William of Ockham

English Franciscan friar and theologian (c.1287–1347)
Person human Q43936
Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

William of Ockham was born on 1285[1] in Ockham[2]. He died on April 9, 1349[3], in Munich[4]. He worked as a philosopher[5], theologian[6], logician[7], physicist[8], and writer[9]. He ranks in the top 0.62% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (12,502 views/month, #6,212 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Date of birth: 1287[11]
  • Country of citizenship: Kingdom of England[12]
  • Native language: Middle English[13]
  • Occupation: friar[14], university teacher[15], opinion journalist[16], monk[17], Catholic theologian[18]
  • Field of work: epistemology[19], metaphysics[20], theology[21]
  • Employer: University of Oxford[22]
  • Educated at: Merton College[23], University of Oxford[24]
  • Student: Jean Buridan[25], Adam de Wodeham[26]
  • Notable work: Sum of Logic[27], De connexione virtutum[28], Tractatus de praedestinatione et de praescientia dei respectu futurorum contingentium[29], Dialogus[30]
  • Religion or worldview: Catholic Church[31]
  • Influenced by: Aristotle[32], Thomas Aquinas[33], Anselm of Canterbury[34]
  • Sex or gender: male[35]
  • Movement: nominalism[36], scholasticism[37]
  • Commons category: William of Ockham[38]
  • Cause of death: plague[39]
  • Religious order: Order of Friars Minor[40]
  • Given name: William[41]
  • Student of: Duns Scotus[42], Henry of Harclay[43]
  • Described by source: Dictionary of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation (2007 ed.)[44], Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900[45]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for William of Ockham include Occam's razor[46], occam[47], and Occamism[48].

Why It Matters

William of Ockham has Wikipedia articles in 28 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[49] He is known by 121 alternative names across languages and contexts.[50]

He has been cited as an influence by René Descartes[51], a philosopher[52], 1596–1650[53], of France[54], specialised in philosophy[55]; Jean Buridan[56], a philosopher[57], 1295–1358[58], of Kingdom of France[59], specialised in logic[60]; and Peter Crockaert[61], a philosopher[62], 1465–1514[63].

Works attributed to him include Sum of Logic[64], a reference work[65], founded in 1323[66]. Entities named for him include Occam's razor[46], occam[47], and Occamism[48].

FAQs

Where was William of Ockham born?

William of Ockham's place of birth was Ockham[2].

Where did William of Ockham die?

William of Ockham passed away in Munich[4].

What did William of Ockham do for work?

William of Ockham worked as a philosopher[5], theologian[6], logician[7], physicist[8], and writer[9].

Where did William of Ockham go to school?

William of Ockham was educated at Merton College[23] and University of Oxford[24].

Who did William of Ockham influence?

William of Ockham has been cited as an influence by René Descartes[51], Jean Buridan[56], and Peter Crockaert[61].

References

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

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [35] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [5] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  12. [6] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [8] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [9] ↑ . Library of the World's Best Literature. wikidata.org.
  16. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [15] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  18. [16] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [17] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  20. [18] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  21. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [1] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [3] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [40] ↑ . VcBA (identifier). Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  31. [41] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  32. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [61] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [64] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [52] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [53] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [54] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [55] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [57] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [58] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [59] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [60] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [62] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [63] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [65] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [66] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [49] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [50] ↑ . 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). William of Ockham. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-of-ockham
MLA “William of Ockham.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 18 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-of-ockham.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_william-of-ockham_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William of Ockham}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-of-ockham}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-18}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William of Ockham — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-of-ockham (retrieved 2026-10-18)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-of-ockham · 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. 3d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['af', 'ar', 'arz', 'ast', 'az', 'bar', 'be', 'be_x_old', 'bg', 'bn', 'br', 'bs'
    Sitelink count → 98
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||2 */ source for place of birth, source for place of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permissions/Bot/OKA bot 2|OKA bot"
  2. 6w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-09-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Religious order → Order of Friars Minor
    "/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ Religious order: Franciscans, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/271659|batch #271659]]"
  3. 6w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-09-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Religious order → Order of Friars Minor
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/52579|batch #52579]]: religious order from VcBA (2)"
  4. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00058535n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151060949
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  5. 12w ago · Pierrotrgr · 2026-07-24 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Biblissima authority id → 1523
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Biblissima authority id: Q6302, Import ID Biblissima V3 ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/OR/a6710164cdc|details]])"
  6. 14w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14541 → 4NYvxF, U9j60
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/40849|batch #40849]]: ZGBK ID"
  7. 16w ago · Daieuxetdailleurs · 2026-06-27 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Francearchives agent id → 1059870924
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Francearchives agent id: 1059870924, ajout id FranceArchives Agent d'après données en open data ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/OR/27db5970b1e|details]])"
  8. 18w ago · Bargioni · 2026-06-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Parsifal cluster id → 62893, 617024, 700482
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/36438|batch #36438]]: add P1810 to P5504 (RISM persons)"
  9. 18w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-06-14 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Parsifal cluster id → 62893, 617024, 700482
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Parsifal cluster id: 617024, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/161500193|Guglielmo di Ockham (#161500193)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/6216|Parsifal per"
  10. 20w ago · Estevoaei · 2026-05-28 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → philosopher, theologian, logician +7
    Enciclopedia galega universal id → 132780
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Enciclopedia galega universal id: 132780, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/192246373|Guillerme de Ockham (#192246373)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/6934"
  11. 23w ago · Bargioni · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Image unavailable reason → —
    Image purged license → —
    Image purged at → —
    Image last checked license → —
    + 1 other property edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30468|batch #30468]]: add P1810 to P5739 2/3"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.