1885 - 1981
William James Durant (; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American historian and philosopher, best known for his 11-volume work, The Story of Civilization, which contains and details the history of Eastern and Western civilizations. It was written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy (1926), described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy".Durant conceived of philosophy as total perspective or seeing things sub specie totius (i.e., "from the perspective of the whole")—a phrase inspired by Spinoza's sub specie aeternitatis, roughly meaning "from the perspective of the eternal". Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Will Durant has received more than 1,422,357 page views. His biography is available in 39 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 36 in 2019). Will Durant is the 1,033rd most popular writer (up from 1,042nd in 2019), the 1,218th most popular biography from United States (down from 1,172nd in 2019) and the 123rd most popular American Writer.
Durant is most famous for being the first player to score 40 points in a game since Michael Jordan.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
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Among writers, Will Durant ranks 1,033 out of 5,755. Before him are Egill Skallagrímsson, Shoko Asahara, Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Jerome K. Jerome, Marcus Minucius Felix, and John Malalas. After him are Corinna, Robert Merle, Al-Mutanabbi, Bulat Okudzhava, Sonia Rykiel, and Ellen Key.
904 - 990
HPI: 60.80
Rank: 1,027
1955 - 2018
HPI: 60.79
Rank: 1,028
601 - 700
HPI: 60.77
Rank: 1,029
1859 - 1927
HPI: 60.77
Rank: 1,030
110 - 260
HPI: 60.77
Rank: 1,031
491 - 578
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 1,032
1885 - 1981
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 1,033
501 BC - 501 BC
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 1,034
1908 - 2004
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 1,035
915 - 965
HPI: 60.73
Rank: 1,036
1924 - 1997
HPI: 60.73
Rank: 1,037
1930 - 2016
HPI: 60.73
Rank: 1,038
1849 - 1926
HPI: 60.71
Rank: 1,039
Among people born in 1885, Will Durant ranks 46. Before him are Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Giacomo Matteotti, Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, G. W. Pabst, Kato Svanidze, and Romano Guardini. After him are Velimir Khlebnikov, Tamara Karsavina, Christian Wirth, Franz Böhme, Otto Klemperer, and Gunnar Asplund. Among people deceased in 1981, Will Durant ranks 37. Before him are Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Miroslav Krleža, David Wechsler, Zarah Leander, Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, and Harry Harlow. After him are Bill Haley, Bernard Lee, Lobsang Rampa, Leo Kanner, Omar Torrijos, and Lotte Lenya.
1885 - 1948
HPI: 61.56
Rank: 40
1885 - 1924
HPI: 61.49
Rank: 41
1885 - 1968
HPI: 61.20
Rank: 42
1885 - 1967
HPI: 61.16
Rank: 43
1885 - 1907
HPI: 61.03
Rank: 44
1885 - 1968
HPI: 60.98
Rank: 45
1885 - 1981
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 46
1885 - 1922
HPI: 60.57
Rank: 47
1885 - 1978
HPI: 60.47
Rank: 48
1885 - 1944
HPI: 60.24
Rank: 49
1885 - 1947
HPI: 60.11
Rank: 50
1885 - 1973
HPI: 60.03
Rank: 51
1885 - 1940
HPI: 59.78
Rank: 52
1933 - 1981
HPI: 61.98
Rank: 31
1893 - 1981
HPI: 61.61
Rank: 32
1896 - 1981
HPI: 61.58
Rank: 33
1907 - 1981
HPI: 61.17
Rank: 34
1905 - 1981
HPI: 61.02
Rank: 35
1905 - 1981
HPI: 60.86
Rank: 36
1885 - 1981
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 37
1925 - 1981
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 38
1908 - 1981
HPI: 60.34
Rank: 39
1910 - 1981
HPI: 60.08
Rank: 40
1894 - 1981
HPI: 60.04
Rank: 41
1929 - 1981
HPI: 59.99
Rank: 42
1898 - 1981
HPI: 59.83
Rank: 43
Among people born in United States, Will Durant ranks 1,218 out of 18,182. Before him are Mike Markkula (1942), Mary Jackson (1921), Rodney King (1965), John Gotti (1940), Nicholas Ray (1911), and Vera Miles (1929). After him are Michael Moore (1954), William Randolph Hearst (1863), Richard Donner (1930), Lawrence Klein (1920), James Spader (1960), and Jackie Coogan (1914).
1942 - Present
HPI: 60.85
Rank: 1,212
1921 - 2005
HPI: 60.82
Rank: 1,213
1965 - 2012
HPI: 60.82
Rank: 1,214
1940 - 2002
HPI: 60.81
Rank: 1,215
1911 - 1979
HPI: 60.79
Rank: 1,216
1929 - Present
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 1,217
1885 - 1981
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 1,218
1954 - Present
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 1,219
1863 - 1951
HPI: 60.75
Rank: 1,220
1930 - 2021
HPI: 60.75
Rank: 1,221
1920 - 2013
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 1,222
1960 - Present
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 1,223
1914 - 1984
HPI: 60.73
Rank: 1,224
Among writers born in United States, Will Durant ranks 123. Before him are Martha Gellhorn (1908), Hunter S. Thompson (1937), Tess Gerritsen (1953), Irving Stone (1903), Clive Cussler (1931), and Zelda Fitzgerald (1900). After him are Natalie Clifford Barney (1876), Fredric Brown (1906), Erskine Caldwell (1903), Joan Didion (1934), Irwin Shaw (1913), and Cormac McCarthy (1933).
1908 - 1998
HPI: 61.16
Rank: 117
1937 - 2005
HPI: 61.08
Rank: 118
1953 - Present
HPI: 61.02
Rank: 119
1903 - 1989
HPI: 61.02
Rank: 120
1931 - 2020
HPI: 61.02
Rank: 121
1900 - 1948
HPI: 61.00
Rank: 122
1885 - 1981
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 123
1876 - 1972
HPI: 60.69
Rank: 124
1906 - 1972
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 125
1903 - 1987
HPI: 60.56
Rank: 126
1934 - 2021
HPI: 60.55
Rank: 127
1913 - 1984
HPI: 60.53
Rank: 128
1933 - 2023
HPI: 60.51
Rank: 129