William Ewart Gladstone

About William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone was a towering figure in 19th-century British politics, serving as Prime Minister four times between 1868 and 1894. His historical importance, reflected in his #804 rank by the Pantheon project, stems from his progressive reforms that significantly shaped the modern Liberal Party and advanced issues like Irish Home Rule, electoral reform, and state intervention in education. A dominant political force for decades, he remains one of the most influential British statesmen of the Victorian era.

Despite this major historical significance, Gladstone's modern internet attention lags considerably. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accumulated 414K views, placing his attention at an approximate 1x match relative to his historical standing. This lack of digital engagement becomes stark when contrasted with others in the same field: he receives less than half the attention of Vallabhbhai Patel (#816, 1.0M views) and significantly fewer views than Reinhard Heydrich (#949, 1.5M views), neither of whom share his top-tier historical ranking.

While his overall attention is proportional to his rank, the yearly trend indicates a mild cooling, with his pageviews declining by 13.1% year-over-year. However, his first quarter compared to his third showed a positive momentum of +10%, suggesting pockets of renewed, albeit small, interest.