This is one big whoopa$$ can of worms....but what the hell.


I will throw in my ten cents later.

I'm curious who you all think are the Top 10 Most Important Figures In World History (good or bad).

(P.S. Try to think 'big picture' and not show too much favouritism for more modern figures --as every generation is guilty of doing!)

Jesus Christ
Julius Caesar
Adolf Hitler

Hm.......there are a few more I had off the top of my mind, can't remember them now. From the Middle Ages.

Moses and Mohammed. (See, too much religion?)

This is called "thinking outloud" :D

Pericles
Lycurgus
Xerxes
Alexander
Caesar
Socrates
Stalin
Hitler
Ghenghis Khan
William the Bastard

i dont know im reaching here

No Chinese dude? Then I'll add one.

Me. :D

eurocentric my friend

the world revolves around the west

i think its time for china to ummm take some control :D

Under my benevolent dictatorship of course. So give it a few more years.

What about that guy who uh, discovered the hypotenuse? Forgotten his name now.

You mean Pythagoras?

EDIT: 1400 posts! New rank?!

Oh yeah, him, studied him for Maths in year 8 but I'm bad at retaining information.

Charlemagne,
Bonaparte,
Ivan the Terrible

Just some I thought had merit, if not in their accomplishments then for the effect they had on Europe and the world after.

Good call Falastur!

The more opinions the better! We can sort out who's more legit later... :)

Qin Shi Huangdi

Ivan the Terrible? iF anyone, it should be Ivan III, who was the first ruler of a free, post-Mongol Russia

What about Qin Shi Huangdi, the 1st Emperor of China. Didn't he begin construction of the Great Wall aswell?

Oh oh Southeast Asia time

Ho Chi Minh - Uncle Ho
Pol Pot
Le Duc Tho
Henry Kissenger

I was only replying to the Ivan IV suggestion. I don't know that much about Far Eastern History.

Beat ya to it! and yeah he began construction and his successor continued and improved it which was why he got killed by the angry workers.

Whow, that one slipped past me! :huh:

I didn't see you mention him, my fault. So, in that case....Good call Flowers&Razorwire!

That's right :P

What about Kublai Khan? conquered china..

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Robert Kennedy
William the Conqueror

uhhhh yeah.
how did a brit fit in there...

Andrew Jackson!

Good point. Russian history is not one I've done much research into. I knew Ivan the Terrible was the first "Tsar of All the Russias" but I assumed that he did that himself.


As for some others, this list needs some more Brits:

Emperor Constantine I - For introducing Christianity to Europe,
Alfred the Great - For breaking the Norse grip on England, and creating the Kingdom of England,
King Henry VIII - For introducing Protestant Christianity to England, and by extension, the Anglophonic world,
Queen Elizabeth I - For leading England through a period of serious Spanish competition
King Charles I/Oliver Cromwell - Debatably for laying the foundations of Parliamentarianism and bicameral democracy as a form of Government rather than as subsidiary to the Monarch
Francis Drake/Walter Raleigh - For breaking Spanish mastery of the seas,
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough - For being one of the greatest military geniuses of history, never losing a battle despite often having the smaller army, and generally playing every opposing commander during the War of Spanish Succession for fools consistently.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington - I know people now dispute his tactical ability as the greatest of his era, but he did have some skill. He was the pioneer of defensive doctrine in a period when battles were won by attacking, and he did win all of his battles, even if he often had a numerical advantage.
Churchill - For opposing Nazi Germany so virulently, and holding the UK together throughout the war.



OK, enough for now.

*pops in*


Jesus Christ
Julius Ceaser
William the conquerer (Who was Norman, not English)
Mohammed (Well, look at what islam has done)
George Washington
Napoleon
Horace Mann (I dont like him, but whats done is done)
Christopher Colombus
Constantine I, emperor of Rome.
Henry Ford

Judging by influence but in no particular order; doesnt matter if it is good or bad

Poltically

Mahatma Gandhi (pretty much a no brainer, worked against Imperial Britain and thus helped many colonies gain independance)
Adolf Hitler (another no brainer; had a great hand in reducing Europe to ashes which meant huge influences in it's colonies as well as the establishment of a bipolar world)
Lenin (set up the basis of Soviet Russia, thus permanently changing the
Napoleon (was one of the principal people in starting the age of nationalism; also reduced Europe to dust which lead to the rise of the British Empire)
Genghis Khan (wiped out many nations and started a new era in the regions it did, also caused interaction between the East and West to some degree)
First Emperor of China (united Central Kingdom which would go onto become the basis of much of Eastern culture)
Alexander the Great (wiped out formerly the largest and most powerful culture in all of the West and fueled the spread of Hellenism)
Cortes (reduced Aztecs to dust, started the Legend of American gold that would lead to it's colonization by the Spanish, Portuguese, and later the Dutch, French, and British)
Mohammed (created the Islamic Empire which would absorb much of the Persians and Byzantines [Mohammed is included here but not Jesus as Mohammed had more immediate success poltically])
Gneisenau (expanded the German General staff and lead the revolution of the Prussian army, which lead a formerly smaller 2nd rate power to defeat the Austrians and French and rally Germany into a united nation, forever changing the scale of power in Europe)