who do you beleive is the most influental person in history?

Answer 1

Grog of the Cave Bear Clan was dubbed "most influential person in history" in the Year 35,563 BC by the elders of the tribe for his creation of gods, angels, demons, heaven and hell to keep members of his tribe in line. The world has never been the same since....

Answer 2

The most influential individual in history... although I'm inclined to say Jesus Christ, that seems a bit too simple.


I will say Adolf Hitler. He was not a POSITIVE influence, but by his influence in Germany he almost single-handedly started World War II. Through WW2 global politics were radically transformed and the aftermath resulted in a 60 year long Cold War. The death of 6 million Jews is, sadly, Hitler's legacy. It seems difficult to find any individual more influential than that.

Great question.

Answer 3

There are several choices.

Napoleon made a big stir for a couple of decades, but he made no lasting conquests or significant changes to culture.

Caius Julius Caesar was the first "Emperor" of Rome, and Octavian Augustus was perhaps the most enduring, but Rome would have influenced the world without them, and both of them were necessary to make the Imperium of the Caesars endure.

Alexandros Magnus (Alexander the Great) conquered much, but died young and his empire and influence did not endure.

Darius founded the Persian Empire, one of the world's greatest, but while Iran still exists, the culture and conquests of ancient Persia are dust.

Yeshua (Jesus), created a following that has converted the largest number of people around the world, but (ignoring the validity of the claim to Divinity for a moment) it is arguable that it was his followers after death who changed the world, not Him. This same argument can be made for Mohammed.

This being said, the most influential would still be Yeshua. His teaching of a life after death (with rewards and punishment), was revolutionary. Pagan culture had no such concept (Hades was a place of shadowy existance, with no joy or pain. Just "existance"). Hebrew culture was virtually identical (Sheol instead of Hades) Eastern cultures from Mithraism to Zoroastrianism were similar. All philosophies were directed toward success here on earth, in this lifetime.

By asserting eternal reward or punishment for earthly actions, religions of all types (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc.) could then influence behavior in a way unimaginable before. Instead of rewards and punishments being measured only in this lifetime, they were measured forever. Sacrifice here on earth could mean eternal wealth. Evil success here could bring eternal suffering. This was truly a world-changing concept. It has been built upon by every major religion and culture since. The ability of religion/philosophy to control/modify behavior dramatically increased. Just look at today's suicide bombers. They throw away their lives here by the thousands, in hopes of an eternal reward after death. Without this concept, this behavior could never be instilled. (Though the application is a twisted version of Islam, the underlying idea of eternal reward is VERY Yeshua).


Even if we are arguably in the "post-Christian" era (doubtful), the influence of this one idea was earth-shaking. It's influence is still pervasive and enduring, even for those who do not espouse Christianity.

Answer 4

I'm going to go with Aristotle.

1.) He taught Alexander the Great, the greatest conqueror of all time, per year.

2.) Centuries later, the Islamic empires used his ideas on reason in their own philosophies.

3.) Centuries more after that, he influenced Thomas Aquinas and scholasticism in Europe centuries later.

Answer 5

Depends how you grade her/him. Is it by sheer numbers affected, or by percentage of the world's population, or by percentage of that person's known world's population or by future generations being affected, or by the impact of their influence, or by ...?

Personally I'd like to know the name of the guy who first intentionally created a song to be sung or played on an instrument.

In the meantime, guess I'll have to go with Einstein. Without his genius, we very well may not be living in a nuclear age - which affects everyone on the planet to this day.

Compared to Japan, Hitler had little effect in the far east - where a sizeable portion of the world's population resides. But they all know what a nuke is.

Answer 6

Jesus.

Charlemagne is a good choice, but ouside of history buffs, not many heard of him.

Hitler? For modern ages, good choice,

Present time- George Bush, either the most hated or best loved, dpending on your point of view.

How about Elvis-- a whole new world in Music.

Answer 7

Would say Charlemagne.742-814.Known as the king of the Franks,He was a devout roman catholic.He conquered a vast empire and christianised Europe.He was also a great scholar and believed in books as a guide to learning

Answer 8

There are a handful. men--Julius Caesar, Alexander the finished, Confucius, Michelangelo Buonarrotti, Beethoven and whoever wrote the Shakespeare performs. women--Cleopatra, Elizabeth I of england, Catherine the finished of Russia, and Theodora of Byzantium.

Answer 9

Influential single person in History? Howard Zinn

Answer 10

Gotta go with Ben Franklin