Who is the most influential person in history ?

Answer 1

I cant think of one single person as there are several during different eras of history that were influential for their time such as Julius Cesar, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Well, there is one person and that would be Jesus Christ as the most influential of all people

Answer 2

Alexander.

He influenced everything important that came after him - which is pretty much everything.

He spread the Greek language right around the Mediteranean and beyond, establishing a "lingua franca" for trade and the dissemenation of ideas. Without this the "gospels" would've just been more hebrew religious tracts - never in short supply - and would never have attracted any attention in Rome.

He established a number of cities, many of which survive today - Alexandria in Egypt became the world's major seat of learning for a long time after his death.

EDIT: It obviously has to be someone early - while its possible that Ghandi, Newton, Columbus or some other relatively recent individual will validly be considered the most influential at some stage in the far future, at this stage they've only had the opportunity to influence a small slice of history. This goes for most of the non fictitious suggestions (Adam, God etc).

Answer 3

Alexander the great is a good answer, because he single handedly and directly influenced such a large part of the world.

I'd go with George Washington, because he could have become a king and, at the very least, stunted what has become the greatest power in the world. Imagine how different the world would be, for better or worse, if the U.S. would have started out as a monarchy.

Just looking at the U.S., Martin Luther King Jr. is another choice. His non-violent approach to the civil rights movement saved the country a lot of pain.

Most historic figure were just in the right place at the right time and if they didn't step up, someone else would have and done pretty much all the same things.

Answer 4

According to Michael Hart author of
The 100 : a ranking of the most influential persons in history

The answer is Muhammad, due primarily to his influence on both religion and politics.

Having read the book I have to agree

Answer 5

Grog of the Cave Bear Clan was dubbed "most influential person in history" in the year 60,567 BC for his creation of the concept of gods, goddesses, heaven and hell. The world has never been the same since, in fact even today, close to 80% of the earth's populations has a distorted worldview.

Answer 6

In American history, Abe Lincoln is the most influential. Without him, federal taxes would be non-existent (except tariffs) , politicians would have 1 fewer excuse for bad behavior, nearly a million innocent people wouldn't have died in his crusade to subvert the Constitution and its right to Secession (Virginia specifically ratified on the condition that it be permitted to secede, which makes Lincoln's arguments absurd). The Neo-Conservatives (the fanatics who are responsible for the Iraq War) wouldn't have a respected historical figure who agreed with them to strengthen their appearance of legitimacy (they'd instead have to quote the likes of Hitler and Machiavelli and wouldn't get far doing so). Without Lincoln, the slaves would have been eventually freed and in a more peaceful manner, because slavery is incompatible with economic growth and the laws of economics would have eventually forced the Confederacy to end it. Had this occurred, race relations wouldn't be anywhere near as strained and there wouldn't be anywhere near as much racism (it is a fact, for example, that the Southerners in the 1800s were more tolerant than the Northerners and it is also a fact that Lincoln believed that slaves should be freed and deported to Liberia).

On a worldwide scale, the most influential people in history would be the Greeks who defeated the Persians in the Persian Wars. Without them, the great statesmen of the 18th and 19th centuries would be without the education that enabled them to overthrow over a millennium of Feudalism (which was nothing more than glorified slavery).

Answer 7

Mahatma Gandhi as he is truely a man who is respected by a child of 6 to a man of 60!A simple man(Gandhi) drove the British out of India by not any war or fight but by peace through Satyagraha!His ideas and views not only influenced people but also made people all over the world to sit up and listen to him!His powerful ideas were so great that people believe him a disguise of God!His photo is printed on all Indian currencies!
Gandhi Ji is a great man and does deserve the title of 'Father of our Nation and creator of Independent India'.
Gandhi Ji may not be among us today but his memories always exist in all our hearts.Salutes to this wonderful human being and true Indian who was, is and will remain the most influential person not only in India but also all over the world!

Answer 8

Nicolaus Copernicus OR Charles Darwin.

Both changed the ingrained thinking of millennia by their discoveries.

Copernicus showed that the earth revolves around the sun rather than other other way around. He gave us the idea that instead of being the center of the universe we were in fact, inhabitants of a very small planet in a much larger system.

Darwin showed us the only plausible way in which life evolved into the many abundant species we see in the world today, without having to resort to the ultimately unsatisfying "magic" of a creator.

Both men whipped away the millennia-old veil of ignorance on two of the most fundamental mysteries important to humanity, and upon which many of our most prevalent belief systems are based.

Answer 9

The most enfluential person in the history has been Emperor Ashoka. He is the one that propagated the Buddhism out of India to far flung places including Tibet, China, Ceylon, Japan and rest of the Asia.

While he himself was involved in one of the bloodiest wars of Kalinga, he is the one who propagated and practiced the peace though the non-violence and Buddhist teachings. Even today this is one of the most haromic religion whose followers are by and large the most peaceful people.

Answer 10

Adam is the most influential person in history.