Charlie Chaplin

About Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) remains one of cinema's most titanic figures, earning the #112 rank in MIT's Historical Popularity Index. As the iconic "Tramp" character, his genius lay in his mastery of silent film, blending pathos, social commentary, and slapstick comedy to achieve genuine global cultural penetration across languages and decades. His influence on modern filmmaking and visual storytelling is undeniable, cementing his place among the century's most significant artists.

Despite this profound historical importance, Chaplin's modern internet attention registers an 'overattention' score of +5x relative to his rank, suggesting a strong but perhaps surprising level of sustained digital engagement. His 3.1 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025 place him far ahead of contemporaries ranked significantly higher in historical importance, such as Louis XIV of France (#42, with only 221K views). However, this popularity is showing signs of natural decline, marked by a -9.0% year-over-year drop in views, indicating a slight cultural drift from the digital mainstream.