# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/141 "2010-04-23T14:26:47Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > And I am really quite astonished to see so many voting against Descartes. And misspelling his name in the process. The misspelling is due to copy and paste. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/142 "2010-04-23T14:37:41Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Tom, I’m not denigrating Maxwell one bit here, but whom of the company remaining would you have eliminated in his place? Mendel, for a start, who wasn’t a Mendelian and never fully understood his own work (later rediscovery of his work was more influential: his work on peas was mostly forgotten for decades). Faraday’s impact is also far smaller than Maxwell’s. It’s one thing to discover a concept, it’s another to understand and crack the concept so thoroughly that your work sets the stage for a whole century of scientific investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/143 "2010-04-23T14:55:28Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Tom, I’m not denigrating Maxwell one bit here, but whom of the company remaining would you have eliminated in his place? Any of the 19th & 20th century physicists besides Einstein (and even he is arguable but I don’t expect to win that argument). Quantum and atomic theory are hugely important, but they also had a dozen inventors; Heisenberg, Fermi, Planck, etc. deserve credit, but who’s to say one of the others (or Niels Bohr, or Erwin Schrodinger) wouldn’t have made their advances in their place if they weren’t there? It’s obviously much harder to directly compare Maxwell and the biologists or chemists or Renaissance or ancient Greek scientists. But at a minimum I’d put him ahead of probably half a dozen physicists on the list. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/144 "2010-04-23T15:10:27Z")
Inventor. Christopher Columbus Leader. Mikhail Gorbachev Philosophy. Nicoli Machiavelli Religion. Zoroaster Science. William Conrad Roentgen I have a hard time understanding people choosing Maxwell or Heisenberg, and calling quantum mechanics insignificant. Understanding quantum phenomena was crucial for the development of lasers and semiconductors, which in turn are needed for transistors and microchips. No quantum mechanics would also mean no Information Age and everything that comes with it. It may seem esoteric and hard to understand, but it is one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/145 "2010-04-23T18:30:41Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Mendel, for a start, who wasn’t a Mendelian and never fully understood his own work (later rediscovery of his work was more influential: his work on peas was mostly forgotten for decades). Faraday’s impact is also far smaller than Maxwell’s. It’s one thing to discover a concept, it’s another to understand and crack the concept so thoroughly that your work sets the stage for a whole century of scientific investigation. Faraday essentially founded/discovered: The basis for organic chemistry Electric induction The rotary motor Theory of electromagnetic fields–he did demonstrate the unity of light and electromagnetic force before Maxwell To give Maxwell precedence over Faraday is disingenuous at best. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/146 "2010-04-23T19:51:01Z")
> [@ColdPhoenix](#): > > The misspelling is due to copy and paste. [Host] I do correct for mispellings, first name omissions, etc when compiling the data. [/Host] Maxwell’s pretty huge - of those remaining, Lavosier (sorry if I spelled his name incorrectly), Dalton, Roentgen, and Harvey are easily below him in influence, and the fact that billions of people have used electricity since his discoveries makes him a compelling underdog against the brand names of Galileo, Einstein, Newton and Darwin. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/147 "2010-04-25T02:43:31Z")
Inventors. William TG Morton Leaders. Mikhail Gorbachev Philosophy. Jean-Jacques Rosseau Religion. Zoroaster Science. Nicolas Copernicus Copernicus may not deserve elimination so soon, but I want to direct attention at him, since I think he should be ousted before any of Galileo, Kepler, Maxwell, or Lavoisier all of whom are accumulating votes. By the way, it appears only two have been eliminated from the top half of Hart’s own list as yet: Cromwell and Bolivar. Perhaps this is due to a post-9/11 anti-Revolutionary bias! > [@](#): > > Shi Huang Di: China had to be _re_-united later, so his unification didn’t hold. There was a round of feudal warfare after the First Emperor’s death, but the same can be said about many great conquerors. I think Qin Shi Huang’s special significance was institutional reforms which have, in effect, meant that China has been united for almost all of the past 22 centuries. While Wiki’ing I came across an interesting quote. Being compared to the First Emperor (Shi Huang Di), Mao Zedong responded: > [@](#): > > “He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried forty-six thousand scholars alive… You [intellectuals] revile us for being Qin Shi Huangs. You are wrong. We have surpassed Qin Shi Huang a hundredfold.” ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/148 "2010-04-25T17:44:27Z")
Round 4 is complete! The losers are… **Category, Name, # of votes** I, Christopher Columbus, 8 L, Shi Huang Di, 5 P, Jean-Jacques Rosseau, 4 R, Zoroaster, 9 S, William Conrad Roentgen, 3 Columbus is the first Hart Top-10 name to fall off the list. Shi Huang Di was ranked 17th, so we now have two Top-20 names off the list. (Previous high-ranking vote-getter was #41, Oliver Cromwell). Rousseau lost in a three-way tie-breaker (with Beethoven (shame!) and Descartes), while Roentgen lost in a 4-way tie-breaker in the extremely competitive Science division (Lavoisier, Galileo, and Maxwell also received votes). Remaining Nominations: **Inventors** Alexander Fleming, Scientist, Invented Penicillin Alexander Graham Bell, Scientist, Invented Telephone 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 Hernando Cortes, Spanish Adventurer, Conquered Aztec Empire 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 Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Leader, Liberalized and Helped Break Up USSR 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 Queen Isabella I, Queen of Spain, Sponsored Columbus’ Expeditions 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 Homer, Greek Poet, Writer of Epics 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 Rene Descrates, French Philosopher 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 Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor, Recovered Much of Roman Empire Martin Luther, Theologian, Started Protestantism and Reformation Mohammed, Founder of Islam Moses, Jewish Prophet Pope Urban II, Pope of Roman Catholic Church, Called For Crusades St Augustine, Christian Theologian St Paul, Christian Missionary and Apostle **Scientists** Albert Einstein, Scientist, Physicist, Theory of Relativity Antonine Laurent Lavoisier, French Scientist, Advanced Chemistry 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 Werner Heisenberg, Scientist, Developed Quantum Physics Round 5 has begun… ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/149 "2010-04-25T17:47:33Z")
A four-peat for me: Inventors. Hernando Cortes Leaders. Queen Isabella I Philosophy. Nicoli Machiavelli Religion. John Calvin Science. Antonine Laurent Lavoisier For the religion vote, it came down between Justinian I and John Calvin. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/150 "2010-04-25T17:55:20Z")
Inventors. Alexander Fleming Leaders. Charlemagne Philosophy and the Arts. Voltaire Religion. Moses Scientists. Nicolas Copernicus Moses had influence, but was likely fictional. Copernicus’ famous idea was more inevitable by his time than Columbus’. IIRC, scientists in the Hindu and Islam empires were already heliocentricity-savvy. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/151 "2010-04-25T18:19:04Z")
Inventors. Ts’ai Lun Leader. Cyrus the Great Philosophy. Lao Tzu Religion. Asoka Science. Antonine Laurent Lavoisier ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/152 "2010-04-25T19:29:15Z")
Invention. Alexander Graham Bell Leader. Queen Isabella I Philosophy. Homer Religion. Pope Urban II Science. Werner Heisenberg I would be foolish to understate the importance of telephony, but the fact remains that Bell practically stole his patent–and barely beat Elisha Gray to the office. Science is pretty much a pick 'em by now, but it’s difficult to see the logic by which Heisenberg is more influential than Lavoisier (or the dear departed Harvey for that matter). Grand pronouncements aside, modern chemistry and physiology are more important to contemporary life than quantum mechanics. Perhaps a century from now, this will no longer be true. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/153 "2010-04-25T19:48:51Z")
Invention. Hernado Cortes Leader. Cyrus the Great Philosophy. Rene Descartes Religion. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab Science. Leonhard Euler Three new faces for me, but it’s getting tougher. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/154 "2010-04-25T21:19:00Z")
Inventions. Hernando Cortes Leader. Charlemagne Philosophy. Ludwig von Beethoven Religion. Moses Science. Werner Heisenberg Not being familiar with Hart’s list I was quite surprised to Columbus ranked top 10. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/155 "2010-04-25T21:26:18Z")
Invention. Hernando Cortes Leader. Mikhail Gorbachev Philosophy. Nicoli Machiavelli Religion. John Calvin Science. Johannes Kepler ---
**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:** [April 25, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/156 "2010-04-25T21:30:54Z")
Inventions. Orville and Wilbur Wright Leader. Isabella Philosophy and Arts. Rene Descrates Religion. Justinian Science. Werner Heisenberg Justinian - He accomplished a lot in his lifetime but pretty much all of his accomplishments were later reversed. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/157 "2010-04-25T21:36:55Z")
Inventor. Hernando Cortes Leader. Cyrus the Great Philosophy. Rene Descartes Religion. Justinian I Science. James Clerk Maxwell All repeats except for ol’ Cy, who replaces Shi Huang Di. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/158 "2010-04-25T21:43:06Z")
All repeats: Inventor. Cortes Leader. Queen Isabella I Philosophy. Homer Religion. Pope Urban II Science. Johannes Kepler ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/159 "2010-04-26T00:12:29Z")
Missed the previous round… Invention. Ts’ai Lun Leader. Mikhail Gorbachev Philosophy and Art. Homer Religion. Moses Science. Nicolaus Copernicus Damn, the science category is tough. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080/160 "2010-04-26T04:56:00Z")
Invention.Alexander Graham Bell Leader.Mikhail Gorbachev Arts.Ludwig von Beethoven Religion.Asoka Science.Galileo Galilei I have to keep voting for the same 5 guys until somebody agrees with me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-100-most-influential-people-try-the-third/536080.md?page=9)