Every individual, as we grow up has an idol. It could be someone, that we may look up to and want to be like when we group. History is with numerous people who have set a benchmark in their achievement or thought and have made us follow them with their influence.
“We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.”
Gautama Buddha
We often come across people who make an everlasting impression on us, that it’s almost difficult not to be in awe of them. That is what most people consider influential. As humans, we have always designed and structured our society and surroundings. In all these processes, a few people have stood up and added more to the cause of humanity.
The Greats
Most Influential Personalities In History | |
Jesus Christ (5 BC-30 AD) | Founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ in quite possibly one of the most inspirational people time has ever seen. What else can you say when Christianity is among the largest followed religions in the world. |
Gautama Buddha (563 BC-479 BC) | The world is turning to Buddhism today, like never before. It is all thanks to this spiritual leader from India who devoted his life to enlightening the world with his wisdom. |
Prophet Muhammad (570-632) | Known as the messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad was the most influential seer that Islam ever saw. |
St. Paul (5 AD-67 AD) | The person behind several Epistles in the New Testament, St. Paul is known as one of the most influential and devout Christians, after Christ himself. |
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) | Theory of Relativity, E=mc2 (Mass Energy Equivalence), need I say more? Albert Einstein’s works have influenced physics and mathematics like nobody has before, guess that’s why he is known as the ‘Father of Modern Physics’. |
Isaac Newton (1643-1727) | Known for the laws of motion and law of gravitational pull, Sir Isaac Newton and his works have influenced science for over 2 centuries. |
Confucius (551 B.C-479 BC) | What we today know as the philosophy called Confucianism, is what the world got from this great Chinese philosopher. His religion has given meaning to the world, by bringing order to society as we know it. |
Ts’ai Lun (50-121) | Did you know that paper was first manufactured sometime between 100 and 150 AD? If you didn’t, now you do. And he is the man to thank for one of the greatest inventions known to mankind. |
Johannes Gutenberg (1398 – 1468) | If the invention of paper has been important to mankind, the invention of the printing press cannot be left far behind. It is Johannes Gutenberg that must be credited for this conception. |
The above mentioned were a few people from history in general, but what about American history? How about something about them too?
Most Influential Personalities In American History | |
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) | Had it not been for him, we never would have known the continent of America. Although this topic has been debated over with the argument that the Vikings arrived there 400 years ago, it was in fact, Columbus who substantiated exploration of the continent. |
Wright Brothers | Orville and Wilbur Wright, more popularly known as the Wright Brothers gave wings to the world. It is solely due to these men that the world saw an invention as great as the airplane. |
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) | If there is one invention that all women want to thank, let this be it, for he is the man behind the first practical telephone. Who ever knew that the telephone would be such a success and see such transformation over the years. |
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) | One of the Founding Fathers of America, Benjamin Franklin was also a polymath. With his field of knowledge ranging from politics to literature, he was a diplomat, scientist, author, inventor, satirist, and a lot else. He has much to his credit, viz, the first fire department in Pennsylvania, inventions like the bifocals, the lightening rod, and a lot more. |
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) | The 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln lead America through one of its toughest times, the American Civil War. An antagonist when it came to slavery, Lincoln was a staunch believer in nationalism, democracy, equality, and liberty. |
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) | Although this great man lived for only 39 years, he quite possibly has spent the most successful 39 years anyone could ever ask for. An exponent of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, he too believed in the concept of leading the world with non-violence. |
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) | 32nd President of the United States, he lead the nation through World War II and other economic crisis. Unfortunately though, he never lived to see their victory. |
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) | The First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt worked her way towards woman empowerment, and raising their status in society. Given her strong will and personality, President Truman called her the First Lady of the World. |
History’s been covered, but there are other people who qualify as the most inspirational people of all time. Why not see who they are…
Most Influential Personalities of All Time
- Galileo Galilee
- Plato
- Julius Caesar
- William Shakespeare
- Louis Pasteur
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Adolf Hitler
- Niccolo Machiavelli
- Augustus Caesar
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Louis Armstrong
- George Washington
- Karl Marx
- Aristotle
- Queen Elizabeth I
- Tenzin Gyatso (Fourteenth Dalai Lama)
- Bill Gates
- Steve Jobs
- Oprah Winfrey
- Nelson Mandela
- Barack Obama
- Mother Teresa
- Pope John Paul II
- Sigmund Freud
- George Washington
- Rupert Murdoch
- Thomas Jefferson
- Bill Clinton
- Ludwig Van Beethoven
- Voltaire
- Vasco da Gama
- Constatine the Great
- Stephen Hawking
- Mikhail Gorbachev
- George W. Bush
- Michael Jordan
- Michael Jackson
- Sergey Brin & Larry Page
- Helen Keller
- Henry David Thoreau
- John D. Rockafeller
- Ronald Reagan
- Elvis Presley
This isn’t half of the people who qualify as the most influential, but they definitely have made a mark on us, and this world.
There are way more than those that have been named, but the list would’ve been simply endless. Many people have inspired the generations to come in their own unique ways and this stands as a testimony of the service they have rendered to mankind.