The top five most influential people in the world in the past 1000yrs. and why?

Question

i need some ideas... who do you think are in the top five most important/influential people in the world over the past 1000yrs, and why?

Answer 1

In the areas of science, religion, politics, and art the following certainly are the top 5 (or darned close to it):

1. Johannes Gutenberg
2. Sir Isaac Newton
3. Martin Luther
4. Charles Darwin
5. William Shakespeare


Gutenberg’s moveable type has exerted the greatest influence on humanity during the past 1,000 years.

Sir Isaac Newton likely one of the greatest scientists who ever lived, made many important contributions to many fields in science. His discoveries and theories laid the foundation for much of the progress in science since his time. Newton was one of the inventors of the branch of math called calculus (the other was German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz). He also solved the mysteries of light optics, formulated the three laws of motion, and derived from them the law of universal gravity.


Martin Luther's teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions, as well as the course of Western civilization. Luther's hymns, including his best-known "A Mighty Fortress is Our God", inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity.

Charles Darwin achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. This theory is now considered a cornerstone of biology.


William Shakespeare, English dramatist and poet, was author of the most widely admired and influential body of literature by any individual in the history of Western civilization. His work comprises 36 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems. Knowledge of Shakespeare is derived from two sources: his works and those remains of legal and church records and contemporary allusions through which scholars can trace the external facts of his life.

Answer 2

Tom Dowd - The Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aretha Franklin Nick Lowe - Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, The Damned, John Hiatt, Carlene Carter, The Pretenders Todd Rundgren - The New York Dolls, XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, Grand Funk Railroad, Meatloaf Spot (Glen Lockett) - Husker Du, Black Flag, The Meat Puppets, The Minutemen, Saccharine Trust, The Descendents Sam Phillips - Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer 3

First is
Elvis Presstly

then
Lenin

then
Martin Luther King

then
Micheal Jackson

and finally
Mohammed Ali

Karl Marx
Nelson Mandela
Madonna
Maradonna
Pele
and
Einstein

are the outside contenders


their reasons speaks for themselves

which is a answer to your question

But i think you cant narrow down the most influential people just to the top five I think it must be somewhere around the top 10
to accomadate the last 1000 years


sorry for people who said it was Jesus because Jesus was not around 1000 years ago. typical!

the most influential person of all is either Lenin or Elvis?

Answer 4

First of all Jesus Christ lived 2000 years ago not 1000. Prophet Mohammed is also older than 1300.

My opinion:
-Luther (we could also count Calvin, etc.): A cornerstone in religion and the way to secularism.
-Napoleon: Caused incredible changes in Europe.
-Ataturk: The first leader to fight against imperial powers and win the war, which has been seen as an example by states under imperial rule. This caused the number of independent states to increase by 100 or sth. By the way, he abolished the Muslim Leadership (Caliphate) and created the first secular country with a majority of Muslim population.
-Unfortunately Hitler: He caused the death of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust as well as tens of millions of Europeans during the WW2 and increased the immigration of Jews from around the world to Israel.
-Einstein: He could be regarded as the most influential scientist ever, for he not only based his ideas on theories, but with his foresight he was the creator of basis of the modern physics/quantum.

Answer 5

Who are "the top five"? From the years A.D. 1006-2006, for better or for worse, I'd have to list these people:

1) Queen Isabella of Spain (1451-1504) for the wherewithal to fund Columbus' voyages of discovery in the New World and by a smart marriage to King Ferdinand, unify Spain.

2) Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) as the principal craftsman of the Declaration of Independence, founder of the University of Virginia, and first U.S. Secretary of State for "Renaissance Man" thinking, serious inventiveness, and boldness in being labeled a man of contradictions. Aren't we all?

3) Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) for exposing the world to the consequences of mass extermination and, by the application of "master race" theories to their ultimate extreme, largely set the stage for postwar Europe and the world at large by indirectly ushering in decolonialization.

4) Bill Gates (1955- ) for co-founding Microsoft, in large pioneering the personal computer revolution and demonstrating on a far grander scale than ever imagined that sound corporate philosophy and philanthropy can go hand in hand with no decrease in proportion.

5) Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian independence leader and propagator of the Satyagraha "soul force" movement that sought to overcome violence with nonviolence, a throwback to the teachings of Jesus Christ and an inspiration for the civil rights movement in the United States and much of the developing world.

Everyone will have a different list based on their personal favorites and what criteria they use. But I'd be hard pressed to become unconvinced of the importance of these five to disprove the maxim that "great men [and women] make history" -- who else could have done what they did with their sincerity, if not validity?

Answer 6

Alfred Packard
Michael Jordan
The construction worker from The Village People
Hugh Hefner
Sandra Day O'conner

Answer 7

Martin Luther
Robert Oppenheimer
Ronald Reagan
Karl Marx
Adam Smith

Answer 8

1: Johannes Gutenberg, that influenced the world in a way most people can't imagen. It help built the economy, government, and such.
2: Isaac Newton, he discovered the laws of gravity, science would be pointless without this discovery
3: Albert Einstein, E=MC^2, 'nuff said
4: Galilio Galali, he influenced science
5: Adolf Hitler, an all evil dictator I don't need to explain

Answer 9

William the Conqueror (1028-1087)- Leader of the Norman invasion of England and later King of England. His invasion changed the system of English governance, and started England on the road to Magna Carta, constitutional government, and democracy.

Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468)- Inventor of movable-type printing technology. His invention greatly increased mankind's ability to store and disseminate knowledge and culture. It also helped to spur the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution.

John Locke (1632-1704)- Political philosopher and foundation of modern liberalism. Locke's writings in defense of individual rights and limited government would be the inspiration for the American Revolution and Constitution, and his philosophy is now the predominant political theory in the developed world.

Mao Zedong (1893-1976): Chinese communist revolutionary and philosopher. He brought the world's most populous country into the Communist camp, a country that remains Communist to this day. Maoist rebels still exist to this day in other countries. Mao's Great Leap Forward is arguably the greatest mass murder in history.

Dr. Norman Borlaug (1914-Present): Father of the Green Revolution, his advances in the agricultural sciences have been claimed to have saved 1 billion lives from starvation. Moreover, his efforts to combat hunger can be seen as a tremendous boon to world peace and stability.

Answer 10

1.) Christopher Columbus - Without him there would be no United States.

2.) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - This guy was a key to gaining equality to not just African Americans but pretty much every race, and not only in America but throughout the world.

3.) Galileo - Inverted the Telescope and made many great astronomical discoveries.

4.) Mao Zedong

5.) Albert Einstein - E=MC²