Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) remains one of history's most influential figures, earning the #19 spot in MIT’s Historical Popularity Index due to his prodigious output and profound impact on classical music. A true prodigy, he began composing in childhood and produced hundreds of works across every major genre of his time, including the enduring operas *The Marriage of Figaro* and *Don Giovanni*, fundamentally shaping the development of Western musical aesthetics.

Despite his towering historical importance, Mozart’s modern internet attention, measured by 2.6 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025, reveals a significant disconnect. His attention is overweighted relative to his historical rank, earning him an Attention Gap score of +3x, suggesting he is overrepresented online compared to many other canonical figures. For instance, his 2.6M views are considerably lower than the 7.1M views garnered by John F. Kennedy, a figure ranked #328 in historical importance, indicating a contemporary preference for more modern subjects.

Interestingly, while his overall attention may be elevated compared to his historical weight, his momentum shows volatility: traffic increased by +31% between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, though his annualized views declined by -14.5% year-over-year.