This is a list chosen by Michael H. Hart, from the book ‘100 most influential people in the world’. He chose people on a ranking of who had done the most to influence the world. I recommend reading the book as it offers an interesting insight into the influence of different individuals. As the author notes, ‘Influential’ does not include a judgement on whether they influenced the world for the better or worse.
Top 100 List
- Muhammad (570 – 632 AD) Prophet of Islam.
- Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) – British mathematician and scientist.
- Jesus of Nazareth (c.5BC – 30 AD) Spiritual teacher and central figure of Christianity.
- Buddha (c 563 – 483 BC) Spiritual Teacher and founder of Buddhism.
- Confucius (551 – 479 BC) – Chinese philosopher.
- St. Paul (5 – AD 67) – Christian missionary and one of the main writers of the New Testament.
- Ts’ai Lun (AD 50 – 121) Inventor of paper.
- Johann Gutenberg (1395 – 1468) – Inventor of the printing press.
- Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) – Italian explorer landed in America.
- Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) German/ US scientist discovered Theory of Relativity.
- Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895) French biologist. Developed a cure for rabies and other infectious diseases.
- Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) Italian scientist – confirmed the heliocentric view of the universe.
- Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) – Greek philosopher and polymath
- Euclid (c. 325 – 265 BC) – Greek mathematician
- Moses (c 1391 – 1271 BC) A key figure of Jewish / Christian history gave 10 Commandments of Old Testament
