WRITER

William Saroyan

1908 - 1981

Photo of William Saroyan

Icon of person William Saroyan

William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Human Comedy. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Saroyan has received more than 1,276,618 page views. His biography is available in 50 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 46 in 2019). William Saroyan is the 722nd most popular writer (down from 650th in 2019), the 796th most popular biography from United States (down from 716th in 2019) and the 76th most popular American Writer.

William Saroyan is most famous for his book, The Human Comedy, which is a collection of short stories about the lives of people in the town of Fresno, California.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 69.13

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 50

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.38

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.84

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, William Saroyan ranks 722 out of 7,302. Before him are Milorad Pavić, Alfred de Vigny, Emilio Salgari, Julius Fučík, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Bernart de Ventadorn. After him are Hugo Ball, Longus, Zosimus, Robert E. Howard, Alejo Carpentier, and Christopher Tolkien.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1908, William Saroyan ranks 35. Before him are Amon Göth, Joseph Rotblat, Ilya Frank, Werner von Haeften, Manoel de Oliveira, and David Lean. After him are Arthur Adamov, Dmitry Ustinov, Carole Lombard, Cesare Pavese, Willard Libby, and Tameo Ide. Among people deceased in 1981, William Saroyan ranks 23. Before him are René Clair, Joe Louis, Omar Bradley, Harold Urey, Mohammad-Ali Rajai, and Marcel Breuer. After him are Samuel Barber, A. J. Cronin, Karl Böhm, Miroslav Krleža, Georges Brassens, and Max Delbrück.

Others Born in 1908

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1981

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

Among people born in United States, William Saroyan ranks 796 out of 20,380. Before him are Bill Russell (1934), Douglass North (1920), Frederick Chapman Robbins (1916), William Alfred Fowler (1911), George Eastman (1854), and John Goodman (1952). After him are Leo Frank (1884), Frances McDormand (1957), Harold Lasswell (1902), James Cronin (1931), Raymond Davis Jr. (1914), and Jimmy Hoffa (1913).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, William Saroyan ranks 76. Before him are H. L. Mencken (1880), Truman Capote (1924), Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867), Jack Vance (1916), Louise Hay (1926), and Dalton Trumbo (1905). After him are Robert E. Howard (1906), John Dos Passos (1896), Robert Ludlum (1927), Thomas Harris (1940), Neal Cassady (1926), and Sinclair Lewis (1885).

American born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous