James VI and I

About James VI and I

James VI and I (1566–1625) stands as a figure of considerable historical consequence, ranking #115 globally by the Pantheon Project’s Historical Popularity Index. His significance stems primarily from presiding over the union of the crowns of Scotland and England, becoming the first monarch to rule both kingdoms-as James VI of Scotland from 1567 and as James I of England and Ireland from 1603 until his death. This political unification laid critical groundwork for the later political structure of Great Britain. Furthermore, his reign saw the commissioning of the influential King James Version of the Bible, a landmark cultural and religious text.

Despite this high historical standing, his 2025 Wikipedia readership suggests a substantial attention gap: James VI and I accrued 2.9 million annualized views. To put this in perspective, the much less historically important (HPI #704) modern politician Bill Clinton garnered 6.6 million views in the same year. Conversely, the significantly more important Henry VIII of England, ranked #26 historically, received only 676 thousand views, highlighting a severe under-recognition of James VI and I’s influence in the digital sphere relative to his historical weight, resulting in a notable +5x overattention to figures of lesser global impact.

Observing the year-over-year trend, the figure's online interest saw a notable decline of -26.3% in 2025, with a minor Q1 vs Q3 momentum drop of -2%, indicating a general cooling of modern digital curiosity around this foundational monarch.