo Giacconi
1931 - 2018
HPI: 64.40
Rank: 50
William Lassell
1799 - 1880
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 51
Varāhamihira
505 - 587
HPI: 64.24
Rank: 52
Pierre Janssen
1824 - 1907
HPI: 64.10
Rank: 53
Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
1822 - 1875
HPI: 64.06
Rank: 54
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1928, Vera Rubin ranks 41. Before her are Domenico Modugno, Peyo, Hans Küng, George Peppard, Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, and Manfred Gerlach. After her are Federico Bahamontes, Herbert Kroemer, Carlos Fuentes, Francesco Cossiga, Tommaso Buscetta, and Maya Angelou. Among people deceased in 2016, Vera Rubin ranks 39. Before her are Andrzej Żuławski, Walter Scheel, Gene Wilder, John Glenn, Harper Lee, and George Kennedy. After her are Zsa Zsa Gabor, Věra Čáslavská, James Cronin, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Ray Tomlinson, and Esma Redžepova.
Others Born in 1928
Go to all RankingsDomenico Modugno
SINGER
1928 - 1994
HPI: 65.22
Rank: 35
Peyo
COMIC ARTIST
1928 - 1992
HPI: 65.11
Rank: 36
Hans Küng
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1928 - 2021
HPI: 65.04
Rank: 37
George Peppard
ACTOR
1928 - 1994
HPI: 64.98
Rank: 38
Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov
PHYSICIST
1928 - 2017
HPI: 64.97
Rank: 39
Manfred Gerlach
POLITICIAN
1928 - 2011
HPI: 64.51
Rank: 40
Vera Rubin
ASTRONOMER
1928 - 2016
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 41
Federico Bahamontes
CYCLIST
1928 - 2023
HPI: 64.42
Rank: 42
Herbert Kroemer
PHYSICIST
1928 - 2024
HPI: 64.42
Rank: 43
Carlos Fuentes
WRITER
1928 - 2012
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 44
Francesco Cossiga
POLITICIAN
1928 - 2010
HPI: 64.34
Rank: 45
Tommaso Buscetta
EXTREMIST
1928 - 2000
HPI: 64.06
Rank: 46
Maya Angelou
WRITER
1928 - 2014
HPI: 63.38
Rank: 47
Others Deceased in 2016
Go to all RankingsAndrzej Żuławski
FILM DIRECTOR
1940 - 2016
HPI: 65.40
Rank: 33
Walter Scheel
POLITICIAN
1919 - 2016
HPI: 65.38
Rank: 34
Gene Wilder
ACTOR
1933 - 2016
HPI: 65.20
Rank: 35
John Glenn
ASTRONAUT
1921 - 2016
HPI: 65.05
Rank: 36
Harper Lee
WRITER
1926 - 2016
HPI: 64.91
Rank: 37
George Kennedy
ACTOR
1925 - 2016
HPI: 64.73
Rank: 38
Vera Rubin
ASTRONOMER
1928 - 2016
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 39
Zsa Zsa Gabor
ACTOR
1917 - 2016
HPI: 64.49
Rank: 40
Věra Čáslavská
GYMNAST
1942 - 2016
HPI: 64.45
Rank: 41
James Cronin
PHYSICIST
1931 - 2016
HPI: 64.01
Rank: 42
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
CONDUCTOR
1929 - 2016
HPI: 63.46
Rank: 43
Ray Tomlinson
INVENTOR
1941 - 2016
HPI: 63.31
Rank: 44
Esma Redžepova
SINGER
1943 - 2016
HPI: 63.18
Rank: 45
In United States
Among people born in United States, Vera Rubin ranks 730 out of 20,380. Before her are Alexander Calder (1898), Danny Glover (1946), Mel Brooks (1926), John Lithgow (1945), Donald Rumsfeld (1932), and Rosalynn Carter (1927). After her are Kamehameha I (1758), Doris Day (1922), Henry Mancini (1924), Christopher Lambert (1957), Clyde Tombaugh (1906), and Thorstein Veblen (1857).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsAlexander Calder
SCULPTOR
1898 - 1976
HPI: 64.55
Rank: 724
Danny Glover
ACTOR
1946 - Present
HPI: 64.53
Rank: 725
Mel Brooks
FILM DIRECTOR
1926 - Present
HPI: 64.52
Rank: 726
John Lithgow
ACTOR
1945 - Present
HPI: 64.52
Rank: 727
Donald Rumsfeld
POLITICIAN
1932 - 2021
HPI: 64.52
Rank: 728
Rosalynn Carter
COMPANION
1927 - 2023
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 729
Vera Rubin
ASTRONOMER
1928 - 2016
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 730
Kamehameha I
POLITICIAN
1758 - 1819
HPI: 64.49
Rank: 731
Doris Day
ACTOR
1922 - 2019
HPI: 64.49
Rank: 732
Henry Mancini
COMPOSER
1924 - 1994
HPI: 64.49
Rank: 733
Christopher Lambert
ACTOR
1957 - Present
HPI: 64.48
Rank: 734
Clyde Tombaugh
ASTRONOMER
1906 - 1997
HPI: 64.47
Rank: 735
Thorstein Veblen
ECONOMIST
1857 - 1929
HPI: 64.46
Rank: 736
Among ASTRONOMERS In United States
Among astronomers born in United States, Vera Rubin ranks 6. Before her are Edwin Hubble (1889), Carl Sagan (1934), Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958), Charles Greeley Abbot (1872), and Robert Woodrow Wilson (1936). After her are Clyde Tombaugh (1906), William Alfred Fowler (1911), Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868), Asaph Hall (1829), Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928), and Russell Alan Hulse (1950).
Edwin Hubble
1889 - 1953
HPI: 74.07
Rank: 1
Carl Sagan
1934 - 1996
HPI: 71.57
Rank: 2
Neil deGrasse Tyson
1958 - Present
HPI: 70.27
Rank: 3
Charles Greeley Abbot
1872 - 1973
HPI: 68.44
Rank: 4
Robert Woodrow Wilson
1936 - Present
HPI: 65.49
Rank: 5
Vera Rubin
1928 - 2016
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 6
Clyde Tombaugh
1906 - 1997
HPI: 64.47
Rank: 7
William Alfred Fowler
1911 - 1995
HPI: 64.05
Rank: 8
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
1868 - 1921
HPI: 63.61
Rank: 9
Asaph Hall
1829 - 1907
HPI: 63.36
Rank: 10
Eugene Merle Shoemaker
1928 - 1997
HPI: 63.01
Rank: 11
Russell Alan Hulse
1950 - Present
HPI: 62.19
Rank: 12