RELIGIOUS FIGURE

Vilna Gaon

1720 - 1797

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Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, (Hebrew: ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman), also known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון Der Vilner Goen; Polish: Gaon z Wilna, Gaon Wileński; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gra ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 1720 – Vilnius October 9, 1797), was a Lithuanian Jewish Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha-Gaon mi-Vilna, "the genius from Vilnius". Through his annotations and emendations of Talmudic and other texts, he became one of the most familiar and influential figures in rabbinic study since the Middle Ages. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Vilna Gaon has received more than 731,650 page views. His biography is available in 37 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 33 in 2019). Vilna Gaon is the 947th most popular religious figure (down from 808th in 2019), the 38th most popular biography from Belarus (down from 27th in 2019) and the most popular Belarusian Religious Figure.

Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon, was a famous Talmudic scholar and the leader of the Mitnagdic Jewish community in the 18th century. He is most famous for his work on the Talmud, which he would study for hours each day.

Memorability Metrics

  • 730k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.08

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 37

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.94

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.97

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES

Among religious figures, Vilna Gaon ranks 947 out of 3,187. Before him are Nicholas Kabasilas, Ahmad al-Badawi, Rose Kennedy, Leonardo Boff, Benedict of Aniane, and Peter Mogila. After him are Sophronius of Jerusalem, Frederick Fleet, La Voisin, Jacques Paul Migne, Saint Silvia, and Mariam Baouardy.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1720, Vilna Gaon ranks 12. Before him are Anna Maria Mozart, James Hargreaves, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Emperor Sakuramachi, Heraclius II of Georgia, and Charles Bonnet. After him are Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Emmanuel-Armand de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon, Hyder Ali, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, and Johann Friedrich Agricola. Among people deceased in 1797, Vilna Gaon ranks 11. Before him are François-Noël Babeuf, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, James Hutton, Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, Lazare Hoche, and Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. After him are Joseph Wright of Derby, Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, Horace Walpole, Pasquale Anfossi, Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, and Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec.

Others Born in 1720

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Others Deceased in 1797

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In Belarus

Among people born in Belarus, Vilna Gaon ranks 38 out of 368. Before him are Sophia of Minsk (1140), Yakub Kolas (1882), Marek Edelman (1922), Elena Glinskaya (1510), Rogneda of Polotsk (966), and Nikolay Krestinsky (1883). After him are Ivan Yakubovsky (1912), Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745), Aleksei Antonov (1896), Mendele Mocher Sforim (1835), Bronislava Nijinska (1891), and Otto Schmidt (1891).

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Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES In Belarus

Among religious figures born in Belarus, Vilna Gaon ranks 1. After him are Kirill of Turov (1130), Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789), Chaim Kanievsky (1928), Michael Rohoza (1540), Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838), Tadevuš Kandrusievič (1946), Jakub Szynkiewicz (1884), and Aleksandr Kurlovich (1961).

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