WRITER
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (bapt. 26 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 40,231,814 page views. His biography is available in 212 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 202 in 2019). William Shakespeare is the 2nd most popular writer (down from 1st in 2019), the 3rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 2nd in 2019) 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
40M
Page Views (PV)
90.88
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
212
Languages Editions (L)
12.49
Effective Languages (L*)
6.79
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Notable Works
Page views of William Shakespeares by language
Among WRITERS
Among writers, William Shakespeare ranks 2 out of 5,755. Before him are Homer. After him are Dante Alighieri, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Fyodor Dostoevsky, J. R. R. Tolkien, Hans Christian Andersen, Voltaire, Edgar Allan Poe, Sophocles, Leo Tolstoy, and Franz Kafka.
Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia
Go to all Rankings
Homer
800 BC - 750 BC
HPI: 91.42
Rank: 1
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 90.88
Rank: 2
Dante Alighieri
1265 - 1321
HPI: 90.51
Rank: 3
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1749 - 1832
HPI: 88.78
Rank: 4
Fyodor Dostoevsky
1821 - 1881
HPI: 88.66
Rank: 5
J. R. R. Tolkien
1892 - 1973
HPI: 88.02
Rank: 6
Hans Christian Andersen
1805 - 1875
HPI: 87.84
Rank: 7
Voltaire
1694 - 1778
HPI: 87.55
Rank: 8
Edgar Allan Poe
1809 - 1849
HPI: 86.74
Rank: 9
Sophocles
497 BC - 406 BC
HPI: 86.65
Rank: 10
Leo Tolstoy
1828 - 1910
HPI: 86.31
Rank: 11
Franz Kafka
1883 - 1924
HPI: 86.23
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, Francisco Pacheco, Hans Leo Hassler, Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Joos de Momper. Among people deceased in 1616, William Shakespeare ranks 1. After him are Miguel de Cervantes, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maria Anna of Bavaria, Vincenzo Scamozzi, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Jacob Le Maire, Simeon Bekbulatovich, John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Andreas Libavius, Magdalene of Brandenburg, and Johannes Fabricius.
Others Born in 1564
Go to all Rankings
Galileo Galilei
1564 - 1642
HPI: 94.55
Rank: 1
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 90.88
Rank: 2
Pieter Brueghel the Younger
1564 - 1636
HPI: 69.91
Rank: 3
Christopher Marlowe
1564 - 1593
HPI: 67.38
Rank: 4
William Adams
1564 - 1620
HPI: 64.94
Rank: 5
Paulo Miki
1564 - 1597
HPI: 63.16
Rank: 6
David Fabricius
1564 - 1617
HPI: 59.90
Rank: 7
Ahmad Sirhindi
1564 - 1624
HPI: 59.20
Rank: 8
Francisco Pacheco
1564 - 1644
HPI: 57.93
Rank: 9
Hans Leo Hassler
1564 - 1612
HPI: 57.16
Rank: 10
Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
1564 - 1613
HPI: 55.84
Rank: 11
Joos de Momper
1564 - 1635
HPI: 55.24
Rank: 12
Others Deceased in 1616
Go to all RankingsWilliam Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 90.88
Rank: 1
Miguel de Cervantes
1547 - 1616
HPI: 84.65
Rank: 2
Tokugawa Ieyasu
1542 - 1616
HPI: 75.13
Rank: 3
Maria Anna of Bavaria
1574 - 1616
HPI: 63.28
Rank: 4
Vincenzo Scamozzi
1548 - 1616
HPI: 62.50
Rank: 5
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
1539 - 1616
HPI: 61.11
Rank: 6
Jacob Le Maire
1585 - 1616
HPI: 59.81
Rank: 7
Simeon Bekbulatovich
1600 - 1616
HPI: 59.21
Rank: 8
John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
1575 - 1616
HPI: 57.36
Rank: 9
Andreas Libavius
1555 - 1616
HPI: 57.17
Rank: 10
Magdalene of Brandenburg
1582 - 1616
HPI: 54.61
Rank: 11
Johannes Fabricius
1587 - 1616
HPI: 53.72
Rank: 12
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, William Shakespeare ranks 3 out of 7,765. Before him are Isaac Newton (1643) and Adam Smith (1723). After him are Charles Darwin (1809), Elizabeth II (1926), John Locke (1632), Francis Bacon (1561), Elizabeth I of England (1533), Winston Churchill (1874), Charlie Chaplin (1889), Stephen Hawking (1942), and James Watt (1736).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all Rankings
Isaac Newton
1643 - 1726
HPI: 98.35
Rank: 1
Adam Smith
1723 - 1790
HPI: 91.46
Rank: 2
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 90.88
Rank: 3
Charles Darwin
1809 - 1882
HPI: 90.67
Rank: 4
Elizabeth II
1926 - 2022
HPI: 90.46
Rank: 5
John Locke
1632 - 1704
HPI: 88.31
Rank: 6
Francis Bacon
1561 - 1626
HPI: 87.67
Rank: 7
Elizabeth I of England
1533 - 1603
HPI: 87.64
Rank: 8
Winston Churchill
1874 - 1965
HPI: 86.92
Rank: 9
Charlie Chaplin
1889 - 1977
HPI: 86.83
Rank: 10
Stephen Hawking
1942 - 2018
HPI: 86.45
Rank: 11
James Watt
1736 - 1819
HPI: 86.42
Rank: 12
Among WRITERS In United Kingdom
Among writers born in United Kingdom, William Shakespeare ranks 1. After him are Agatha Christie (1890), Charles Dickens (1812), Lord Byron (1788), Jane Austen (1775), Arthur Conan Doyle (1859), Daniel Defoe (1660), Virginia Woolf (1882), Lewis Carroll (1832), Mary Shelley (1797), Robert Louis Stevenson (1850), and Walter Scott (1771).
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
HPI: 90.88
Rank: 1
Agatha Christie
1890 - 1976
HPI: 83.91
Rank: 2
Charles Dickens
1812 - 1870
HPI: 82.45
Rank: 3
Lord Byron
1788 - 1824
HPI: 81.31
Rank: 4
Jane Austen
1775 - 1817
HPI: 81.26
Rank: 5
Arthur Conan Doyle
1859 - 1930
HPI: 80.26
Rank: 6
Daniel Defoe
1660 - 1731
HPI: 79.35
Rank: 7
Virginia Woolf
1882 - 1941
HPI: 77.56
Rank: 8
Lewis Carroll
1832 - 1898
HPI: 77.31
Rank: 9
Mary Shelley
1797 - 1851
HPI: 75.95
Rank: 10
Robert Louis Stevenson
1850 - 1894
HPI: 75.37
Rank: 11
Walter Scott
1771 - 1832
HPI: 75.25
Rank: 12
