Jan Hus

About Jan Hus

Jan Hus (c. 1369–1415) was a highly influential Czech social activist, theologian, and religious reformer whose ideas heavily predated the Protestant Reformation. As a key figure in the proto-Protestant movement, he publicly challenged the authority and practices of the Catholic Church, advocating for reforms such as communion in both kinds for the laity. His execution by burning at the stake in 1415 made him a martyr and catalyzed the Hussite Wars, cementing his high historical ranking by MIT's Pantheon project at #497 globally.

In terms of modern internet attention, Hus commands 456K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This places his digital footprint right at parity with his historical importance, yielding an "Attention Gap" of approximately 1x. This is in contrast to many contemporaries; for example, he receives significantly less digital attention than the social activist Helen Keller, who ranks much lower in historical importance (#917) but garners 2.6 million views, or Catherine of Aragon (#932 importance), who pulls in 2.0 million views.

Despite being remarkably well-aligned with his importance, Hus's online engagement shows some volatility. While his 2025 views are up an encouraging +23.4% year-over-year, his recent momentum suggests a cooling trend, with a notable -19% drop in attention between the first and third quarters of 2025.