HISTORIAN
James H. Billington
1929 - 2018

James H. Billington
James Hadley Billington (June 1, 1929 – November 20, 2018) was an American academic and author who taught history at Harvard and Princeton before serving for 42 years as CEO of four federal cultural institutions. He served as the 13th Librarian of Congress after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and his appointment was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. He retired as Librarian on September 30, 2015. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. James H. Billington is the 539th most popular historian (down from 529th in 2019), the 12,761st most popular biography from United States (down from 11,075th in 2019) and the 50th most popular American Historian.
Memorability Metrics
Page views of James H. Billington by language
Among HISTORIANS
Among historians, James H. Billington ranks 539 out of 561. Before him are Andrei Lankov, Edward Augustus Freeman, Anthony Grafton, Ellen Meiksins Wood, Iain Pears, and Bernard Bailyn. After him are Jonathan Riley-Smith, Elaine Pagels, Gerhard Weinberg, Christopher Clark, Gábor Kósa, and Peter Heather.
Most Popular Historians in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsAndrei Lankov
1963 - Present
HPI: 50.62
Rank: 533
Edward Augustus Freeman
1823 - 1892
HPI: 50.32
Rank: 534
Anthony Grafton
1950 - Present
HPI: 49.92
Rank: 535
Ellen Meiksins Wood
1942 - 2016
HPI: 49.84
Rank: 536
Iain Pears
1955 - Present
HPI: 49.79
Rank: 537
Bernard Bailyn
1922 - 2020
HPI: 49.71
Rank: 538
James H. Billington
1929 - 2018
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 539
Jonathan Riley-Smith
1938 - 2016
HPI: 49.25
Rank: 540
Elaine Pagels
1943 - Present
HPI: 49.17
Rank: 541
Gerhard Weinberg
1928 - Present
HPI: 48.95
Rank: 542
Christopher Clark
1960 - Present
HPI: 48.84
Rank: 543
Gábor Kósa
1971 - Present
HPI: 48.82
Rank: 544
Peter Heather
1960 - Present
HPI: 48.16
Rank: 545
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1929, James H. Billington ranks 531. Before him are Nirmala Deshpande, Tom Foley, Jerry Adler, Pete George, Peter Sculthorpe, and Buck Owens. After him are Art Taylor, Suraiya, T. P. McKenna, Ronnie Allen, Alfredo Lim, and Creed Taylor. Among people deceased in 2018, James H. Billington ranks 545. Before him are Ken Flach, Olivia Cole, Fazlullah, Sigi Schmid, Walter Bahr, and João W. Nery. After him are Simon Shelton, Aloyzas Kveinys, Graciano Rocchigiani, Peter Masterson, Boris Kokorev, and Tetsuro Miura.
Others Born in 1929
Go to all RankingsNirmala Deshpande
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1929 - 2008
HPI: 50.16
Rank: 525
Tom Foley
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2013
HPI: 50.15
Rank: 526
Jerry Adler
FILM DIRECTOR
1929 - Present
HPI: 50.14
Rank: 527
Pete George
ATHLETE
1929 - 2021
HPI: 50.07
Rank: 528
Peter Sculthorpe
COMPOSER
1929 - 2014
HPI: 49.76
Rank: 529
Buck Owens
MUSICIAN
1929 - 2006
HPI: 49.68
Rank: 530
James H. Billington
HISTORIAN
1929 - 2018
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 531
Art Taylor
MUSICIAN
1929 - 1995
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 532
Suraiya
ACTOR
1929 - 2004
HPI: 49.28
Rank: 533
T. P. McKenna
ACTOR
1929 - 2011
HPI: 49.26
Rank: 534
Ronnie Allen
SOCCER PLAYER
1929 - 2001
HPI: 49.05
Rank: 535
Alfredo Lim
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2020
HPI: 48.93
Rank: 536
Creed Taylor
MUSICIAN
1929 - 2022
HPI: 48.92
Rank: 537
Others Deceased in 2018
Go to all RankingsKen Flach
TENNIS PLAYER
1963 - 2018
HPI: 49.96
Rank: 539
Olivia Cole
ACTOR
1942 - 2018
HPI: 49.93
Rank: 540
Fazlullah
EXTREMIST
1974 - 2018
HPI: 49.92
Rank: 541
Sigi Schmid
COACH
1953 - 2018
HPI: 49.86
Rank: 542
Walter Bahr
SOCCER PLAYER
1927 - 2018
HPI: 49.80
Rank: 543
João W. Nery
WRITER
1950 - 2018
HPI: 49.77
Rank: 544
James H. Billington
HISTORIAN
1929 - 2018
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 545
Simon Shelton
ACTOR
1966 - 2018
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 546
Aloyzas Kveinys
CHESS PLAYER
1962 - 2018
HPI: 49.61
Rank: 547
Graciano Rocchigiani
WRITER
1963 - 2018
HPI: 49.58
Rank: 548
Peter Masterson
ACTOR
1934 - 2018
HPI: 49.45
Rank: 549
Boris Kokorev
ATHLETE
1959 - 2018
HPI: 49.42
Rank: 550
Tetsuro Miura
SOCCER PLAYER
1956 - 2018
HPI: 49.40
Rank: 551
In United States
Among people born in United States, James H. Billington ranks 12,765 out of 20,380. Before him are Henry Schoolcraft (1793), Joe Paterno (1926), Nan Martin (1927), Charles L. Veach (1944), Tim Commerford (1968), and Jeremy Zucker (1996). After him are Malcolm-Jamal Warner (1970), Jimmy Webb (1946), Steven López (1978), Leo Goodwin (1883), Natalie Zea (1975), and Studs Terkel (1912).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsHenry Schoolcraft
GEOGRAPHER
1793 - 1864
HPI: 49.63
Rank: 12,759
Joe Paterno
WRITER
1926 - 2012
HPI: 49.63
Rank: 12,760
Nan Martin
ACTOR
1927 - 2010
HPI: 49.63
Rank: 12,761
Charles L. Veach
ASTRONAUT
1944 - 1995
HPI: 49.63
Rank: 12,762
Tim Commerford
MUSICIAN
1968 - Present
HPI: 49.63
Rank: 12,763
Jeremy Zucker
SINGER
1996 - Present
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,764
James H. Billington
HISTORIAN
1929 - 2018
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,765
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
ACTOR
1970 - Present
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,766
Jimmy Webb
MUSICIAN
1946 - Present
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,767
Steven López
ATHLETE
1978 - Present
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,768
Leo Goodwin
SWIMMER
1883 - 1957
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,769
Natalie Zea
ACTOR
1975 - Present
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,770
Studs Terkel
WRITER
1912 - 2008
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 12,771
Among HISTORIANS In United States
Among historians born in United States, James H. Billington ranks 50. Before him are Carroll Quigley (1910), Richard Hofstadter (1916), Francis Parkman (1823), Anthony Grafton (1950), Ellen Meiksins Wood (1942), and Bernard Bailyn (1922). After him are Elaine Pagels (1943), Allan Lichtman (1947), Stephen Kotkin (1959), and Victor Davis Hanson (1953).
Carroll Quigley
1910 - 1977
HPI: 52.05
Rank: 44
Richard Hofstadter
1916 - 1970
HPI: 51.79
Rank: 45
Francis Parkman
1823 - 1893
HPI: 51.34
Rank: 46
Anthony Grafton
1950 - Present
HPI: 49.92
Rank: 47
Ellen Meiksins Wood
1942 - 2016
HPI: 49.84
Rank: 48
Bernard Bailyn
1922 - 2020
HPI: 49.71
Rank: 49
James H. Billington
1929 - 2018
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 50
Elaine Pagels
1943 - Present
HPI: 49.17
Rank: 51
Allan Lichtman
1947 - Present
HPI: 46.77
Rank: 52
Stephen Kotkin
1959 - Present
HPI: 45.72
Rank: 53
Victor Davis Hanson
1953 - Present
HPI: 44.18
Rank: 54