1914 - 1997
William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and literature. Burroughs wrote eighteen novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays, and five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences; he was initially briefly known by the pen name William Lee. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, made many appearances in films, and created and exhibited thousands of visual artworks, including his celebrated "Shotgun Art".Burroughs was born into a wealthy family in St. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William S. Burroughs has received more than 5,068,815 page views. His biography is available in 55 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 54 in 2019). William S. Burroughs is the 477th most popular writer (down from 449th in 2019), the 479th most popular biography from United States (down from 455th in 2019) and the 49th most popular American Writer.
William S. Burroughs is most famous for his novel "Naked Lunch" and for his work as a spoken word artist.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
Languages Editions (L)
Effective Languages (L*)
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among writers, William S. Burroughs ranks 477 out of 5,755. Before him are Grazia Deledda, William Makepeace Thackeray, Octavio Paz, Boris Vian, Savitribai Phule, and Jules Michelet. After him are Nathaniel Hawthorne, D. H. Lawrence, Statius, Ellen G. White, Harold Pinter, and Elie Wiesel.
1871 - 1936
HPI: 66.86
Rank: 471
1811 - 1863
HPI: 66.83
Rank: 472
1914 - 1998
HPI: 66.82
Rank: 473
1920 - 1959
HPI: 66.78
Rank: 474
1831 - 1897
HPI: 66.77
Rank: 475
1798 - 1874
HPI: 66.73
Rank: 476
1914 - 1997
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 477
1804 - 1864
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 478
1885 - 1930
HPI: 66.71
Rank: 479
40 - 96
HPI: 66.71
Rank: 480
1827 - 1915
HPI: 66.70
Rank: 481
1930 - 2008
HPI: 66.68
Rank: 482
1928 - 2016
HPI: 66.64
Rank: 483
Among people born in 1914, William S. Burroughs ranks 17. Before him are Aribert Heim, Alec Guinness, Romain Gary, Julio Cortázar, Bohumil Hrabal, and Octavio Paz. After him are Richard Widmark, Lída Baarová, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Jonas Salk, Willi Stoph, and Joe Louis. Among people deceased in 1997, William S. Burroughs ranks 19. Before him are Paulo Freire, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Bohumil Hrabal, The Notorious B.I.G., Hans Eysenck, and Isaiah Berlin. After him are Sviatoslav Richter, Melvin Calvin, Robert Mitchum, Allen Ginsberg, Roy Lichtenstein, and Bảo Đại.
1914 - 1992
HPI: 68.72
Rank: 11
1914 - 2000
HPI: 68.65
Rank: 12
1914 - 1980
HPI: 68.56
Rank: 13
1914 - 1984
HPI: 67.66
Rank: 14
1914 - 1997
HPI: 67.47
Rank: 15
1914 - 1998
HPI: 66.82
Rank: 16
1914 - 1997
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 17
1914 - 2008
HPI: 66.49
Rank: 18
1914 - 2000
HPI: 66.01
Rank: 19
1914 - 1982
HPI: 65.34
Rank: 20
1914 - 1995
HPI: 65.06
Rank: 21
1914 - 1999
HPI: 64.82
Rank: 22
1914 - 1981
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 23
1921 - 1997
HPI: 68.16
Rank: 13
1959 - 1997
HPI: 67.74
Rank: 14
1914 - 1997
HPI: 67.47
Rank: 15
1972 - 1997
HPI: 67.33
Rank: 16
1916 - 1997
HPI: 67.30
Rank: 17
1909 - 1997
HPI: 67.29
Rank: 18
1914 - 1997
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 19
1915 - 1997
HPI: 66.63
Rank: 20
1911 - 1997
HPI: 66.42
Rank: 21
1917 - 1997
HPI: 66.38
Rank: 22
1926 - 1997
HPI: 66.33
Rank: 23
1923 - 1997
HPI: 66.17
Rank: 24
1913 - 1997
HPI: 66.01
Rank: 25
Among people born in United States, William S. Burroughs ranks 479 out of 18,182. Before him are Goldie Hawn (1945), Chester A. Arthur (1829), Bryan Cranston (1956), Eddie Murphy (1961), Ernest Borgnine (1917), and Alan Shepard (1923). After him are Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804), Ellen G. White (1827), Edward Drinker Cope (1840), Richard Chamberlain (1934), Chuck Jones (1912), and Bernie Madoff (1938).
1945 - Present
HPI: 66.88
Rank: 473
1829 - 1886
HPI: 66.86
Rank: 474
1956 - Present
HPI: 66.85
Rank: 475
1961 - Present
HPI: 66.81
Rank: 476
1917 - 2012
HPI: 66.77
Rank: 477
1923 - 1998
HPI: 66.75
Rank: 478
1914 - 1997
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 479
1804 - 1864
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 480
1827 - 1915
HPI: 66.70
Rank: 481
1840 - 1897
HPI: 66.70
Rank: 482
1934 - Present
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 483
1912 - 2002
HPI: 66.66
Rank: 484
1938 - 2021
HPI: 66.63
Rank: 485
Among writers born in United States, William S. Burroughs ranks 49. Before him are Alvin Toffler (1928), Tom Clancy (1947), Gertrude Stein (1874), Louisa May Alcott (1832), Tennessee Williams (1911), and Richard Bach (1936). After him are Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804), Ellen G. White (1827), Robert A. Heinlein (1907), Kurt Vonnegut (1922), Harriet Tubman (1820), and Allen Ginsberg (1926).
1928 - 2016
HPI: 67.88
Rank: 43
1947 - 2013
HPI: 67.86
Rank: 44
1874 - 1946
HPI: 67.81
Rank: 45
1832 - 1888
HPI: 67.45
Rank: 46
1911 - 1983
HPI: 67.41
Rank: 47
1936 - Present
HPI: 67.20
Rank: 48
1914 - 1997
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 49
1804 - 1864
HPI: 66.72
Rank: 50
1827 - 1915
HPI: 66.70
Rank: 51
1907 - 1988
HPI: 66.60
Rank: 52
1922 - 2007
HPI: 66.52
Rank: 53
1820 - 1913
HPI: 66.45
Rank: 54
1926 - 1997
HPI: 66.33
Rank: 55