# The 100 Most Influential People - Try the Third **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 14, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080 "2010-04-14T16:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/201 "2010-05-01T05:41:56Z")
> [@Uncle\_Goat](#): > > Not sure why anyone is concerned with “existence” in a discussion of influence. Well, technically it’s about influential _people_. Ghosts need not apply. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Uncle\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Goat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/202 "2010-05-01T15:03:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Well, technically it’s about influential _people_. Ghosts need not apply. 😉 It’s not like one can interview any survivors of an event over 3000 years ago, so myths and legends still influence. That Frank Sinatra keeps stealing my gin is besides the point. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/203 "2010-05-01T16:37:34Z")
And according to some people everyone on this list before the 1400s or so did not exist or were highly distorted. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New\_Chronology\_(Fomenko)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Chronology_(Fomenko)) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/204 "2010-05-02T04:22:26Z")
**Curtis** , **Skammer** , please follow the formatting and comment rules. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/205 "2010-05-02T04:38:20Z")
Here are the round 6 losers: **Category, Name, # of votes** I, Alexander Graham Bell, 8 L, Queen Isabella I, 7 P, Homer, 4 R, Pope Urban II, 7 S, Antonine Laurent Lavoisier, 4 A lot of burning resentment on this round as a number of people who have lasted longer than other, more worthy (hint: BACH) candidates were finally given the boot. A-hem. Anyway, here are the round 7 categories: **Invention** Alexander Fleming, Scientist, Invented Penicillin Antony van Leeuwenhoek, Scientist, Inventor of Microscope Edward Jenner, Scientist, Developed Vaccination for Smallpox Gugilemo Marconi, Scientist, Invented Radio Henry Ford, American Industrialist, Developed Mass Production Techniques James Watt, British Scientist, Invented Steam Engine Johann Gutenberg, Scientist, Inventor of Printing Press Joseph Lister, Scientist, Developed Antiseptic Methods Louis Dagurre, Scientist, Invented Photography Nikolaus August Otto, Scientist, Developed Internal Combustion Engine Orville and Wilbur Wright, Scientists, Inventor of Airplane Thomas Edison, American Scientist, 1,000+ inventions Ts’ai Lun, Scientist, Inventor of Paper William TG Morton, Scientist, Invented Anaesthesia **Leaders** Adolf Hitler, German Dictator, Started World War II Alexander the Great, Macedonian Ruler, Formed Macedonian Empire Augustus Caesar, Roman Princep, Founded Roman Empire Charlemagne, Frankish Monarch, Founder of Holy Roman Empire Cyrus the Great, Persian Emperor, Founded Persian Emperor Genghis Khan, Mongol Ruler, Founded Mongol Empire George Washington, American Statesman and General, Fought For Independence of United States Josef Stalin, Dictator of USSR, Expanded Communism Julius Caesar, Roman General, Ended Roman Civil Wars Lenin, Russian Leader, Founded Communism in Russia Mao Zedong, Chinese Dictator, Established Communism in China Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor, Waged Napoleonic Wars Peter the Great, Russian Emperor, Modernized Russia Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England, Made England a Naval Power Sui Wen Ti, Chinese Emperor, Reunited China William the Conquerer, Norman Duke and English King, Led In Norman Conquest of England **Philosophy and the Arts** Adam Smith, Economist, Advocated Capitalism Aristotle, Greek Philosopher Confucius, Chinese Philosopher, Founder of Confucianism Francis Bacon, Philosopher, Developed Scientific Method John Locke, British Philosopher, Developed Democratic Ideas Karl Marx, Economist, Founder of Communism Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher, Founded Taoism Ludwig von Beethoven, Composer Michelangelo, Artist, Sculptor Nicoli Machiavelli, Political Theorist Plato, Greek Philosopher, Developed Platonism Thomas Jefferson, American Statesman, Wrote Declaration of Independence, Louisiana Purchase Voltaire, French Philosopher William Shakespeare, English Playwright **Religion** ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, Muslim Caliph, Expanded the Caliphate Asoka, Indian Emperor, Spread Buddhism Buddha, Founder of Buddhism Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor, Tolerated and Promoted Christianity in Rome Jesus Christ, Founder of Christianity John Calvin, Christian Theologian, Developed Calvinism Martin Luther, Theologian, Started Protestantism and Reformation Mohammed, Founder of Islam Moses, Jewish Prophet St Augustine, Christian Theologian St Paul, Christian Missionary and Apostle **Science** Albert Einstein, Scientist, Physicist, Theory of Relativity Charles Darwin, British Scientist, Theory of Evolution Enrico Fermi, Scientist, Developed Atomic Bomb Ernest Rutherford, Scientist, Developed Subatomic Physics Euclid, Greek Mathematician Galileo Galilei, Scientist, Advocated Heliocentricity Isaac Newton, British Scientist, Theory of Universal Gravitation and Motion James Clerk Marxwell, Scientist, Electromagnetism Johannes Kepler, Scientist, Developed Theories of Planetary Motion John Dalton, Scientist, Atomic Theory Leonhard Euler, Mathematician Louis Pasteur, Scientist, Pasteurization, Germ Theory of Disease Max Planck, Scientist, Developed Therodynamics Michael Faraday, British Scientist, Discovered Electromagnetism Nicolas Copernicus, Scientist, Theory of Heliocentricity ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/206 "2010-05-02T04:43:27Z")
I need to replace 3 of 5. I’m actually going to replace 4 of 5: Inventors. William TG Morton Leaders. Peter the Great Philosophy. Nicoli Machiavelli Religion. Asoka Science. John Dalton Thoughts: Three of my votes are for people I know very little about: Asoka, Dalton, and Morton. Peter the Great seems the least influential of the leaders remaining, and the country he left behind remained a hellhole for about another 2 centuries, so fah on him. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/207 "2010-05-02T05:13:36Z")
Inventors: James Watt Leaders: Peter the Great Philosophy: Lao Tzu Religion: Moses Science: Lehnard Euler James Watt because the steam engine is obsolete , and so is not that influential anymore. Lao Tzu because he didn’t exist, and people who never existed cannot be influential. Peter the Great just because he’s the least important left on the list. Moses, not only because he never existed, but because even the accomplishments attributed to him never occurred. Euler because I’ve never heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/208 "2010-05-02T06:58:02Z")
Inventions. Orville and Wilbur Wright Leader. Charlemagne Philosophy. Ludwig von Beethoven Religion. Moses Science. Galileo Galilei I think I should be ranked amongst the least influential participants in this thread. But I’ll try and spin persistance as a virtue. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Uncle\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Goat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/209 "2010-05-02T11:36:46Z")
Invention. Louis Dagurre Leader. Cyrus the Great Philosophy. Confucius Religion. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab Science. Leonhard Euler Only one new face this time. Going with Confucius as he was the Miss Manners of the Chinese court. Not without influence, but his main area of expertise was etiquette and we all know that rude bastards have more impact. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/210 "2010-05-02T11:42:35Z")
Inventions. Antony van Leeuwenhoek Leader. Napoleon Bonaparte Philosophy. Lao Tzu Religion. John Calvin Science. Johannes Kepler Napoleon was hugely influential in Europe at the time, of course, but I don’t think there was much long-lasting effect. Even France today is little different from if Napoleon had never existed, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/211 "2010-05-02T20:38:32Z")
Inventors. William TG Morton Leaders. Queen Elizabeth I Philosophy. Francis Bacon Religion. Moses Science. Nicolas Copernicus Morton: He never belonged on the list at all. Elizabeth: She’s gotten few votes. Is she being credited with the tremendous success of England and the English-speaking people? In any event, it’s startling that Oliver Cromwell was eliminated before Elizabeth I even started getting votes. Bacon: One of several remaining who are much less influential than Descartes or Homer. Moses: I’d vote Asoka if it were clear that fictions are allowed. But then, shouldn’t Osiris, Zeus, Gilgamesh, Noah, and Romulus & Remus appear on the list? Not to mention Adam and Eve? 😃 (Yes, fictional or not, Moses was an important lawgiver, but so were Justinian and several not on the original list at all.) Copernicus: Fermi and Rutherford are also good candidates, but they’re not accumulating votes. What’s with the votes for Galileo and Kepler? Is it possible that some have misread the rules, and are voting for the _most_ influential? :smack: > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I’d like to hear someone make an affirmative case for Asoka in the Religion category, or I’m likely to start voting for him soon. My history is far too weak to judge Asoka’s overall importance. But wouldn’t there often be a case for crediting an influential person (e.g. King) for a religion, more than the prophet? For example, wouldn’t Zoroaster be nearly forgotten today were it not for the exploits of Persian conquerors like Cyrus the Great? For that matter, there are five on the list who owe their importance to Jesus, but if Jesus had never lived, might not that role have been played by some other messiah, e.g. John the Baptist? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/212 "2010-05-02T21:16:22Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Moses: I’d vote Asoka if it were clear that fictions are allowed… [Host] One may vote against any person for any reason whatsoever. “Allowability” is only limited to those names on the original Hart list - if they’re on the list, they’re equally “allowed” to win. If they’re not on the list, they’re equally not “allowed” to win. [/Host] ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/213 "2010-05-02T21:20:11Z")
FYI: [Ashoka - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka_the_Great) ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/214 "2010-05-02T21:34:31Z")
Invention. Orville and Wilbur Wright Leader. Charlemagne Philosophy. Nicoli Machiavelli Religion. John Calvin Science. Johannes Kepler ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/215 "2010-05-02T22:31:25Z")
[Host] Corollary question: What names (limit yourself to five) would you have on the list? [/Host] [John D. Rockefeller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rockefeller) [Norman Borlaug](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug) The 1947 team that invented the [transistor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor): Bardeen, Schockley, and Brattain If the transistor team can be counted as one, the other two would be: [Edwin Hubble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble) [Pythagoras](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoras) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/216 "2010-05-02T22:59:36Z")
Invention. Orville and Wilbur Wright Leaders. Peter the Great Philosophy. Nicoli Machiavelli Religion. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab Science. John Dalton ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/217 "2010-05-02T23:45:04Z")
Inventor. Orville and Wilbur Wright Leaders. Queen Elizabeth I Art. Michelangelo Religion. John Calvin Science. Enrico Fermi New Reasons: Elizabeth: per **septimus**. Not sure why she’s considered influential. Calvin: I almost voted for him last time, until I looked up Urban to be sure. He’s the lowest tiered person on there. And I actually am almost a Calvinist. Old Reasons: > [@BigT](#): > > Wrights: Others had the same idea > Michelangelo: A great artist, but I don’t think he really influenced anything. > Fermi: Germany was nowhere near developing the bomb, and the basic principles of fission were already understood. The bomb wouldn’t have been delayed by much. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/218 "2010-05-03T01:30:44Z")
My Round 7 votes: Inventor. Orville and Wilbur Wright Leader. Charlemagne Philosophy. Ludwig von Beethoven Religion. John Calvin Science. Johannes Kepler ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/219 "2010-05-03T01:42:53Z")
Inventor. William TG Morton Leader. Cyrus the Great Philosophy. Lao Tzu Religion. Asoka Science. James Clerk Maxwell Asoka is the only change from last round. Interesting that an Indian emperor spread Buddhism, but that the religion basically died out on the Indian subcontinent by the late Middle Ages even as it thrived elsewhere in Asia. I first heard of the man when I learned that the symbol on the white stripe of the Indian flag is the Wheel of Asoka, or [Ashoka Chakra](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka_the_Great#Ashoka_Chakra). ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/220 "2010-05-03T02:31:37Z")
Same. Inventor: William TG Morton Leader: Queen Elizabeth I Philosophy/Arts: Ludwig Von Beethoven Religion: Asoka Science: Leonhard Euler [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080.md?page=12)