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

[Excape Goat]

In 1978, Michael H. Hart published a book called The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. His book was a ranking of the 100 people who, in his opinion, most influenced human history. His book was hotly debated, and his book concept widely copied. It is important to note that Dr. Hart is not ranking the greatest people. His only criterion is influence.


I am not going to put all 100 names, but the top 25.

1 Muhammad prophet of Islam
2 Isaac Newton physicist, theory of universal gravitation, laws of motion, major developments in mathematics, optics
3 Jesus of Nazareth founder of Christianity
4 Gautama Buddha founder of Buddhism
5 Confucius founder of Confucianism
6 St. Paul proselytizer of Christianity
7 Cai Lun inventor of paper
8 Johann Gutenberg developed movable type and made great advances in printing
9 Christopher Columbus explorer, led Europe to Americas
10 Albert Einstein physicist, relativity, Einsteinian physics
11 Louis Pasteur scientist, pasteurization, Germ Theory
12 Galileo Galilei astronomer, accurately described heliocentric solar system, led way to Newton's work
13 Aristotle influential Greek philosopher
14 Euclid of Alexandria mathematician, Euclidean geometry, author of a very influential study book
15 Moses major prophet of Judaism
16 Charles Darwin described Darwinian evolution
17 Shih Huang Ti Chinese emperor who unified the China
18 Augustus Caesar ruler
19 Nicolaus Copernicus astronomer; taught heliocentricity
20 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier father of modern chemistry
21 Constantine the Great Roman emperor who completely legalized Christianity
22 James Watt inventor of stream engine
23 Michael Faraday physicist; chemist; discovery of magneto-electricity
24 James Clerk Maxwell electromagnetic spectrum
25 Martin Luther founder of Protestantism and Lutheranism

What did you all think? Your top 25 list?

[Excape Goat]

I am not familiar with some of the scientists on the list, but I would have ranked Johann Gutenberg much lower. The Swedes, the Koreans and the Chinese invented the movable type before he did. I am not sure why Isaac Newton is second. I would have put Jesus of Nazareth second because many of the people behind him were influenced by him. Even Muhammad the prophet was influenced by his teachings.

[nicephoras]

Jesus and Newton are vastly overranked here. (Jesus because of St. Paul, who's the real father of Christianity.) As is Constantine. Christianity would have come to the Empire eventually; it was a fait accompli due to the growing numbers of Christians.

[nicephoras]

I am not familiar with some of the scientists on the list, but I would have ranked Johann Gutenberg much lower. The Swedes, the Koreans and the Chinese invented the movable type before he did. I am not sure why Isaac Newton is second.

This is based on influence, and it was Gutenberg's printing press that made such a difference. Remember, Columbus was hardly the first to discover America.

I would have put Jesus of Nazareth second because many of the people behind him were influenced by him. Even Muhammad the prophet was influenced by his teachings.

St. Paul created Christian doctrine. Without him, Jesus would likely have been another forgotten mystic.

[Lillywhite]

Jesus and Newton are vastly overranked here. (Jesus because of St. Paul, who's the real father of Christianity.) As is Constantine. Christianity would have come to the Empire eventually; it was a fait accompli due to the growing numbers of Christians.

What are your reasons for saying Newton is vastly overranked? Not being an argumentative beggar BTW, just curious to hear your reasons.

[nicephoras]

Because Newton's actual influence on science is overrated at #2. Someone had contemporaneously discovered calculus, for instance. I just don't see him as some sort of scientific watershed.

[Smiley321]

This can't be right. Where are all the Iranians?

Over/under is 10.

[Mel Brennan]

...St. Paul created Christian doctrine. Without him, Jesus would likely have been another forgotten mystic.


To me, you're right in that there's no doubt which way of being in the world - Christ's, which is grounded in noviolence and love, or Paul's, which is grounded in doing what you want as long as you affirm the story surrounding Christ's life - has had FAR more utility, and today retains FAR more currency.

Christ is a nominal figure at best; people think that they'll go to hell if they DON'T name him, but they can't tell you why the man they call God gave primacy to loving everyone else they come across, and why that is utterly missing in their Christianity. Easy; it's the doctrine of Paul, and not the Great Commands of Christ (that of course come from a long tradition of Jewish law...those same commands are found in Leviticus, for one...yet Christ was the first one to come along and give those commands ultimate stature, to say that all of our present and all of our future - "all the law and the prophets" HANG upon loving God and everyone else...with mercy as the form of agency by which we exhibit such love, doing so nonviolently in refutation of earlier law) that everyone, operationally, is employing when they talk about their Christianity, or Christianty generally.

If you look at just what Bush claims he does in the name of Christ (really Paul), and what various diffuse Islamic fitnas-hoping, new fiqh/ijtihad-hating extreme fundamentalists do in the name of Allah (really 'Uthman's singular, obilterating, King James-ish take on what constitutes Qur'an), you know that these folks HAVE to be tied in the story of human history for #1, along with the person(s) that discovered fire...

[bigredfutbol]

Where are Marx and Freud ranked? I'm a little surprised not to see one of the other on this list.

[bojendyk]

Another somewhat obvious missing person is the J writer.

[MassachusettsRef]

Complete list, with the analysis of each figure's religion.

http://www.adherents.com/adh_influ.html

As far as American presidents go, Washington/Jefferson/Kennedy are intriguing choices. Kennedy's selection is quite dubious and the justification (leading the space program) is downright laughable. And even with Washington, surely there were other 'founding fathers' and early American political figures whose influence had further reach (Madison, Franklin, Adams, Paine, etc.). Jefferson for the ideals he espoused and Lincoln, for fighting the war to preserve the American union, seem like the only two clear-cut logical choices for me. FDR probably also deserves a place for the New Deal, leading the US in WWII, and the push for a UN.

And, no matter what side you take on the 'who ended the Cold War' debate, if Gorbachev is on the list, then Reagan should be as well. I'm not quite sure either ranks in the Top 100, but if one does, so does the other.

[DoyleG]

This can't be right. Where are all the Iranians?

Over/under is 10.


Didn't you know that all influential people came from Iran?

[bigredfutbol]

Another somewhat obvious missing person is the J writer.

The 'Book of J' is important because it is the oldest part of what became the Jewish Bible. In and of itself, it's merely a biased tribal history and a work of Canaanite mythology.

[Lillywhite]

Because Newton's actual influence on science is overrated at #2. Someone had contemporaneously discovered calculus, for instance. I just don't see him as some sort of scientific watershed.

Fair enough. I don't see why he should be ranked so highly either. I'm glad he's ranked a fair bit higher than Einstein for once though. Galileo Galilei should be ranked higher than he is imo.

Sir Alexander Fleming should be ranked fairly high up as well. Right place at the right time maybe, but still a pretty nifty achievement. Penicillin has cetainly had somewhat of an influence on the world.

[nicephoras]

Why should Galileo be ranked higher? :confused: In terms of scientific discovery, both Kepler and especially Copernicus were more influential.

[nowayjose]

Where is Pauline Koch, the inventor of Albert Einstein?

[Toon³]

No Bismarck?

[Lillywhite]

Why should Galileo be ranked higher? :confused: In terms of scientific discovery, both Kepler and especially Copernicus were more influential.

Indeed, now that you mention it...

[nicephoras]

No Bismarck?

I don't think the unification of Germany is quite that significant.

[afgrijselijkheid]

WTF?! no bob saget?