1849 - 1912
William Thomas Stead (5 July 1849 – 15 April 1912) was an English newspaper editor who, as a pioneer of investigative journalism, became a controversial figure of the Victorian era. Stead published a series of hugely influential campaigns whilst editor of The Pall Mall Gazette, including his 1885 series of articles, The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon. These were written in support of a bill, later dubbed the "Stead Act", that raised the age of consent from 13 to 16.Stead's "new journalism" paved the way for the modern tabloid in Great Britain. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of W. T. Stead has received more than 296,280 page views. His biography is available in 37 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 36 in 2019). W. T. Stead is the 18th most popular journalist (down from 14th in 2019), the 1,088th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 921st in 2019) and the most popular British Journalist.
W. T. Stead was a British journalist who was most famous for the "Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" article, which was published in the Pall Mall Gazette on 1885. The article was about a 13-year-old girl who was sold into prostitution.
Page Views (PV)
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
Languages Editions (L)
Effective Languages (L*)
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among journalists, W. T. Stead ranks 18 out of 127. Before him are Dorothea Lange, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Guérin, Lee Miller, Beate Klarsfeld, and Steve McCurry. After him are Walker Evans, Endre Ady, Alexander Berkman, Jean-Marie Balestre, Gareth Jones, and Aenne Burda.
1895 - 1965
HPI: 63.53
Rank: 12
1918 - 1978
HPI: 62.95
Rank: 13
1876 - 1952
HPI: 62.35
Rank: 14
1907 - 1977
HPI: 62.01
Rank: 15
1939 - Present
HPI: 60.07
Rank: 16
1950 - Present
HPI: 58.98
Rank: 17
1849 - 1912
HPI: 58.37
Rank: 18
1903 - 1975
HPI: 57.74
Rank: 19
1877 - 1919
HPI: 57.70
Rank: 20
1870 - 1936
HPI: 57.58
Rank: 21
1921 - 2008
HPI: 57.55
Rank: 22
1905 - 1935
HPI: 57.50
Rank: 23
1909 - 2005
HPI: 57.37
Rank: 24
Among people born in 1849, W. T. Stead ranks 32. Before him are Lord Randolph Churchill, Empress Shōken, Joseph Gallieni, Saionji Kinmochi, Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, and Michael Ancher. After him are Basil Zaharoff, Paul Rée, Jean Béraud, Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Princess Alice of Parma, and Georg Luger. Among people deceased in 1912, W. T. Stead ranks 32. Before him are James Paul Moody, Henry Tingle Wilde, Nettie Stevens, Nogi Maresuke, Bolesław Prus, and Jack Phillips. After him are William Booth, Princess Elisabeth of Saxony, Ion Luca Caragiale, Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, Wallace Hartley, and Nicholas of Japan.
1849 - 1895
HPI: 58.91
Rank: 26
1849 - 1914
HPI: 58.86
Rank: 27
1849 - 1916
HPI: 58.66
Rank: 28
1849 - 1940
HPI: 58.66
Rank: 29
1849 - 1917
HPI: 58.45
Rank: 30
1849 - 1927
HPI: 58.45
Rank: 31
1849 - 1912
HPI: 58.37
Rank: 32
1849 - 1936
HPI: 58.32
Rank: 33
1849 - 1901
HPI: 58.08
Rank: 34
1849 - 1935
HPI: 57.69
Rank: 35
1849 - 1919
HPI: 57.59
Rank: 36
1849 - 1935
HPI: 57.58
Rank: 37
1849 - 1923
HPI: 57.55
Rank: 38
1887 - 1912
HPI: 60.22
Rank: 26
1872 - 1912
HPI: 60.11
Rank: 27
1861 - 1912
HPI: 60.03
Rank: 28
1849 - 1912
HPI: 59.89
Rank: 29
1847 - 1912
HPI: 59.24
Rank: 30
1887 - 1912
HPI: 58.77
Rank: 31
1849 - 1912
HPI: 58.37
Rank: 32
1829 - 1912
HPI: 58.29
Rank: 33
1830 - 1912
HPI: 58.16
Rank: 34
1852 - 1912
HPI: 57.53
Rank: 35
1838 - 1912
HPI: 57.45
Rank: 36
1878 - 1912
HPI: 57.21
Rank: 37
1836 - 1912
HPI: 57.19
Rank: 38
Among people born in United Kingdom, W. T. Stead ranks 1,088 out of 7,765. Before him are Stephen Hales (1677), William the Lion (1142), Saint David (512), Stephen Harding (1059), Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (1341), and Harriet Taylor Mill (1807). After him are David Bradley (1942), Thomas Cole (1801), John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (1389), Isabella Bird (1831), Matilda of Scotland (1080), and John Dryden (1631).
1677 - 1761
HPI: 58.43
Rank: 1,082
1142 - 1214
HPI: 58.42
Rank: 1,083
512 - 589
HPI: 58.41
Rank: 1,084
1059 - 1134
HPI: 58.39
Rank: 1,085
1341 - 1402
HPI: 58.38
Rank: 1,086
1807 - 1858
HPI: 58.38
Rank: 1,087
1849 - 1912
HPI: 58.37
Rank: 1,088
1942 - Present
HPI: 58.37
Rank: 1,089
1801 - 1848
HPI: 58.36
Rank: 1,090
1389 - 1435
HPI: 58.36
Rank: 1,091
1831 - 1904
HPI: 58.36
Rank: 1,092
1080 - 1118
HPI: 58.35
Rank: 1,093
1631 - 1700
HPI: 58.35
Rank: 1,094
Among journalists born in United Kingdom, W. T. Stead ranks 1. After him are Gareth Jones (1905), Jeremy Clarkson (1960), Christopher Hitchens (1949), William Wilson (1844), Martin Parr (1952), Murray Walker (1923), Malcolm Campbell (1885), Malcolm Muggeridge (1903), George Rodger (1908), Don McCullin (1935), and Chris Bonington (1934).
1849 - 1912
HPI: 58.37
Rank: 1
1905 - 1935
HPI: 57.50
Rank: 2
1960 - Present
HPI: 56.72
Rank: 3
1949 - 2011
HPI: 54.91
Rank: 4
1844 - 1912
HPI: 48.42
Rank: 5
1952 - Present
HPI: 47.66
Rank: 6
1923 - 2021
HPI: 47.24
Rank: 7
1885 - 1948
HPI: 45.98
Rank: 8
1903 - 1990
HPI: 45.76
Rank: 9
1908 - 1995
HPI: 45.37
Rank: 10
1935 - Present
HPI: 45.20
Rank: 11
1934 - Present
HPI: 44.71
Rank: 12