Who is the most influential person in the history of the past 200 years?

Answer 1

Thomas Edison or perhaps Darwin.

Answer 2

There are some very good suggestions here, but I have to agree with "Michael Faraday" - basically he made everything electrical in the world possible. Without his work we wouldnt have electical power, radio or TV or cell phones, computers, or anything that operates with electrical circuits. Definitely one of the big scientific geniuses of all time and obviously a HUGE influence on the modern world.
If you were thinking about political figures, I think you would have to go with Marx as the founder of Communism - that certainly had a gigantic effect on the world, too. No single person in the history of the democratic world was as important as Marx was in the Communist world.

Answer 3

the good - Charles Darwin. He created a scientific theory so profound, so elegant, that it not only revolutionized biology, but the way humans look at science in general. For the first time, we were finally starting to see what we really were, where we came from, and where we were going

the bad - Karl Marx. He founded communism, a political theory which is directly responsible for some of the most heinous crimes in history. Communism alone was responsible for turning the 20th century into the bloodiest century ever.

Answer 4

Since 1807? Then Washington is out because he died a decade earlier.

Are you looking for the most influential person in terms of science, politics, or what? American or from any country?

To answer this question I'd have to look at who had the most impact on the shape of the world today as far as politics... who was ultimately responsible for the most death and destruction as well as who shaped the most countries around them... that person would be Josef Stalin.

Answer 5

Adolf Hitler.

My reasons:
- He challenged the post-World War I order, pooh poohing the treaty of Versailles

- He precipitated the Second World War that led to the deaths of over 20 million people and hastened the formation of the State of Israel

- WWII impoverished Europe, led to the fall of the French and British Empires (formation of the State of India) and helped galvanise the formation of the European Union

- The US rose as the Super Power of the West, after WWII

- The subsequent Cold War led to power struggles between the West and The Soviet Union, which was played out in different theatres, with disastropus consequences for the world: The Korean War, The Vietnam War, coups and counter-coups in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East

Answer 6

Answering reveals what we think about influence. Because of the reach of their ideas and actions, I would nominate the following:

Mao Zedong (1/4 of the world's people live in the authoritarian regime he played the main role in founding)

Karl Marx (provided the ideology that others transformed into Bolshevism and the various socialisms and communisms that dominated Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Latin America for much of the last century)

Mohandas K. Gandhi (cooperated in leading India, another 1/4 of today's humanity, to freedom through nonviolence, an approach that has inspired many, such as Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Answer 7

Its almost impossible to pick a single person. So I'll bet you'll get a diverse list. For what its worth here's my nominee:

Michael Faraday (English physicist, 19th centrury). My reason: Faraday invented the electric generator--which is the keystone of modern technology. Without it, no electricity--or anything in our technology that uses electricity. In other words, our entire modern technology and economy.

Others: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Marx, Hitler (you said influential,not admirable), Gandhi. And about a hundred more (I'll stop here, though).

Answer 8

Political figures: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchhill.

Other figures: Gene Roddenberry. His Star Trek is shown all over the world.

Answer 9

Influential in a good way - Abraham Lincoln. Showed the world what grace and good humor in the face of tremendous difficulties could accomplish.

In a bad way - Hitler. He started a war that affected millions.

Answer 10

Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He changed Geography, changed the course of History, founded a new Nation, carved a new country on the Maps- Pakistan. Who else did all that ! Study his biography by Stanley Wolpert.

Answer 11

George Washington