# The name that defines your lifetime **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014 "2010-03-02T18:05:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/1 "2010-03-02T18:05:10Z")
There have been names that not only have become historical landmarks but that tend to define an era in history. Names like: Alexander the Great Julius Caesar Chalemagne Genghis Khan Napoleon George Washington Abraham Lincoln Over the course of your lifetime what one name do you think will be the one this time in history will be associated with? ---
**Author:** ![ragerdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@ragerdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ragerdude)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/2 "2010-03-02T18:07:01Z")
Dubya ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/3 "2010-03-02T18:18:12Z")
Khan Noonien Singh The Trek historical accounts were off by a couple of decades. The EW will begin this fall. On UPN Real answer: Osama Bin Laden. A globally recognised name associated with global terrorism ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/4 "2010-03-02T18:20:15Z")
I’m having a hard time deciding between Einstein and Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/5 "2010-03-02T18:21:18Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I’m having a hard time deciding between Einstein and Hitler. For me, these are the era before ours. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/6 "2010-03-02T18:31:00Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > For me, these are the era before ours. I agree mostly, but they have been two who seem to have long-ranging influences even though they’ve been out of my life for the better part of it. If we consider the “current era” to be post 1975 (or thereabouts) I guess I could switch to Bill Gates or whoever it was to develop the WWW/HTML thing: that guy. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/7 "2010-03-02T18:31:42Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > If we consider the “current era” to be post 1975 (or thereabouts) I guess I could switch to Bill Gates or whoever it was to develop the WWW/HTML thing: that guy. Al Gore. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/8 "2010-03-02T18:49:36Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Al Gore. I was thinking more of [Tim Berners-Lee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee) but Al has a better press agent, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/9 "2010-03-02T18:56:33Z")
Margaret Thatcher. ---
**Author:** ![lalenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@lalenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalenin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/10 "2010-03-02T18:59:49Z")
Fidel Castro, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/11 "2010-03-02T19:02:08Z")
> [@lalenin](#): > > Fidel Castro, unfortunately. Why unfortunately? Are you Cuban? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/12 "2010-03-02T19:21:46Z")
Bill Gates ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/13 "2010-03-02T19:52:23Z")
Nelson Mandela ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/14 "2010-03-02T20:12:16Z")
Pierre Trudeau EDIT: Or Jean Chretien. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/15 "2010-03-02T21:16:52Z")
Ronald Reagan ---
**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:** [March 2, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/16 "2010-03-02T21:16:58Z")
Ronald Reagan, probably. Heh, jinx. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/17 "2010-03-02T22:15:57Z")
I thought of another! OPRAH ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/18 "2010-03-02T22:26:54Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I thought of another! > OPRAH Sad, but most likely true. Maybe Hefner or Spielberg or Howard Stern. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/19 "2010-03-02T23:14:15Z")
The Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014/20 "2010-03-02T23:54:06Z")
Ziggy Stardust! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-name-that-defines-your-lifetime/531014.md?page=2)