# The most influential people in history (Michael H. Hart's The 100)

The top 25 of Michael H. Hart's book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1978, revised 1992), ranked by influence rather than greatness. Hart put Muhammad first and Newton second.

- 67 votes · 31 items
- Oct 20, 2024 · Chloe Hamilton
- https://even.best/en/l/1041/the-most-influential-people-in-history-michael-h-hart-s-the-100

## Top 25

1. **Confucius** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — 551-479 BC. Chinese philosopher.
2. **Muhammad** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — c. 570-632. Prophet of Islam; Hart ranked him first for his religious and political influence.
3. **Buddha** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — c. 563-483 BC. Founder of Buddhism.
4. **Christopher Columbus** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — 1451-1506. His 1492 voyage linked Europe and the Americas.
5. **Galileo Galilei** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — 1564-1642. Father of modern science.
6. **Isaac Newton** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 1643-1727. Laws of motion and universal gravitation.
7. **Cai Lun** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — c. 50-121. Traditionally credited with inventing paper.
8. **Johannes Gutenberg** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — c. 1400-1468. Printing with movable type.
9. **Louis Pasteur** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 1822-1895. Germ theory and vaccines.
10. **Euclid** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — c. 300 BC. The Elements, the basis of geometry.
11. **Charles Darwin** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — 1809-1882. Evolution by natural selection.
12. **Jesus** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — c. 4 BC-c. AD 30. Central figure of Christianity.
13. **Paul the Apostle** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — c. 5-c. 67. Spread Christianity beyond Judaism.
14. **Albert Einstein** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 1879-1955. Relativity.
15. **Aristotle** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 384-322 BC. Philosopher and scientist.
16. **Qin Shi Huang** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — 259-210 BC. First emperor of a unified China.
17. **Antoine Lavoisier** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 1743-1794. Father of modern chemistry.
18. **Constantine the Great** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — c. 272-337. First Christian Roman emperor.
19. **Michael Faraday** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 1791-1867. Electromagnetic induction.
20. **Martin Luther** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 1483-1546. The Protestant Reformation.
21. **George Washington** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — First President of the United States; also in Hart's The 100.
22. **Orville and Wilbur Wright** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Inventors of the first successful powered airplane (1903); also in Hart's The 100.
23. **Moses** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Prophet and lawgiver of Judaism.
24. **Augustus** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — 63 BC-AD 14. First Roman emperor.
25. **Alexander the Great** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — King of Macedon whose conquests reached from Greece to India; also in Hart's The 100.
26. **Nicolaus Copernicus** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — 1473-1543. Heliocentrism.
27. **James Watt** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — 1736-1819. Improved steam engine.
28. **James Clerk Maxwell** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — 1831-1879. Electromagnetic theory.
29. **Karl Marx** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Philosopher and economist, author of The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital; also in Hart's The 100.
30. **Genghis Khan** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Founder of the Mongol Empire; also in Hart's The 100.
31. **Adam Smith** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Author of The Wealth of Nations (1776), father of modern economics; also in Hart's The 100.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.