Adjusted for inflation, I was paid more than Charles Dickens was per word.
Curious to think about the implications of this. Software probably touches the lives of many more people than Dickens' books (at least at the time they were published), but I doubt software has as lasting an effect on society. Also, it seems to me that a software developer might be getting paid to write code, yes, but also to do many other things: design the architecture of systems, have an idea that changes how the world works (eg AirBnB or Bitcoin), ensure that what they build can interact with a host of other systems.
Is it useful to make such a comparison? It is pretty interesting to think about...