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PHILOSOPHER

William of Ockham

1285 - 1347

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William of Ockham or Occam ( OK-əm; Latin: Gulielmus Occamus; c. 1287 – 10 April 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the 14th century. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William of Ockham has received more than 1,550,878 page views. His biography is available in 72 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 71 in 2019). William of Ockham is the 73rd most popular philosopher (down from 70th in 2019), the 76th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 74th in 2019) and the 7th most popular British Philosopher.

William of Ockham is most famous for his principle of parsimony, also known as Occam's Razor. This principle states that the simplest explanation is usually the best one.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.6M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 76.35

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 72

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.52

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.28

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of William of Ockhams by language


Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, William of Ockham ranks 73 out of 1,081. Before him are Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Antonio Gramsci, Karl Jaspers, Rudolf Steiner, Ramakrishna, and Epictetus. After him are Xenophanes, Jürgen Habermas, Ibn Arabi, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Jeremy Bentham, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1285, William of Ockham ranks 1. After him are Ferdinand IV of Castile, Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Emperor Go-Nijō, An-Nasir Muhammad, Ferrer Bassa, Elisabeth of Austria, Duchess of Lorraine, Baldwin of Luxembourg, Sancia of Majorca, Euphemia of Pomerania, Michael of Trebizond, and Al-Mustakfi I. Among people deceased in 1347, William of Ockham ranks 1. After him are Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Joan III, Countess of Burgundy, Maria of Navarre, and John XIV of Constantinople.

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Others Deceased in 1347

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William of Ockham ranks 76 out of 7,765. Before him are Neville Chamberlain (1869), David Livingstone (1813), J. M. W. Turner (1775), Edward III of England (1312), Ridley Scott (1937), and Edward II of England (1284). After him are Harold Harefoot (1016), John Dee (1527), David Bowie (1947), Mary Shelley (1797), Jeremy Bentham (1748), and Roger Moore (1927).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In United Kingdom

Among philosophers born in United Kingdom, William of Ockham ranks 7. Before him are John Locke (1632), Francis Bacon (1561), Thomas Hobbes (1588), David Hume (1711), Thomas More (1478), and Herbert Spencer (1820). After him are Jeremy Bentham (1748), Roger Bacon (1220), Joseph Priestley (1733), John Venn (1834), Duns Scotus (1265), and John Wycliffe (1324).

British born Philosophers

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