In your mind, who is the most influential figure in history and why?

Question

It's a tough one, but for reasons I myself can relate to, I'd have to say Martin Luther King - "I Have A Dream", his infamous speech at the March on Washington in 1963 has inspired me in so many ways and at the most difficult times in my life so far, has given me hope and faith. Both of which continue to carry me through, irrespective of how bad things seem.

At my most narrow minded phase of a few years ago - I confused it for a speech about racism - but now I feel different. It's about freedom and equal rights for all and it is innovative as much as it is informative.

Enjoy answering this one....

Answer 1

Socrates -
* Socratic method; taught Plato, who in turn taught Aristotle - thus, the ultimate source of ancient philosophy.
* Subsequently, Aristotle taught Alexander the Great for a period of time, who changed the known world and is the source for the Hellenistic Period, which is still having an influence on today's world.

Answer 2

There are quite a few influential figures...to name a few...in no particular order (except for the first two)
JESUS (whether you believe in Christianity or not, He has certainly shaped our modern world!!!)
The Apostles Paul, Peter, Luke, and John
Abraham
Moses
Kings David and Solomon
Mohammad
Buddha
Hammurabi (devised a code of laws)
Karl Marx
Charles Darwin
Thomas Jefferson
John Locke
Martin Luther
Erasmus
Henry VIII (broke away from the Catholic church)
Queen Elizabeth I
Shakespeare
Genghis Khan
Atilla the Hun
Julius Caesar
Augustus Caesar
Adolf Hitler
Charles Dickens
Gutenburg (invented the printing press)
Shogun (united feudal Japan)
Robespierre (Reign of Terror in the French Revolution)
James Madison
The Wright Brothers
Alexander Graham Bell
Samuel Morse
Robert Fulton (invented steamboat)
Isaac Newton
Albert Einstien
Saladin
Aristotle
Plato
Socrates
Harriet Beacher Stowe (wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and helped start the American War Betwen the States)
Marco Polo
Ghandi
Gallileo
Copernicus
and tons more (including King, Jr.). There's just too many too list!!!!

Answer 3

I'm not sure about All of History. Like some have said, we're not even entirely sure certain figures, for instance Jesus of Nazareth, actaully existed as they've been described. I'll narrow it down to modern history and put my vote in for a young man named Gavrilo Princip, who created the 20th Century. Who? How? Many people won't even recognize this name. Young Mr. Princip was a radical Serbian Nationalist who performed one single small act on the stage of world history. Serbia, at the time, was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in the cause of radical Serbian Nationalism, Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand, next man in line to the the throne of that empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire cracked down on the Serbs. The Russian Empire moved in its perceived role as the protector of Slavic persons everywhere. Germany mobilized because Russia did, then England and France felt the need to fulfill their own treaty obligations. In essence, Gavrilo Princip started the First World War. Three things are direct observable results of the Great War, as it was then called. First, the economic and social strain of an extended war weakened the Russian Empire enough for a quick round of revolutions and coups to occur, at the end of which the Communist Party had control of the country. Secondly, the United States, when it entered the Great War, took its first steps as a superpower. Third, the Great War set the stage for the Second World War. Some historians argue that WWII is really just WWI continued after a 20 year break. It's an arguable theory, at least. After the Second World War, Germany, France, and Italy (as well as Japan) began to decline from their Imperial perch as the main Great Powers of the world, to be replaced by the US and the USSR, both of which nations solidified their place on the world stage during WWII. The US and the USSR then spent the rest of the century staring at each other over their weapons and fighting their wars (largely by proxy) in various corners of the world: Korea, Viet Nam, Nicaragua, Cuba, The Middle East, etc. We still feel the effects of all these things today. All of it, in the end, traces back to one young man with a gun: Gavrilo Princip, the most influential person of the Twentieth Century, and possibly of all history.

Answer 4

Alexander the Great, he was the best leader ever to exist bringing his country of Macedonia to take over Greece and at that time what was the biggest army in the world Persia, and also took it over, and never lost a single battle, he was cunning when he figured to open a knot that no one else could open and was fercious in battle, he was a smart man by making sure every solder he had had their head completly shaven bald so it couldnt be pulled in battle.

Next to him would be Ramesses II because he faced the Hitties at the battle of Kadesh the battle really a draw but Ramesses claimed it as a victory the only way we know it was a draw is they found a treaty that was found with the Hitties but until this was found Ramesses II fooled the world, prooving he was thought to be a god.

Answer 5

Benjamin Franklin, Remember the great compromise fostered by Franklin -- that compromise along with several other craftily worded document to a new nation not yet ready to face slavery ended up calling upon our conscience a 100-years later that all men were created equal -- this led to a fundamental change in our nation and one now the world is trying to meet.

As far as I'm concerned it has to be a positive impact and I think that impact was first made in the US during the framing process and I believe it is the most powerful "good" influence the world has ever seen.

Answer 6

Possibly Leonidas who led a Spartan army against the invading Persians about 380 BC.
He had a very small army but held the Persians for about a week at the Gates of Thermopylae. He was slaughtered, but the delay meant that a Greek Army assembled at Marathon north of Athens and beat the Persians back.
Had the Persians won, the huge development the flowed from Greece at that time might never have occurred. It was those ideas in politics, science, art etc that made European culture the rich mix it is today.

Answer 7

I am inspired by almost all people who took any inspirationally prominent standing in history. There is something good that you can always learn from anyone! However, the person who is potentially my idol is John F. Kennedy. He's done so many things to help, not only the US, but other countries as well. He is an inspiration for many to live upon.
The people who generally are my idols are my parents (of course), John F. Kennedy, Siddhartha Gautama (the first known Buddha), and possibly Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Answer 8

I'm just astonished there are so many people who question the existence of Jesus. You can easily question whether he is the Son of God, whether all the things said about him are true but there is simply no possibility of suggesting that Jesus the man did not exist. There is more contemporary evidence for his life than almost any ancient figure. Yes, it was written down a generation after his death, but the same is true of Arrian's history of Alexander or the histories of the Persian Wars recorded by Herodotus. And consider Julius Caesar's campaigns in Gaul and his temporary invasion of Britain in 55BC. The only person who recorded any of that was Caesar himself and nobody suggests that he didn't exist!

Answer 9

i would have to agree that Socrates is a most influential character as he did move Greek and therefore western philosophy forward with a view of the meaning of man that holds today (and was a basic frame of reference for MLK).

However that is a very western centred viewpoint and 700 million Indians may have another perspective, 1 billion Chinese might have another. The legacy of Marx and later Mao is still to be fully determined. Islamic people would cite their Prophet (bbuh) i would think.

That's the thing, its all subjective, with all of us seeing the world from our central point.

Answer 10

Someone wrote a book attempting to answer this. I'm not sure if I fully agree with the criterion but they judged influence in a purely numerical sense - i.e. number of lives influenced. On this reckoning the answer was clear cut - Confucious.
His ideas influenced politics, social structure and spiritual thinking in the most populous nation on earth for 2,500 years and continues to do so.