WRITER
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (c. 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Shakespeare has received more than 50,775,646 page views. His biography is available in 215 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 212 in 2019). William Shakespeare is the 3rd most popular writer (down from 2nd in 2019), the 3rd most popular biography from United Kingdom and the most popular British Writer.
William Shakespeare is most famous for writing the plays Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Memorability Metrics
51M
Page Views (PV)
89.43
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
215
Languages Editions (L)
11.78
Effective Languages (L*)
7.35
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among WRITERS
Among writers, William Shakespeare ranks 3 out of 7,302. Before him are Homer, and Dante Alighieri. After him are Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Edgar Allan Poe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord Byron, Voltaire, Hans Christian Andersen, Leo Tolstoy, and Victor Hugo.
Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsHomer
800 BC - 750 BC
HPI: 89.85
Rank: 1
Dante Alighieri
1265 - 1321
HPI: 89.54
Rank: 2
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 89.43
Rank: 3
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749 - 1832
HPI: 88.54
Rank: 4
Edgar Allan Poe
1809 - 1849
HPI: 87.99
Rank: 5
Fyodor Dostoevsky
1821 - 1881
HPI: 87.73
Rank: 6
J. R. R. Tolkien
1892 - 1973
HPI: 87.63
Rank: 7
Lord Byron
1788 - 1824
HPI: 87.18
Rank: 8
Voltaire
1694 - 1778
HPI: 86.81
Rank: 9
Hans Christian Andersen
1805 - 1875
HPI: 86.61
Rank: 10
Leo Tolstoy
1828 - 1910
HPI: 86.36
Rank: 11
Victor Hugo
1802 - 1885
HPI: 86.20
Rank: 12
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1564, William Shakespeare ranks 2. Before him is Galileo Galilei. After him are Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Christopher Marlowe, William Adams, Paulo Miki, David Fabricius, Ahmad Sirhindi, Hans Leo Hassler, Francisco Pacheco, Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Federico Borromeo. Among people deceased in 1616, William Shakespeare ranks 1. After him are Miguel de Cervantes, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Vincenzo Scamozzi, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Maria Anna of Bavaria, Jacob Le Maire, Andreas Libavius, John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Simeon Bekbulatovich, Magdalene of Brandenburg, and Agnes Hedwig of Anhalt.
Others Born in 1564
Go to all RankingsGalileo Galilei
ASTRONOMER
1564 - 1642
HPI: 93.54
Rank: 1
William Shakespeare
WRITER
1564 - 1616
HPI: 89.43
Rank: 2
Pieter Brueghel the Younger
PAINTER
1564 - 1636
HPI: 70.30
Rank: 3
Christopher Marlowe
WRITER
1564 - 1593
HPI: 66.93
Rank: 4
William Adams
EXPLORER
1564 - 1620
HPI: 65.17
Rank: 5
Paulo Miki
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1564 - 1597
HPI: 64.76
Rank: 6
David Fabricius
ASTRONOMER
1564 - 1617
HPI: 62.48
Rank: 7
Ahmad Sirhindi
PHILOSOPHER
1564 - 1624
HPI: 61.71
Rank: 8
Hans Leo Hassler
COMPOSER
1564 - 1612
HPI: 59.47
Rank: 9
Francisco Pacheco
PAINTER
1564 - 1644
HPI: 57.98
Rank: 10
Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
NOBLEMAN
1564 - 1613
HPI: 56.15
Rank: 11
Federico Borromeo
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1564 - 1631
HPI: 55.26
Rank: 12
Others Deceased in 1616
Go to all RankingsWilliam Shakespeare
WRITER
1564 - 1616
HPI: 89.43
Rank: 1
Miguel de Cervantes
WRITER
1547 - 1616
HPI: 85.17
Rank: 2
Tokugawa Ieyasu
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1542 - 1616
HPI: 75.07
Rank: 3
Vincenzo Scamozzi
ARCHITECT
1548 - 1616
HPI: 63.69
Rank: 4
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
WRITER
1539 - 1616
HPI: 62.67
Rank: 5
Maria Anna of Bavaria
NOBLEMAN
1574 - 1616
HPI: 62.32
Rank: 6
Jacob Le Maire
POLITICIAN
1585 - 1616
HPI: 61.81
Rank: 7
Andreas Libavius
CHEMIST
1555 - 1616
HPI: 59.66
Rank: 8
John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
NOBLEMAN
1575 - 1616
HPI: 59.12
Rank: 9
Simeon Bekbulatovich
POLITICIAN
1600 - 1616
HPI: 58.60
Rank: 10
Magdalene of Brandenburg
COMPANION
1582 - 1616
HPI: 55.98
Rank: 11
Agnes Hedwig of Anhalt
NOBLEMAN
1573 - 1616
HPI: 54.67
Rank: 12
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, William Shakespeare ranks 3 out of 8,785. Before him are Isaac Newton (1643), and Adam Smith (1723). After him are Charles Darwin (1809), Elizabeth II (1926), Lord Byron (1788), Charlie Chaplin (1889), Francis Bacon (1561), Elizabeth I of England (1533), John Locke (1632), Winston Churchill (1874), and James Watt (1736).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsIsaac Newton
PHYSICIST
1643 - 1726
HPI: 97.67
Rank: 1
Adam Smith
ECONOMIST
1723 - 1790
HPI: 90.65
Rank: 2
William Shakespeare
WRITER
1564 - 1616
HPI: 89.43
Rank: 3
Charles Darwin
BIOLOGIST
1809 - 1882
HPI: 89.30
Rank: 4
Elizabeth II
NOBLEMAN
1926 - 2022
HPI: 87.53
Rank: 5
Lord Byron
WRITER
1788 - 1824
HPI: 87.18
Rank: 6
Charlie Chaplin
ACTOR
1889 - 1977
HPI: 86.13
Rank: 7
Francis Bacon
PHILOSOPHER
1561 - 1626
HPI: 85.99
Rank: 8
Elizabeth I of England
POLITICIAN
1533 - 1603
HPI: 85.94
Rank: 9
John Locke
PHILOSOPHER
1632 - 1704
HPI: 85.32
Rank: 10
Winston Churchill
POLITICIAN
1874 - 1965
HPI: 85.10
Rank: 11
James Watt
INVENTOR
1736 - 1819
HPI: 84.86
Rank: 12
Among WRITERS In United Kingdom
Among writers born in United Kingdom, William Shakespeare ranks 1. After him are Lord Byron (1788), Agatha Christie (1890), Charles Dickens (1812), Jane Austen (1775), Arthur Conan Doyle (1859), Daniel Defoe (1660), Emily Brontë (1818), Virginia Woolf (1882), Charlotte Brontë (1816), Lewis Carroll (1832), and Mary Shelley (1797).
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 89.43
Rank: 1
Lord Byron
1788 - 1824
HPI: 87.18
Rank: 2
Agatha Christie
1890 - 1976
HPI: 82.01
Rank: 3
Charles Dickens
1812 - 1870
HPI: 81.06
Rank: 4
Jane Austen
1775 - 1817
HPI: 80.46
Rank: 5
Arthur Conan Doyle
1859 - 1930
HPI: 79.10
Rank: 6
Daniel Defoe
1660 - 1731
HPI: 78.02
Rank: 7
Emily Brontë
1818 - 1848
HPI: 77.35
Rank: 8
Virginia Woolf
1882 - 1941
HPI: 76.96
Rank: 9
Charlotte Brontë
1816 - 1855
HPI: 75.98
Rank: 10
Lewis Carroll
1832 - 1898
HPI: 75.93
Rank: 11
Mary Shelley
1797 - 1851
HPI: 75.07
Rank: 12