100 Most Influential Figures in Human History by Michael H. Hart

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The book “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History” by Michael H. Hart, first published in 1978, is a groundbreaking and controversial work that aims to identify and rank individuals who have had a profound impact on human history. Hart’s approach is unique in that he does not base his rankings solely on morality or fame, but rather on the measurable influence that these individuals have had on the course of human events.

In the introduction, Hart lays out his methodology and criteria for selection. He explains that his focus is on influence rather than personal greatness, and he makes it clear that the list is not a ranking of the “greatest” figures in a moral sense but of those who have had the most lasting and widespread impact. Hart acknowledges that some selections may be controversial, particularly when it comes to individuals who were responsible for acts of violence or oppression, but he defends their inclusion by stating that influence can be both positive and negative.

Hart also emphasizes the global nature of his list, which includes figures from all parts of the world and from many different fields—religion, politics, science, technology, and the arts. Figures such as the Prophet Muhammad, Isaac Newton, and Jesus Christ are ranked highly because of their profound and enduring influence on civilization.

  1. Muhammad (570-632) – The last messenger of Islam, whose teachings form the basis of one of the world’s major religions.
  2. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) – British mathematician and scientist, known for the laws of motion and universal gravitation.
  3. Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC – 30 AD) – Central figure of Christianity, regarded as the Messiah and divine figure.
  4. Buddha (c. 563-483 BC) – Founder of Buddhism, emphasized meditation and ethical living.
  5. Confucius (551-479 BC) – Chinese philosopher whose ideas on ethics and governance influenced East Asian cultures.
  6. St. Paul (5-AD 67) – Early Christian missionary whose writings shaped Christian theology.
  7. Ts’ai Lun (AD 50-121) – Inventor of paper, revolutionizing communication and record-keeping.
  8. Johann Gutenberg (1395-1468) – Inventor of the printing press, facilitating the spread of knowledge.
  9. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) – Italian explorer whose voyages linked the Americas with Europe.
  10. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) – Physicist who developed the Theory of Relativity, fundamentally changing physics.
  11. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) – Biologist known for the germ theory of disease and vaccination methods.
  12. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) – Scientist who advanced astronomy and physics, supporting heliocentrism.
  13. Aristotle (384-322 BC) – Greek philosopher who made foundational contributions to numerous fields, including logic and ethics.
  14. Euclid (325-265 BC) – Mathematician known as the “Father of Geometry.”
  15. Moses (c. 1391-1271 BC) – Prophet in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, known for leading the Exodus and receiving the Ten Commandments.
  16. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) – Scientist who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection.
  17. Shih Huang Ti (259-210 BC) – First Emperor of China, known for unifying the country and starting the Great Wall.
  18. Augustus Caesar (63 BC-AD 14) – First Roman Emperor, established the Pax Romana.
  19. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) – Astronomer who proposed that the sun is the center of the universe.
  20. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) – Chemist credited with establishing modern chemistry.
  21. Constantine the Great (272-337) – Roman Emperor who embraced Christianity and founded Constantinople.
  22. James Watt (1736-1819) – Engineer who improved the steam engine, fueling the Industrial Revolution.
  23. Michael Faraday (1791-1867) – Scientist who contributed to electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
  24. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) – Physicist known for formulating the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation.
  25. Martin Luther (1483-1546) – Initiated the Protestant Reformation, challenging Catholic Church practices.
  26. George Washington (1732-1799) – Leader of the American Revolution and first President of the United States.
  27. Karl Marx (1818-1883) – Philosopher and economist known for developing the theory of Marxism.
  28. Orville and Wilbur Wright (1871-1948, 1867-1912) – Inventors of the first successful airplane.
  29. Genghis Khan (1162-1227) – Founder of the Mongol Empire, known for his military strategies and conquests.
  30. Adam Smith (1723-1790) – Economist who wrote “The Wealth of Nations,” laying foundations for capitalism.
  31. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) – Playwright and poet, influential in English literature.
  32. John Dalton (1766-1844) – Chemist known for his work on atomic theory.
  33. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) – King of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
  34. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) – French military leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution.
  35. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) – Inventor known for the electric light bulb and phonograph.
  36. Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) – Pioneer of microbiology, first to observe bacteria.
  37. William T.G. Morton (1819-1868) – Dentist who introduced anesthesia in surgery.
  38. Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) – Inventor of the radio, advancing communication technology.
  39. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) – Dictator whose policies led to World War II and the Holocaust.
  40. Plato (424-348 BC) – Philosopher known for his works on ethics, politics, and metaphysics.
  41. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) – Leader of the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War.
  42. Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) – Inventor of the telephone, revolutionizing communication.
  43. Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) – Discovered penicillin, revolutionizing medicine.
  44. John Locke (1632-1704) – Philosopher who influenced liberal democracy and human rights.
  45. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) – Composer whose works bridged Classical and Romantic music.
  46. Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) – Physicist known for the Uncertainty Principle in quantum mechanics.
  47. Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) – Pioneer of photography and inventor of the daguerreotype process.
  48. Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) – Leader in Latin American independence movements.
  49. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) – Philosopher and mathematician, known for “I think, therefore I am.”
  50. Michelangelo (1475-1564) – Renaissance artist known for masterpieces in sculpture and painting.
  51. Pope Urban II (1042-1099) – Pope who initiated the First Crusade.
  52. Umar ibn al-Khattab (584-644) – Prominent companion of Muhammad and caliph in early Islam.
  53. Asoka (c. 260-232 BC) – Indian emperor who embraced Buddhism and promoted peace.
  54. St. Augustine (354-430) – Influential Christian theologian and philosopher.
  55. William Harvey (1578-1657) – Discovered the circulation of blood in the body.
  56. Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) – Father of nuclear physics, known for his work on atomic structure.
  57. John Calvin (1509-1564) – Theologian who influenced the Protestant Reformation.
  58. Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) – Founder of genetics through his work on inheritance in pea plants.
  59. Max Planck (1858-1947) – Physicist who originated quantum theory.
  60. Joseph Lister (1827-1912) – Pioneered antiseptic surgery, improving surgical safety.
  61. Nikolaus August Otto (1832-1891) – Inventor of the internal combustion engine.
  62. Francisco Pizarro (1471-1541) – Conquistador known for conquering the Inca Empire.
  63. Hernando Cortes (1485-1547) – Conquistador who conquered the Aztecs in Mexico.
  64. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) – Principal author of the Declaration of Independence and third US President.
  65. Queen Isabella I (1451-1504) – Monarch who unified Spain and funded Columbus’s voyage.
  66. Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) – Leader of the Soviet Union, known for his totalitarian regime.
  67. Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) – Roman general and statesman, pivotal in the rise of the Roman Empire.
  68. William the Conqueror (1028-1087) – First Norman King of England, established Norman rule.
  69. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) – Founder of psychoanalysis, exploring the unconscious mind.
  70. Edward Jenner (1749-1823) – Developed the smallpox vaccine, the first vaccination.
  71. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (1845-1923) – Discovered X-rays, advancing medical imaging.
  72. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – Composer whose music influenced Western classical tradition.
  73. Lao Tzu (6th Century BC) – Philosopher and founder of Taoism.
  74. Voltaire (1694-1778) – Enlightenment writer known for his advocacy of civil liberties.
  75. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) – Astronomer who formulated laws of planetary motion.
  76. Enrico Fermi (1901-1954) – Physicist who created the first nuclear reactor.
  77. Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) – Mathematician known for significant contributions to calculus and graph theory.
  78. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) – Philosopher whose works on political theory influenced the French Revolution and modern political thought.
  79. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) – Renaissance political philosopher known for “The Prince,” which discusses power dynamics and statecraft.
  80. Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) – Scholar who theorized on population growth and its potential to outstrip resources.
  81. John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) – 35th President of the United States, known for his leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  82. Gregory Pincus (1903-1967) – Biologist who developed the oral contraceptive pill, revolutionizing reproductive health.
  83. Mani (216-) – Iranian prophet and founder of Manichaeism, a major gnostic religion that rivaled early Christianity.
  84. Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) – Leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and architect of the Soviet state.
  85. Sui Wen Ti (541-604) – Founder of the Sui Dynasty in China, known for reunifying the country after a period of fragmentation.
  86. Vasco da Gama (1460s-1524) – Portuguese explorer who was the first to reach India by sea, establishing maritime trade routes.
  87. Cyrus the Great (600-530 BC) – Founder of the Achaemenid Empire, noted for his enlightened rule and respect for local customs.
  88. Peter the Great (1672-1725) – Russian emperor who modernized Russia and expanded its territory, establishing it as a major European power.
  89. Mao Zedong (1893-1976) – Founding father of the People’s Republic of China, known for his revolutionary strategies and policies.
  90. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) – Philosopher and statesman who developed the scientific method and advocated empirical research.
  91. Henry Ford (1863-1947) – Founder of the Ford Motor Company, who revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line.
  92. Mencius (385-303 BC) – Philosopher and interpreter of Confucianism, promoting the idea of human goodness.
  93. Zoroaster (c. 1200 BC) – Iranian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions.
  94. Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) – Queen of England who established Protestantism and presided over a cultural renaissance.
  95. Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-) – Last leader of the Soviet Union, known for his reforms of perestroika and glasnost, which opened up Eastern Europe.
  96. Menes (c. 3000 BC) – Egyptian pharaoh credited with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt, founding the First Dynasty.
  97. Charlemagne (742-814) – King of the Franks who united much of Western Europe, becoming the first Holy Roman Emperor.
  98. Homer (8th century BC) – Greek poet traditionally said to be the author of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey,” foundational works of Western literature.
  99. Justinian I (482-565) – Byzantine Emperor known for codifying Roman law and his ambitious building projects, including Hagia Sophia.
  100. Mahavira (6th century BC) – Principal figure of Jainism, promoting non-violence and truth.

This list highlights individuals from various fields, including religion, politics, science, and the arts, each of whom has significantly shaped human history and thought.