40 of 124
Name↕ | Year↕ | Laureate↕ | Country↕ | Language(s)↕ | Citation↕ | Genre(s)↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sully Prudhomme (1839–1907) | 1901 | Sully Prudhomme (1839–1907) | France | French | "in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect" | poetry, essay |
Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903) | 1902 | Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903) | Germany | German | "the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work A History of Rome" | history, law |
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910) | 1903 | Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910) | Norway | Norwegian | "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit" | poetry, novel, drama |
Frédéric Mistral (1830–1914) | 1904 | Frédéric Mistral (1830–1914) | France | Provençal | "in recognition of the fresh originality and true inspiration of his poetic production, which faithfully reflects the natural scenery and native spirit of his people, and, in addition, his significant work as a Provençal philologist" | poetry, philology |
Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846–1916) | 1905 | Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846–1916) | Poland | Polish | "because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer" | novel |
Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907) | 1906 | Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907) | Italy | Italian | "not only in consideration of his deep learning and critical research, but above all as a tribute to the creative energy, freshness of style, and lyrical force which characterize his poetic masterpieces" | poetry |
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) | 1907 | Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) | United Kingdom | English | "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration that characterize the creations of this world-famous author" | novel, short story, poetry |
Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846–1926) | 1908 | Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846–1926) | Germany | German | "in recognition of his earnest search for truth, his penetrating power of thought, his wide range of vision, and the warmth and strength in presentation with which in his numerous works he has vindicated and developed an idealistic philosophy of life" | philosophy |
Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) | 1909 | Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) | Sweden | Swedish | "in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings" | novel, short story |
Paul von Heyse (1830–1914) | 1910 | Paul von Heyse (1830–1914) | Germany | German | "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories" | poetry, drama, novel, short story |
Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) | 1911 | Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) | Belgium | French | "in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations" | drama, poetry, essay |
Gerhart Hauptmann (1862–1946) | 1912 | Gerhart Hauptmann (1862–1946) | Germany | German | "primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art" | drama, novel |
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) | 1913 | Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) | India (British Raj) | Bengali and English | "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West" | poetry, novel, drama, short story, essay, translation |
| — | 1914 | — | — | — | — | — |
Romain Rolland (1866–1944) | 1915 | Romain Rolland (1866–1944) | France | French | "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary production and to the sympathy and love of truth with which he has described different types of human beings" | novel |
Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940) | 1916 | Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940) | Sweden | Swedish | "in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature" | poetry, novel |
Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919) | 1917 | Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919) | Denmark | Danish and German | "for his varied and rich poetry, which is inspired by lofty ideals" | poetry |
Denmark | Denmark | Danish | "for his authentic descriptions of present-day life in Denmark" | novel | — | |
| — | 1918 | — | — | — | — | — |
Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) | 1919 | Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) | Switzerland | German | "in special appreciation of his epic, Olympian Spring" | poetry |
Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) | 1920 | Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) | Norway | Norwegian | "for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil" | novel |
Anatole France (1844–1924) | 1921 | Anatole France (1844–1924) | France | French | "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament" | novel, poetry |
Jacinto Benavente (1866–1954) | 1922 | Jacinto Benavente (1866–1954) | Spain | Spanish | "for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama" | drama |
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) | 1923 | William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) | Ireland | English | "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation" | poetry |
Władysław Reymont (1867–1925) | 1924 | Władysław Reymont (1867–1925) | Poland | Polish | "for his great national epic, The Peasants" | novel |
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) | 1925 | George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) | United Kingdom Ireland | English | "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty" | drama, essay |
Grazia Deledda (1871–1936) | 1926 | Grazia Deledda (1871–1936) | Italy | Italian | "for her idealistically inspired writings, which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general" | poetry, novel |
Henri Bergson (1859–1941) | 1927 | Henri Bergson (1859–1941) | France | French | "in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brilliant skill with which they have been presented" | philosophy |
Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) | 1928 | Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) | Norway Denmark | Norwegian | "principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages" | novel |
Thomas Mann (1875–1955) | 1929 | Thomas Mann (1875–1955) | Germany | German | "principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature" | novel, short story, essay |
Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) | 1930 | Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) | United States | English | "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters" | novel, short story, drama |
Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931) | 1931 | Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864–1931) | Sweden | Swedish | "The poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt" | poetry |
John Galsworthy (1867–1933) | 1932 | John Galsworthy (1867–1933) | United Kingdom | English | "for his distinguished art of narration, which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga" | novel |
Ivan Bunin (1870–1953) | 1933 | Ivan Bunin (1870–1953) | Stateless(born in Russian Empire) | Russian | "for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing" | short story, poetry, novel |
Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) | 1934 | Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) | Italy | Italian | "for his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art" | drama, novel, short story |
| — | 1935 | — | — | — | — | — |
Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953) | 1936 | Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953) | United States | English | "for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy" | drama |
Roger Martin du Gard (1881–1958) | 1937 | Roger Martin du Gard (1881–1958) | France | French | "for the artistic power and truth with which he has depicted human conflict as well as some fundamental aspects of contemporary life in his novel cycle Les Thibault" | novel |
Pearl Buck (1892–1973) | 1938 | Pearl Buck (1892–1973) | United States | English | "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces" | novel, biography |
Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964) | 1939 | Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888–1964) | Finland | Finnish | "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature" | novel |
Free to explore · No signup needed
Loading community rankings...
Frequently asked questions
How is the Nobel Laureates In Literature list ranked?
The Nobel Laureates in Literature list is ranked by community votes. Every visitor can pick one option over another in head-to-head matchups, and the running totals determine the order you see. No editors or algorithms — just real people voting.
How many entries are in this Nobel Laureates In Literature dataset?
This dataset contains 124 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
Can I download the Nobel Laureates In Literature data?
Yes. The download buttons at the top of the page give you the full 124-row dataset as CSV, JSON, or Excel. Use of the data is permitted under a Creative Commons Attribution license — credit dtbse.com when you republish.
Related Datasets
More in People
Nobel Laureates by Country
Nobel Prize winners organized by country of birth or citizenship.
83 rows2 shared tags
Most Influential Economists
Keynes vs Hayek vs Friedman vs Marx - whose economic ideas actually shaped the world?
18 rows1 shared tag
Nobel Peace Prize Winners
All Nobel Peace Prize laureates and organizations.
141 rows1 shared tag
Dutch Golden Age Painters
The masters of 17th-century Holland — Rembrandt, Vermeer and the artists who defined the Dutch Golden Age, but who really reigns supreme?
15 rows
World's Most Beautiful People
90 of the most beautiful humans on Earth — actors, musicians, models, athletes, and icons from every continent.
90 rows
Historical Figures
20 historical figures who shaped the world — who had the biggest impact?
20 rows
Philosophers
20 philosophers — whose ideas shaped how we think about the world?
20 rows
Supermodels
20 supermodels who defined beauty and fashion — who walks it best?
20 rows
Female Tech Founders
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Susan Wojcicki, Sheryl Sandberg - Silicon Valley's women who built empires.
18 rows
Comedians
20 stand-up comedians — who's the funniest person alive (or ever)?
20 rows
Chinese Emperors
From Qin Shi Huang to Puyi — the emperors who built, expanded, and eventually lost the longest continuous monarchy in history.
25 rows
Famous Philanthropists
Notable philanthropists and their contributions.
25 rows