WRITER

William Beckford

1760 - 1844

Photo of William Beckford

Icon of person William Beckford

William Thomas Beckford (29 September 1760 – 2 May 1844) was an English novelist, art critic, planter and politician. He was reputed at one stage to be England's richest commoner. The son of William Beckford and Maria Hamilton, daughter of the Hon. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Beckford has received more than 15,221 page views. His biography is available in 28 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 27 in 2019). William Beckford is the 2,461st most popular writer (down from 2,260th in 2019), the 1,817th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,748th in 2019) and the 199th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 15k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 54.64

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 28

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.36

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.30

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The travel-diaries of William Beckford of Fonthill
Description and travel, Early works to 1800, Europe
1928
Life at Fonthill, 1807-1822
Correspondence, English Authors, Intellectual life
1957
Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents
1783
The History of Caliph Vathek
2002
Biographical memoirs of extraordinary painters
Anecdotes, Painters, Art
1780
Vathek
Description and travel, Fiction, Inheritance and succession
Vathek is one of the earliest and most influential Gothic novels. Its hero is the Caliph Vathek who renounces Islam in a hedonistic quest for supernatural powers, which leads to his downfall. Beckford's genius was in marrying Orientalism with the Gothic, both sources of fascination and delight to reading audiences of the time.
1815

Among WRITERS

Among writers, William Beckford ranks 2,461 out of 7,302. Before him are Léon Werth, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Parthenius of Nicaea, Guan Hanqing, Gottschalk of Orbais, and Winston Groom. After him are Alois Musil, María Kodama, Annie Proulx, Rolf Hochhuth, Ariwara no Narihira, and Dick Francis.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1760, William Beckford ranks 18. Before him are Jan Ladislav Dussek, Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, Jean-François Le Sueur, Akbar II, Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth, and Johann Peter Hebel. After him are Georg Franz Hoffmann, Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeau, Aloysia Weber, Constantine Ypsilantis, Christian Kramp, and Leandro Fernández de Moratín. Among people deceased in 1844, William Beckford ranks 27. Before him are Nicolas Chopin, Francis Baily, Adolphe Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon, Jacques Laffitte, and Gustav Hugo. After him are Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, Yevgeny Baratynsky, Alexander von Benckendorff, Vincenzo Camuccini, Henri-Montan Berton, and Jacob Aall.

Others Born in 1760

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Others Deceased in 1844

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William Beckford ranks 1,817 out of 8,785. Before him are Nick Simper (1945), Rupert Grint (1988), Peter Capaldi (1958), Alexander Bain (1818), Julian of Norwich (1342), and Miranda Richardson (1958). After him are Sid Watkins (1928), Dick Francis (1920), Ronnie O'Sullivan (1975), Christopher Priest (1943), Matthew Paris (1200), and Leo Genn (1905).

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, William Beckford ranks 199. Before him are Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806), Aelred of Rievaulx (1110), Dorothy L. Sayers (1893), George Meredith (1828), Renée Vivien (1877), and E. Nesbit (1858). After him are Dick Francis (1920), Christopher Priest (1943), Richard Adams (1920), Peter Shaffer (1926), Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (1878), and John Mandeville (1300).

British born Writers

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