The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in ...

[Pages:8]The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History By Michael H. Hart

Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13

14

15

16

17 18 19 20

Person Muhammad Isaac Newton Jesus Christ

Buddha Confucius

St. Paul Ts'ai Lun Johann Gutenberg Christopher Columbus Albert Einstein Louis Pasteur Galileo Galilei

Aristotle

Euclid

Moses

Charles Darwin

Shih Huang Ti Augustus Caesar Nicolaus Copernicus Antoine Laurent Lavoisier

Time Frame 570-632 1642-1727

c. 6BC-c. 30 563BC-483BC 551BC-479BC

c. 4-c. 64 c. 105

1400-1468 1451-1506 1879-1955 1822-1895 1564-1642

384BC-322BC

c. 300 BC

13th c. BC

1809-1882

259BC-210BC 63BC-14 1473-1543 1743-1794

Occupation Secular and religious leader

Scientist Prophet; Spiritual leader

Spiritual leader Philosopher; Teacher

Christian apostle Political official in imperial

China Inventor Explorer Scientist Chemist and biologist Scientist

Philosopher and scientist

Teacher

Prophet

Biologists

Chinese Emperor Political leader Lawyer; Astronomer

Scientist

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List Prophet; Founder of Islam; Wrote the Koran Many scientific and mathematical inventions/theories Founder of Christianity Founder of Buddhism Created Confucianism His writings in the New Testament of the Bible

Invented paper

Inventor of printing (printing press) Discovery of the Americas led to world-wide exploration Theory of relativity Germ theory and preventive inoculation Developed the scientific method; Invented the telescope Wrote over 170 books on astronomy, zoology, geography, etc; Originated the study of formal logic Wrote Elements, greatest textbook on geometry Political figure who led the Hebrews in the Exodus from Egypt; Wrote five books of the Bible (the Jewish Torah); Encouraged the belief of monotheism (belief in one god) Originated the theory of organic evolution by means of natural selection United China by force of arms and instituted a set of sweeping reforms Founder of the Roman Empire Copernican Theory (First to assert the Earth revolves around the sun) Organized the system of chemical theory

Name 21 22 23

24

Person Constantine the Great

James Watt Michael Farday

James Clerk Maxwell

TimeFrame c. 280-337 1736-1819 1791-1867

1831-1879

25

Martin Luther

1483-1546

26

George Washington

1732-1799

27

Karl Marx

1818-1883

28

Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright

1871-1948 1867-1912

29

Genghis Khan

c. 1162-1227

30

Adam Smith

1723-1790

31

Edward de Vere (William Shakespeare)

1550-1604

32

John Dalton

1766-1844

33

Alexander the Great 356BC-323BC

34

Napoleon Bonaparte

1769-1821

Occupation Political leader

Inventor Inventor Physicist

Teacher and author Political leader Philosopher Inventors Emperor Philosopher

Playwright and poet

Scientist Political leader and

conqueror

General and Emperor 2

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List First Christian emperor of the Roman Empire Inventor of the first practical steam engine and key figure in the Industrial Revolution Invented the first electric motor; Discovered electromagnetic induction Developed a set of four equations that best express the basic laws of electricity and magnetism Chiefly responsible for the beginning of the Reformation period; The start of Protestantism Military leader and first president of the United States Principal originator of "scientific socialism"; His writings form the theoretical basis of Communism

Invented the first airplane

Ruthless leader who eventually ruled the largest empire in all of history Wrote The Wealth of Nations; Leading figure in the development of economic theory Wrote at least 36 plays (including Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Julius Caesar, and Othello), 154 sonnets, and a few longer poems Introduced the atomic hypothesis into the mainstream of science Conquered and controlled vast amounts of land; Brought together Greek and Middle Eastern civilizations which resulted in cultural diffusion Great military leader; Authorized the sale of land to the USA (known as the Louisiana Purchase)

Number

Person

Time Frame

35

Thomas Edison

1847-1931

36 Antony van Leeuwenhoek 1632-1723

37

William T. G. Mortin

1819-1868

38

Guglielmo Marconi

1874-1937

39

Adolf Hitler

1889-1945

40

Plato

427BC-347BC

41

Oliver Cromwell

1599-1658

42

Alexander Graham Bell 1847-1922

43

Alexander Fleming

1881-1955

44

John Locke

1632-1704

45

Ludwig Van Beethoven 1770-1827

46

Werner Heisenberg

1901-1976

47

Louis Daguerre

1787-1851

48

Simon Bolivar

1783-1830

49

Rene Descartes

1596-1650

Occupation Inventor

Government worker Dentist Inventor

Political leader

Philosopher

Military leader Inventor Physician

Philosopher

Composer

Physicist Inventor

Political leader Philosopher, scientist, and

mathematician

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List Developed over 1,000 inventions including the phonograph and the practical incandescent light bulb Discovered microbes Introduced the use of anesthesia in surgery Invented the radio Leader of the Nazi party; Leader of Germany during WWII; Masterminded the Holocaust Wrote over 36 books (including the Republic); Considered one of the great fathers of Western thought Man most responsible for eventual establishment of parliamentary democracy as the English form of government Invented the telephone Discovered penicillin First writer to put together a coherent form of the basic ideas of constitutional democracy Wrote nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, five piano concertos, ten sonatas for the piano and violin, a series of magnificent string quartets, vocal music, theater music, and much more Played a significant role in the creation of quantum mechanics Developed the first practical method of photography Given the title, The Liberator; He led the liberation of five S. American countries from Spanish rule

Invented analytic geometry

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Number 50

51 52

53

54

55 56 57 58 59

60 61 62 63 64

Person Michelangelo

Pope Urban II `Umar ibn al-Kattab

Asoka

St. Augustine

William Harvey Ernest Rutherford

John Calvin Gregor Mendel

Max Planck

Joseph Lister Nikolaus August Otto

Fransisco Pizarro Hernando Cortes Thomas Jefferson

Time Frame 1475-1564

1042-1099 c. 586-644 c. 300BC-c.

232BC

354-430

1578-1657 1871-1937 1509-1564 1822-1884 1858-1947

1827-1912 1832-1891 c. 1475-1541 1485-1547 1743-1826

Occupation Artist

Religious leader Religious leader

Political leader

Theologian

Physician Physicist Theologian Monk and teacher Physicist

Surgeon Inventor Adventurer and conqueror Adventurer and conqueror Political leader

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List His work (paintings, statues, drawings, etc.) profoundly influenced the development of European painting and sculpture Gave the order to start the First Christian Crusades After Muhammad, Umar was the principle figure in the spread of Islam Third ruler of the Mauryan dynasty and considered the most important monarch in the history of India His writings profoundly influenced Christian doctrines and attitudes throughout the Middle Ages Discovered the circulation of blood and the function of the heart Originated the study of nuclear physics Influential Protestant leader who developed Calvinism (importance of the Bible, dedication to hard work, etc.) Discovered the basic principles of heredity Generally considered to be the father of quantum mechanics (developed Planck's theory) Introduced the use of antiseptic measures in surgery Built the first four-stroke internal combustion engine Conquered the Inca Empire of Peru Conquered the Aztec Empire of Mexico Third president of the United States; Author of the Declaration of Independence

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Number 65 66 67

68 69 70 71

72

73 74 75 76 77

Person Queen Isabella I

Joseph Stalin Julius Caesar

William the Conqueror Sigmund Freud Edward Jenner

William Conrad Rontgen

Johann Sebastian Bach

Lao Tzu Voltaire Johannes Kepler Enrico Fermi Leonhard Euler

Time Frame 1451-1504 1879-1953 100BC-44Bc

c. 1027-1087 1856-1939 1749-1823 1845-1923

1685-1750

4th c. BC 1694-1778 1571-1630 1901-1954 1707-1783

Occupation Political ruler Political leader Military and political leader

Monarch Psychologist

Physician Scientist

Composer

Author Historian and philosopher

Astronomer Scientist

Mathematician and physicist

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List Financed Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic Ocean; Instituted the Spanish Inquistion Ruthless dictator of the Soviet Union Played a significant role in the downfall of the Roman Republic; Under his leadership, Roman troops conquered Gaul which provided security for the Roman Empire Led the Norman conquest of England which resulted in the blend of the French and Anglo-Saxon cultures Originator of psychoanalysis Developed and popularized the technique of vaccination as a preventive measure against smallpox Developed the use of X-rays Considered to be one of the two or three composers of all time; First man to successfully combine the differing national styles of music which existed in Western Europe Wrote Tao Te Ching; This book is the basis for Taoism Wrote numerous books ? most famous, Candide; Influenced political thought which ultimately resulted in the French Revolution Discovered the laws of planetary motion Designed the first nuclear reactor One of the most brilliant and prolific scientists of all time; Wrote 32 full length books concerning practical applications of laws of mechanics

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Number 78

Person Jean-Jacques Rousseau

79

Niccolo Machiavelli

80

Thomas Mahus

81

John F. Kennedy

82

Gregory Pincus

83

Mani

84

Lenin

85

Sui Wen Ti

86

Vasco de Gama

87

Cyrus the Great

Time Frame 1712-1778 1469-1527

1766-1834

1917-1963 1903-1967 216-276 1870-1924

541-604

c. 1460-1524 c. 590BC529BC

Occupation Philosopher

Political philosopher Parson (member of the clergy) and professor of

history and political economy

Political leader

Biologist

Prophet

Political leader

Emperor

Explorer

Military and political leader

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List Major influence on educational theory; Important factor in the rise of Romanticism in literture Wrote the Prince ? a book often called the "handbook for dictators" First person to stress the overwhelming importance of the problem of overpopulation and to bring this problem to the attention of the intellectual world President of the United States; The person who was primarily responsible for instituting the Apollo Space Program Led the way in the development of the oral contraceptive pill Founder of Manichaeism ? a religion which, though extinct today, at its height had a very large number of follwers Leader principally responsible for the establishment of Communism in Russia Reunified China after it had been badly divided for hundreds of years; As a result, China continues on the path of a powerful nation Discovered the direct sea route from Europe to India by sailing around Africa Founder of the Persian Empire (united most of the ancient Middle East into a single state stretching from India to the Mediterranean Sea)

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Number 88

Person Peter the Great

89

Mao Zedong

90

Francis Bacon

91

Henry Ford

92

Mencius

93

Zoroaster

94

Queen Elizabeth I

95

Mikhail Gorbachev

96

Menes

97

Charlemagne

Time Frame

1672-1725

1893-1976

1561-1626

1863-1947 c. 371BC-c.

289BC c. 628BC-c.

551BC

1533-1603

1931c. 3100 BC

742-814

Occupation Political leader

Political leader Politician and philosopher

Industrialist Philosopher

Prophet Monarch Political leader Monarch Emperor

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List Generally acknowledged to be the most outstanding of the Russian czars (emperor); His policy of westernization was a major factor in the transformation of Russia into a great power Led the Communist party in China; Vastly transformed China politically, economically, socially, and culturally The first great philosopher to realize that science and technology could transform the world, and an effective advocate of scientific investigation Introduced the theory of mass production into modern industry Wrote, Book of Mencius; Immensely influential writer in China Founder of Zoroastrianism, a religion that has endured for over 2,500 years and still has followers today Her 45 year reign was marked by economic prosperity, a great literary flowering, and the rise of England to first rank among the world's naval powers Soviet leader who led the decline and fall of the old Soviet regime and the democratization of the new Russia Original king of the first Egyptian dynasty; First ruler to unite Egypt Medieval emperor was the king of Franks, conqueror of Saxony, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, and one of the foremost rulers in European history

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Number 98

99

100

Person Homer

Justinian I

Mahavira

Time Frame 8th c. BC?

483-565

c. 599BC-c. 527BC

Occupation Author

Emperor

Religious leader

Reason(s) for Being Placed on the List Wrote the Iliad and Odyssey; Influenced Greek poets and playwrights Emperor renowned for the great codification of Roman law that was carried out during his reign; Later formed the basis for the development of the law in many European countries

Founder of Jainism

Honorable Mentions and Interesting Misses

Abraham

Aesop

Howard H. Aiken

Susan B. Anthony

Archimedes

Aristarchus of Samos

Richard Arkwright

Neil Armstrong

Jeremy Bentham Antoine Henri Becquerel Otto von Bismark

Niels Bohr

Nicolas Sadi Carnot Cheops (Khufu)

Winston Churchhill

Karl von Clausewitz

Marie Curie

Gottlieb Daimler

Dante Alighieri

King David

Mary Baker Eddy Robert C. W. Ettinger

George Fox

Benjamin Franklin

Betty Friedan

Galen

Mohandas K. Gandhi

Karl Friedrich Gauss

Henry VIII

Henry the Navigator

Theodor Herzl

Hippocrates

James Hutton

Ikhnaton

Isaiah

Joan of Arc

Kemal Ataturk

John Maynard Keynes

Har Gobind Khorana

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gustav Kirchhoff Kublai Khan

Georg W. F. Hegel

Gottfried W. von Leibniz

Leonardo da Vinci Abraham Lincoln

Liu Pang

Louis XIV

Ferdinand Magellan The Virgin Mary

Meijo Tenno

Dmitri Mendeleev

Maria Montessori Samuel Morse

Wolfgang Mozart

Muawiya I

Blaise Pascal

Ivan Pavlov

Pablo Picasso

Marco Polo

Pythagoras

Ronald Reagan

Rembrandt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Erwin Schrodinger William B. Shockley

Joseph Smith

Socrates

Sun Yat-sen

William Henry Talbot

Tamurlane

Edward Teller

Charles H. Townes Harry S. Truman

Alessandro Volta

Selman A. Waksman

Robert Watson-Watt Mary Wollstonecraft

Frank Llody Wright

Boris Yeltsin

St. Thomas Aquinas Charles Babbage Louis de Broglie Rudolf Clausius Democritus Frederick the Great Hammurabi Thomas Hobbes Immanuel Kant Alfred C. Kinsey Etienne Lenoir James Madison Montesquieu Gerard K. O'Neill Ptolemy Sankara Sophocles Henry David Thoreau James D. Watson Vladimir Zworykin

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