# Poll: Who is the most famous person from your country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668 "2004-11-25T19:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/41 "2004-11-26T07:43:07Z")
> [@zoogirl](#): > > I think Errol Flynn was born in Tasmania. Hobart, I believe. > Where’s **Eve** when you need her? Yep. And last time i checked, Tasmania was part of Australia. Not sure how long Flynn spent in Australia during his life, though. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/42 "2004-11-26T08:24:06Z")
M. K. Gandhi would win the most famous Indian title hands down. Mother Teresa would give him some competition as the most famous person associated with India. Other possible famous Indians: Ismail Merchant (of the Merchant-Ivory duo), Zubin Mehta (conductor), Freddy Mercury, Vinod Khosla (to geeks, I guess)… ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/43 "2004-11-26T08:57:04Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > As an Aussie living in the US, i can assure you that most Americans have never even heard of Don Bradman, and that while many probably know who Ian Thorpe is (especially since the Olympics were held recently), most wouldn’t recognise him on the street and even more will have forgotten him in a few months. > > Elle MacPherson has done a few ads over here recently, but i don’t think she’s really in the hunt, and Kylie is nowhere near as well-known here as she is in the UK and Australia.Now you’re talking, for the US at least. Paul Hogan has fallen by the wayside a bit, but i have yet to meet an American who doesn’t know who the Crocodile Hunter is. I imagine Don Bradman is a known entity on the Indian subcontinent, which is more populous that the US. Ian Thorpe is a tourism ambassador, which has taken him on tour in China. I believe Russell Crowe has Australian citizenship, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![marky33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@marky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marky33)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/44 "2004-11-26T09:44:33Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Japan’s a hard one to judge, since there aren’t that many individuals that get globally known. > > My guess for #1 worldwide would probably be the Showa Emperor Hirohito. Or perhaps Yoko Ono? For Hong Kong, I guess it would be Jackie Chan. Bruce Lee if we’re counting associations. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/45 "2004-11-26T10:01:36Z")
Can it be extended to fiction? Because then you open the doors to Superman, Robin Hood, King Arthur et al. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/46 "2004-11-26T10:04:07Z")
Denmark. H.C.Anderson, Kierkegaard or Niels Bohr, Svend Forkbeard. Norway/Iceland: Eric the Red, Leif the Happy. ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/47 "2004-11-26T11:39:05Z")
In my case, I think it’s either Julius Caesar or Augustus. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/48 "2004-11-26T12:07:42Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Pamela Anderson and Celine Dion would probably be the ones with the highest international “Q” rating from Canada, although there’s [this](http://www.dashan.com/en/index.htm) guy, who is one of the most popular entertainers in China, from what I understand. He is in fact one of the most popular entertainers in China. He should also be rich by now but I’m not certain of that. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/49 "2004-11-26T12:10:50Z")
> [@Lars Aruns](#): > > In my case, I think it’s either Julius Caesar or Augustus. You mean Rome or Italy? How about Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci, Marco Polo, Galilei, Columbus, Aquinas – and I think both Nero and Caligula are better known than Augustus. Italy seem to have more famous persons than any other country. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/50 "2004-11-26T12:38:49Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Napoleon was a Corsican. Perhaps a better question is “most famous person _associated_ with your country”. Err…So Sicilians aren’t Italians, for instance? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/51 "2004-11-26T12:40:35Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > And last time i checked, Tasmania was part of Australia. > . Apparently, islands don’t count, in this thread, for some reason… ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/52 "2004-11-26T12:52:27Z")
Tasmania / Australia is fairly obvious, but that Corsica is French is at least debatable. Even though it is so legally today, it wasn’t so for much of history, and what percentage of Corsicans consider themselves French today. Didn’t Napoleon’s family hold fervent anti-French sentiments? Though I agree Napoleon should be considered French and one of the greates Europeans of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/53 "2004-11-26T13:21:12Z")
Right now I’m in Qatar. There are not, and never have been, any famous Qataris. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/54 "2004-11-26T13:37:42Z")
> [@Kantalooppi](#): > > I’m from Finland, and I don’t know who the most famous Finn would be. Jean Sibelius? First person I think of is Parvo Nurmi. After all his nickname was _The Flying Finn_. He was responsible for possibly the greatest mile race of all time at the '24 Olympics when he won the gold medal in the mile and the 5000 metres within 45 minutes of one another. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/55 "2004-11-26T13:43:46Z")
Other famous Finns: Linus Torvalds (linux guy) Mika Häkkinen, Mika Salo and Kimi Räikkonen (Fornula 1 drivers) and most famous of all: Huckleberry Finn 😃 ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/56 "2004-11-26T13:47:20Z")
I remember hearing somewhere that Muhammad Ali is the world’s most recognizable person – I tried to google this and found plenty of mentions of this “fact,” but no information on how this was arrived at. Still, it makes some sense, when you consider his popularity in the non-Western world. George Washington never went to Africa. Although this claim is a bit dated, I’m still going to put him forward as the most famous American. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/57 "2004-11-26T13:47:46Z")
> [@Kantalooppi](#): > > I’m from Finland, and I don’t know who the most famous Finn would be. Jean Sibelius? A bit sketchy this, but some would argue you can claim Santa. **kellner** , not obvious to me, really. 😕 Do you mean the guy who would beat Arnie to it if we forget the “associated with” rule and go for country of birth only? For my native Holland, a bunch of painters: Vermeer, Van Gogh (the painter, not the filmmaker) and Rembrandt. **Jjjimmm** covered Ireland well enough. ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/58 "2004-11-26T13:59:37Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > You mean Rome or Italy? How about Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci, Marco Polo, Galilei, Columbus, Aquinas – and I think both Nero and Caligula are better known than Augustus. Italy seem to have more famous persons than any other country. Both Rome (well, the Roman Republic) and Italy. I’m under the impression that many, many people heard, at the very least, about Julius Caesar and some of his exploits. Of those you mention, I think only Leonardo da Vinci could compete, and then again I met people who think he’s French… ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/59 "2004-11-26T14:05:40Z")
Gibraltar: tiny (pop. 29,000) but has produced a couple of minor celebs: [Albert Hammond](http://www.alberthammond.net/): you might not know him by name but you’ll recognise the songs: It never rains in southern California He ain’t heavy he’s my brother When I need you and others. His son Albert Hammond jr. is in The Strokes. [John Galliano,](http://www.vogue.co.uk/whos_who/john_galliano/) fashion designer. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668/60 "2004-11-26T17:07:36Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Denmark. H.C.Anderson, Kierkegaard or Niels Bohr, Svend Forkbeard. > Norway/Iceland: Eric the Red, Leif the Happy. Iceland, I bet, would be Bjork, hands down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-who-is-the-most-famous-person-from-your-country/276668.md?page=4)