New games! PlayTrivia andBirthle.

WRITER

William S. Burroughs

1914 - 1997

Photo of William S. Burroughs

Icon of person William S. Burroughs

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.

Memorability Metrics

  • 5.1M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.72

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 55

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.48

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.27

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Page views of William S. Burroughs by language


Among WRITERS

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.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

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.

Others Born in 1914

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1997

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

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).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In United States

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).

American born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous
  • DatawheelCL