John, King of England

About John, King of England

John, King of England (1166–1216), is a foundational figure in Western constitutional history, ranked \#186 globally for historical importance by the Pantheon project. His reign is defined by near-constant conflict, most notably his military failures in France which led directly to his forced confrontation with English barons. This struggle culminated in the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215, a foundational document that significantly curtailed monarchical power and heavily influenced the development of common law and constitutional governance across the globe.

Despite this monumental historical contribution, John's modern internet attention is relatively low, showcasing a clear attention gap. He accrued 1.4 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This represents a slight upward trend, with both year-over-year change (+4.1%) and Q1 to Q3 momentum (+5%) being positive, suggesting modest, growing interest. However, his HPI rank of \#186 suggests he is receiving only about one-third of the attention one might expect relative to his historical impact, evidenced by an overattention score of +3x meaning he is relatively *under*attended compared to more prominent figures.

To contextualize this, John’s 1.4 million views are significantly dwarfed by modern politicians like Joe Biden (\#329 importance, 11.0M views) and even less historically vital figures who command vastly more traffic, illustrating how the digital record privileges the contemporary over the foundational.