Home › Entities › human › Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder

Roman military commander and writer (AD23/24–79)
Person human Q82778
Pliny the Elder
Geoffrey · Public Domain · Wikimedia
Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Pliny the Elder was born on 20[1] in Novum Comum[2]. He died on 79[3] in Stabiae[4]. He worked as a writer[5], historian[6], naturalist[7], poet[8], and philosopher[9]. He ranks in the top 0.51% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (21,717 views/month, #5,070 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Date of birth: 23[11], 24[12]
  • Date of death: August 79[13], August 24, 79[14], August 25, 79[15]
  • Father: Gaius Plinius Celer[16]
  • Mother: Marcella[17]
  • Child: Pliny the Younger[18]
  • Country of citizenship: Ancient Rome[19]
  • Native language: Latin[20]
  • Ethnic group: Romans[21]
  • Occupation: art historian[22], civil servant[23], military commander[24], orator[25], procurator[26]
  • Field of work: philosophy[27], natural science[28], geography[29]
  • Position held: procurator Narbonensis[30], praefectus classis Misenensis[31]
  • Student: Pliny the Younger[32]
  • Notable work: Natural History[33]
  • Sex or gender: male[34]
  • Commons category: Plinius Maior[35]
  • Cause of death: volcanic eruption[36]
  • Significant event: death of Pliny the Elder[37]
  • Topic's main category: Category:Pliny the Elder[38]
  • Work location: Ancient Rome[39]
  • Relative: Pliny the Younger[40]
  • Student of: Apion[41], Antonius Castor[42]
  • Manner of death: accidental death[43]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Pliny the Elder include Plinius[44], an impact crater[45]; Pliny Township[46], a township of Minnesota[47], in United States[48]; and Plinius Medal[49].

Why It Matters

Pliny the Elder has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[50] He is known by 105 alternative names across languages and contexts.[51]

He has been cited as an influence by Richard Cantillon[52], an economist[53], 1675–1734[54], of Ireland[55].

Works attributed to him include Natural History[56], a written work[57], founded in 0074[58]. Entities named for him include Plinius[44], an impact crater[45]; Pliny Township[46], a township of Minnesota[47], in United States[48]; and Plinius Medal[49].

FAQs

Where was Pliny the Elder born?

Pliny the Elder's place of birth was Novum Comum[2].

Where did Pliny the Elder die?

Pliny the Elder passed away in Stabiae[4].

Who were Pliny the Elder's parents?

Pliny the Elder's father was Gaius Plinius Celer[16]. Pliny the Elder's mother was Marcella[17].

What did Pliny the Elder do for work?

Pliny the Elder worked as a writer[5], historian[6], naturalist[7], poet[8], and philosopher[9].

Who did Pliny the Elder influence?

Pliny the Elder has been cited as an influence by Richard Cantillon[52].

Related Entities

geography natural science philosophy Pliny the Younger Richard Cantillon Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Enciclopedia Treccani. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Dizionario di Storia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [34] ↑ . BeWeB. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [31] ↑ . Q124256379. wikidata.org.
  9. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [5] ↑ . BeWeB. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [6] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [8] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  18. [9] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [22] ↑ . Dictionary of Art Historians. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  20. [23] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  21. [24] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  22. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [1] ↑ . World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  28. [11] ↑ . A Short History of Astronomy. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  29. [12] ↑ . Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [3] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  31. [13] ↑ . World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  32. [14] ↑ . SNAC. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  33. [15] ↑ . Spanish Biographical Dictionary. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  34. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [39] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  39. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [49] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [53] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [54] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [55] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [57] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [58] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [45] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [47] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [48] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [50] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [51] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Pliny the Elder. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/pliny-the-elder
MLA “Pliny the Elder.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 14 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/pliny-the-elder.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_pliny-the-elder_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Pliny the Elder}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/pliny-the-elder}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-14}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Pliny the Elder — https://4ort.xyz/entity/pliny-the-elder (retrieved 2026-10-14)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/pliny-the-elder · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 5d ago · HedgeHog · 2026-10-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['af', 'als', 'an', 'ar', 'ary', 'arz', 'as', 'ast', 'az', 'ba', 'be', 'bg', 'bn
    Sitelink count → 126
    Bookbrainz author id → a697e827-b6d7-4874-b65b-76de6bd28418
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Bookbrainz author id: a697e827-b6d7-4874-b65b-76de6bd28418, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1791629849434"
  2. 28d ago · Ontogon · 2026-09-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Iași central university library id → 000248921
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Iași central university library id: 000248921"
  3. 5w ago · Ronald Weiss · 2026-09-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Described by source → Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Otto's encyclopedia +10
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Described by source: Frühneuzeitliche Ärztebriefe des deutschsprachigen Raums (1500-1700)"
  4. 5w ago · Wiki6518 · 2026-09-06 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → writer, historian, naturalist +7
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Occupation: orator, Added from LC Name Authority File n79042075"
  5. 6w ago · Ronald Weiss · 2026-08-31 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Described by source → Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Otto's encyclopedia +10
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Described by source: Corpus Paracelsisticum, Band 3"
  6. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00037039n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151061107
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  7. 12w ago · Pierrotrgr · 2026-07-22 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Biblissima authority id → Theta Leonis
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Biblissima authority id: Q14206, Import ID Biblissima V2 ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/OR/74d891b831c|details]])"
  8. 13w ago · Susmuffin · 2026-07-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Harper's tag → pliny-the-elder
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Harper's tag: pliny-the-elder, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/289950489|pliny the elder (#289950489)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7915|Harper'"
  9. 13w ago · Fryed-peach · 2026-07-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → writer, historian, naturalist +7
    "/* wbeditentity-update-languages-and-other-short:0||is, tr, fi, nn, fr, de, id, ca, cs, nb, en, sl, rm, mul */ Cleanup: remove wikimedia+inferred+self_stated_in refs; remove redundant occupations; fix"
  10. 13w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14611 → 351
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14611: 351, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/260256|batch #260256]]"
  11. 14w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-05 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14608 → 118595083
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14608: 118595083, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1783130387391"
  12. 15w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14585 → 40364
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14585: 40364, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782930557898"
  13. 15w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 362147
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 362147, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782462304762"
  14. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id → p0052628-Plinius-asi-2379
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: p0052628-Plinius-asi-2379, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259497|batch #259497]]"
  15. 19w ago · Pigsonthewing · 2026-05-30 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14397 → 3805
    Local thumb → —
    Wikidata description → Roman military commander and writer (AD23/24–79)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ P14397: 3805, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/290071531|Pliny,, the elder c . 23–79 (#290071531)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7918|‎Darwi"
  16. 23w ago · Bargioni · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Local thumb → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30469|batch #30469]]: add P1810 to P5739 3/3"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.