Louis XIV of France

About Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, remains one of history's most pivotal political figures, achieving the #42 rank in MIT's Historical Popularity Index. His 72-year reign, the longest of any major European monarch, cemented the concept of absolute monarchy in France. He centralized power, famously moved the court to the Palace of Versailles, and pursued aggressive foreign policies that dramatically expanded French influence across the continent during the 17th and early 18th centuries.

Despite this profound historical importance, his modern internet attention lags significantly. In 2025, Louis XIV garnered only 213K annual Wikipedia views, placing him in a distinct attention gap of -4x compared to his historical stature. To illustrate this underattention, consider that Theodosius I, ranked #570 in importance (over 500 places lower), still attracted 458K views in the same year, double the traffic received by the Sun King.

Furthermore, the data suggests a noticeable waning of current interest: Louis XIV experienced an 18.1% year-over-year decline in Wikipedia views for 2025, accompanied by a steep -38% drop in momentum between the first and third quarters of the year.