Download (Not Jesus) Should be Ranked as Most Influential Person in History

Religious Affiliation of History's 100 Most Influential People
The following list of influential figures from
% in
world history comes from Michael H. Hart's
Religious Affiliation
List
book The 100: A Ranking of the Most
Catholic
31%
Influential Persons in History. In the book, Hart
Anglican/Episcopalian
13%
provides brief biographies of each of the
7%
individuals, as well as reasons for their ranking. Jewish
Atheist
6%
Adherents.com takes no position regarding the Greco-Roman paganism
6%
validity of Hart's rankings. Certainly ranking
Chinese traditional religion/Confucianism 5%
the relative historical influence of individuals is
5%
a subjective process. We welcome and will by Lutheran
Russian Orthodox
4%
happy to post comments from readers
suggesting alternative rankings or names of pre-Nicene Christianity
3%
influential individuals who should be
Platonism
3%
included in the "Top 100.
Islam
2%
2%
This list of names and their ranks are solely the Hindu
Buddhist
2%
work of Michael H. Hart. The columns
"Religious Affiliation" and "Influence" are the Presbyterian
2%
work of Adherents.com. We will readily modify Zoroastrian
2%
notes if there are any inaccuracies.
Manicheanism
2%
2%
Note that many influential philosophies (such as Quaker
Marxist Communism or Confucianism) are not Unitarian/Universalist
2%
always classified as organized "religions" in the Calvinist
2%
traditional sense, but are classified as such by
Jain
1%
sociologists because they are a primary
Jansenist
1%
motivational worldview for
1%
individuals, cultures or subcultures. Also, many United Brethren
founders never considered themselves adherents Congregationalist
1%
of philosophies or religions which later bore
Dutch Reformed
1%
their name (e.g., Martin Luther and
Egyptian paganism
1%
Lutheranism).
Mongolian shamanism
1%
1%
In the table below, where there are two religions Taoism
listed, the first one is the religion the person was Baptist
1%
born into. The second was the religion or
Sandemanian
1%
philosophy the person later joined or founded.
Protestant (denomination unknown)
6%
Comments in the "Influence" column are in
5%
bold when the influence is mainly in the realm unknown
of religion and philosophy.
Rank
1
Name
Muhammad
Religious Affiliation
Islam
Influence
Prophet of Islam; conqueror of
1
Arabia; Hart recognized that
ranking Muhammad first might
be controversial, but felt that,
from a secular historian's
perspective, this was the correct
choice because Muhammad is the
only man to have been both a
founder of a
major world religion and a major
military/political leader. More
2
Isaac Newton
Anglican (rejected Trinitarianism, i.e.,
Athanasianism; believed in the
physicist; theory of universal
Arianism
gravitation; laws of motion
of the Primitive Church)
3
Jesus Christ *
Judaism; Christianity
founder of Christianity
4
Buddha
Hinduism; Buddhism
founder of Buddhism
5
Confucius
Confucianism
founder of Confucianism
6
St. Paul
Judaism; Christianity
proselytizer of Christianity
7
Ts'ai Lun
Chinese traditional religion
inventor of paper
8
Johann Gutenberg
Catholic
developed movable type; printed
Bibles
9
Christopher Columbus
Catholic
explorer; led Europe to Americas
10
Albert Einstein
Jewish
physicist; relativity; Einsteinian
physics
11
Louis Pasteur
Catholic
scientist; pasteurization
12
Galileo Galilei
Catholic
astronomer; accurately described
heliocentric solar system
13
Aristotle
Platonism / Greek philosophy
influential Greek philosopher
14
Euclid
Platonism / Greek philosophy
mathematician; Euclidian
geometry
15
Moses
Judaism
major prophet of Judaism
16
Charles Darwin
Anglican (nominal); Unitarian
biologist; described Darwinian
evolution, which had theological
impact on many religions
17
Shih Huang Ti
Chinese traditional religion
Chinese emperor
18
Augustus Caesar
Roman state paganism
ruler
19
Nicolaus Copernicus
Catholic (priest)
astronomer; taught heliocentricity
20
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
Catholic
father of modern chemistry;
philosopher; economist
Roman state paganism; Christianity
Roman emperor who
completely legalized
Christianity, leading to its status
as state religion. Convened the
First Council of Nicaea that
produced the Nicene Creed,
which rejected Arianism (one of
two major strains of Christian
thought) and established
21
Constantine the Great
2
Athanasianism (Trinitarianism,
the other strain) as "official
doctrine."
22
James Watt
Presbyterian (lapsed)
developed steam engine
23
Michael Faraday
Sandemanian
physicist; chemist; discovery of
magneto-electricity
24
James Clerk Maxwell
Presbyterian; Anglican; Baptist
physicist; electromagnetic
spectrum
25
Martin Luther
Catholic; Lutheran
founder of Protestantism and
Lutheranism
26
George Washington
Episcopalian
first president of United States
27
Karl Marx
Jewish; Lutheran;
Atheist; Marxism/Communism
founder of Marxism, Marxist
Communism
28
Orville and Wilbur Wright
United Brethren
inventors of airplane
29
Genghis Khan
Mongolian shamanism
Mongol conqueror
30
Adam Smith
Liberal Protestant
economist; philosopher;
expositor of capitalism;
author: The Theory of Moral
Sentiments
31
Edward de Vere
a.k.a. William Shakespeare
Catholic; Anglican
literature; also wrote 6 volumes
about philosophy and religion
32
John Dalton
Quaker
chemist; physicist; atomic theory;
law of partial pressures (Dalton's
law)
33
Alexander the Great
Greek state paganism
conqueror
34
Napoleon Bonaparte
Catholic (nominal)
French conqueror
35
Thomas Edison
Congregationalist; agnostic
inventor of light bulb,
phonograph, etc.
36
Antony van Leeuwenhoek
Dutch Reformed
microscopes; studied microscopic
life
37
William T.G. Morton
??
pioneer in anesthesiology
38
Guglielmo Marconi
Catholic and Anglican
inventor of radio
39
Adolf Hitler
Nazism; born/raised in, but rejected
Catholicism
conqueror; led Axis Powers in
WWII
40
Plato
Platonism / Greek philosophy
founder of Platonism
41
Oliver Cromwell
Puritan (Protestant)
British political and military
leader
42
Alexander Graham Bell
Unitarian/Universalist
inventor of telephone *
43
Alexander Fleming
Catholic
penicillin; advances in
bacteriology, immunology and
chemotherapy
44
John Locke
raised Puritan (Anglican);
Liberal Christian
philosopher and liberal
theologian
45
Ludwig van Beethoven
Catholic
composer
46
Werner Heisenberg
Lutheran
a founder of quantum mechanics;
discovered principle of
3
uncertainty; head of Nazi
Germany's nuclear program
47
Louis Daguerre
??
an inventor/pioneer of
photography
48
Simon Bolivar
Catholic (nominal); Atheist
National hero of Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and
Bolivia
49
Rene Descartes
Catholic
Rationalist philosopher and
mathematician
50
Michelangelo
Catholic
painter; sculptor; architect
51
Pope Urban II
Catholic
called for First Crusade
52
'Umar ibn al-Khattab
Islam
Second Caliph; expanded
Muslim empire
53
Asoka
Buddhism
king of India who converted to
and spread Buddhism
54
St. Augustine
Greek state paganism; Manicheanism;
Early Christian theologian
Catholic
55
William Harvey
Anglican (nominal)
described the circulation of
blood; wrote Essays on the
Generation of Animals, the basis
for modern embryology
56
Ernest Rutherford
??
physicist; pioneer of subatomic
physics
57
John Calvin
Protestant; Calvinism
Protestant reformer; founder
of Calvinism
58
Gregor Mendel
Catholic (Augustinian monk)
Mendelian genetics
59
Max Planck
Protestant
physicist; thermodynamics
60
Joseph Lister
Quaker
principal discoverer of antiseptics
which greatly reduced surgical
mortality
61
Nikolaus August Otto
??
built first four-stroke internal
combustion engine
62
Francisco Pizarro
Catholic
Spanish conqueror in South
America; defeated Incas
63
Hernando Cortes
Catholic
conquered Mexico for Spain;
through war and introduction of
new diseases he
largely destroyed Aztec
civilization
64
Thomas Jefferson
Episcopalian; Deist
3rd president of United States
65
Queen Isabella I
Catholic
Spanish ruler
66
Joseph Stalin
Russian Orthodox; Atheist; Marxism
revolutionary and ruler of USSR
67
Julius Caesar
Roman state paganism
Roman emperor
68
William the Conqueror
Catholic
laid foundation of modern
England
69
Sigmund Freud
Jewish; atheist; Freudian
psychology/psychoanalysis
founded Freudian school of
psychology/psychoanalysis (i.e.,
4
the "religion of Freudianism")
70
Edward Jenner
Anglican
discoverer of the vaccination for
smallpox
71
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
??
discovered X-rays
72
Johann Sebastian Bach
Lutheran; Catholic
composer
73
Lao Tzu
Taoism
founder of Taoism
74
Voltaire
raised in Jansenism;
later Deist
writer and philosopher;
wrote Candide
75
Johannes Kepler
Lutheran
astronomer; planetary motions
76
Enrico Fermi
Catholic
initiated the atomic age; father of
atom bomb
77
Leonhard Euler
Calvinist
physicist; mathematician;
differential and integral calculus
and algebra
78
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
born Protestant;
converted as a teen to Catholic;
later Deist
French deistic philosopher and
author
79
Nicoli Machiavelli
Catholic
wrote The Prince (influential
political treatise)
80
Thomas Malthus
Anglican (cleric)
economist; wrote Essay on the
Principle of Population
81
John F. Kennedy
Catholic
U.S. President who led first
successful effort by humans to
travel to another "planet"
82
Gregory Pincus
Jewish
endocrinologist; developed birthcontrol pill
83
Mani
Manicheanism
founder of Manicheanism, once
a world religion which rivaled
Christianity in strength
84
Lenin
Russian Orthodox;
Atheist; Marxism/Communism
Russian ruler
85
Sui Wen Ti
Chinese traditional religion
unified China
86
Vasco da Gama
Catholic
navigator; discovered route from
Europe to India around Cape
Hood
87
Cyrus the Great
Zoroastrianism
founder of Persian empire
88
Peter the Great
Russian Orthodox
forged Russia into a great
European nation
89
Mao Zedong
Atheist; Communism; Maoism
founder of Maoism, Chinese
form of Communism
90
Francis Bacon
Anglican
philosopher; delineated
inductive scientific method
91
Henry Ford
Protestant
developed automobile;
achievement in manufacturing
and assembly
92
Mencius
Confucianism
philosopher; founder of a
school of Confucianism
5
93
Zoroaster
Zoroastrianism
founder of Zoroastrianism
94
Queen Elizabeth I
Anglican
British monarch; restored
Church of England to power
after Queen Mary
95
Mikhail Gorbachev
Russian Orthodox
Russian premier who helped end
Communism in USSR
96
Menes
Egyptian paganism
unified Upper and Lower Egypt
97
Charlemagne
Catholic
Holy Roman Empire created
with his baptism in 800 AD
98
Homer
Greek paganism
epic poet
99
Justinian I
Catholic
Roman emperor; reconquered
Mediterranean
empire; accelerated CatholicMonophysite schism
100
Mahavira
Hinduism; Jainism
founder of Jainism
Source of list of names: Hart, Michael H. The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in
History, Revised and Updated for the Nineties. New York: Carol Publishing Group/Citadel
Press; first published in 1978, reprinted with minor revisions (reflected above) in 1992.
In the afterword to his book The 100, Michael H. Hart listed 100 runners-up, all of which are
listed here. The book's afterword also included brief discussions about ten of these runners-up
(about one page each). These discussions include notes about their influence and about they were
not included in the top 100. Hart states that these ten individuals should not be thought of as
numbers 101-110 on the list. The ten runners-up discussed are: St. Thomas Aquinas;
Archimedes; Charles Babbage; Cheops; Marie Curie; Benjamin Franklin; Mohandas Gandhi ;
6
Abraham Lincoln; Ferdinand Magellan; Leonardo da Vinci. The other runners-up are simply
listed, without further details or discussion.
Webmaster's Comments about this Webpage
This list is compiled only for fun and reference. Certainly no theological or sociological
inferences should be drawn from a subjectively chosen list of only 100 people from throughout
human history. These individuals clearly transcend statistical sociological analysis. Nevertheless,
it is fascinating to consider the varied ways in which the lives and contributions of nearly all of
them were profoundly influenced by their religious background and personal beliefs.
("Contribution" may not be the best word to describe the influence of some of these individuals,
such as Hitler, Stalin, etc.)
Also, the "Influence" column in the table is very brief. It is only provided only to refresh one's
memory about the identity of the historical person - not to encapsulate or summarize their career.
The most-represented religious group on this list is obviously Catholicism. This should be
expected, given the many centuries that the most technologically and economically advanced
Western world was synonymous with the Catholic world.
The most obscure faith group represented on this list is the Sandemanians, who were never very
numerous. The physicist Michael Faraday (23rd on this list and history's 9th most influential
scientist, according to Hart) was a devout member of this now-extinct group. Other small
minority religious groups represented here are Jansenists (Voltaire) and some Quakers.
It is worth noting that many of the individuals on this list were the founders, major propagators,
or reformers of major world religions: Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Buddha, St. Paul, Confucius,
Lao Tzu, Mencius, Mani, Mahavira, Marx, Plato, Calvin, Martin Luther, Zoroaster, Mao. Many
would include Freud among these. Other philosophers on this list made contributions which had
an impact on religion but are not founders of a religion or branch of religion.
Of the twelve "classical world religions", the founders of eight are represented on this list
(Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism).
Shinto and Hinduism have no founder. Sikhism and the Bahai Faith (the youngest of the
"classical world religions") have founders (Guru Nanak Dev and Baha'u'llah, respectively), but
Hart did not include them on his list.
Comments from Readers of this Website about the Ranking of Jesus on this List
Jesus Christ
It is not uncommon for people to wonder why Jesus is not ranked first on this list. As far as the
way the list appears on this web page, the answer is simple: We have reproduced Hart's list in
exactly the order he wrote it. But it is true that many people, both Christians and secular
historians, would have ranked Jesus first on a list of the world's most influential people. Hart said
that he himself would have ranked Jesus first, if all the people who today identify themselves as
Christians actually followed Jesus's teachings more substantially. He considers contemporary
Muslims more influenced by Muhammad than contemporary Christians are by Jesus.
7
Also, Hart's outlook was essentially secular in outlook. He did consider the doctrinal role of
Jesus in human salvation as taught by Christianity. Muhammad, on the other hand, carved out an
actual, geographic empire during his lifetime. Christians as well as historians agree that Jesus
himself conquered no lands and led no armies during his lifetime.
John H. Kerr, an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Canada wrote us on this topic. His ideas,
echoed by many and presented here with his permission are below:
In my opinion no one has come near to Jesus Christ with respect to His influence on so many
aspects of our world and society. Most schools of higher learning in the English speaking world
and many in the non-English speaking world exist because of Christ. Women and children
throughout this world, with the exception of a few countries have a much better way of life
because of what Christ taught and people accepted. The peace, good will and renewal that result
each year from the celebration of His birth is astounding. Many of the internalional charities that
exist today are Christian based. The Christian work ethic has spurred inventions of all sorts that
have benefited mankind enormously. Just think of the influence Christians have had down
through the centuries, every bit of their influence is either directly or indirectly associated with
the influence Christ had on them. Many of these Christians are on Hart's list.
Even Karl Marx owed his fanatical promotion of communism to the revenge he sought for being
bounced out of a Christian Seminary, by a misdirected priest.
To a point the creation of such a list is as you point out subjective, and subject to the bias of the
individual or group that prepare it. But, for the life of me, I cannot conceive how any well read
individual with eyes to see and ears to hear, would not place Jesus Christ at the top of such a list,
so far ahead of the next most influential person that one would leave at least the subsequent 9
spaces on the list vacant, to emphasize this point.
All of the creation wouldn't exist if it were not for Jesus Christ. When one begins to dwell on
what would or would not have been, had Christ not existed in the beginning, let alone had He not
come to earth 2000 years ago it boggles the mind. When I think of the thousands of prayers
answered, lives changed, wars ended or avoided, I can't help but thank such a benevolent Lord.
Was it not the influence of a Christian mother on her son, the leader of the Soviet Union, and a
Christian American President, working with Mikhail Gorbachev that brought an end to the cold
war. When we look at the cause and effect of so many major positive events in our history, we
see the hand of Christ working on one or more of His servants.
John McDonagh (22 July 2005), who identifies himself as an informal proponent
of freethought (a secular movement dedicated to reasoning independently of authority, especially
religious dogma and revelation), wrote in response to John H. Kerr's statements:
John Kerr's comment may seem puzzling to the uniniated reader when he says that "All of the
creation wouldn't exist if it were not for Jesus Christ. When one begins to dwell on what would
or would not have been, had Christ not existed in the beginning". To the uninitiated reader, Jesus
was born within the last 3000 years, so they may feel baffled as to how he could have
participated in the creation of the universe billions of years ago. In fact, Mr. Kerr has let slip in
the Gospel of John idea that Jesus eternally preexisted as the cosmic Logos.
8
Mr. Kerr would do well to read this quote:
"Muslims believe that Jesus did not die on the cross (Koran 4:157), but this does not mean that
historians (even Muslim historians) can use this belief as historical evidence that Jesus was not
crucified. What one believes and what one can demonstrate historically are usually two different
things."
-Robert J. Miller, Bible scholar, (Bible Review, December 1993, Vol. IX, Number 6, p. 9)
[John Kerr also wrote:] "Most schools of higher learning in the English speaking world and
many in the non-English speaking world exist because of Christ."
[John McDonagh responds:] As shown by Joseph McCabe in his Rationalist Encyclopedia,
education in the Roman Empire suffered upon the acceptance of Trinitarian Christianity.
[John Kerr also wrote:] "Women and children throughout this world, with the exception of a few
countries have a much better way of life because of what Christ taught and people accepted."
[John McDonagh responds:] Mr. Kerr seems ignorant of the worldwide history of ethics. In fact,
many of the helpful ideas espoused by Jesus were espoused by the Buddha, Confucius, etc.
hundreds of years before Jesus allegedly lived and were common knowledge internationally
already. Jesus' relatively original ideas, such as his emphasis on eternal damnation, his
discouragement of intellectualism and critical thinking, his authoritarian leadership style, and his
childish intolerance have not contributed to the improvement of social conditions.
Timothy W. Foutz (28 June 2002) also wrote to us about the ranking of Jesus on Hart's list:
Hart's criteria is clearly biased. His list is supposed to be about the most influential people, but he
put Muhammad first because he was both a religious and military leader. Apparently one has to
have a diverse resume to make the list. But there is a huge difference between what a person did
themselves and how much of an influence they were. When Jesus ascended into heaven, there
were only 120 people he could call his followers, so personally he was not very influential. But
the movement he started is undoubtedly the most influential of all human history. I think Hart's
list has value, but why make such a list if he wasn't going to be honest with the data? My
suspicion is that Hart didn't want Jesus to be first on the list for personal reasons regardless of
what history has clearly shown.
Alan Thibideau wrote (9 October 2002):
Aside from my religious affiliations and the present climate (after 9/11), it makes more sense that
Christ sit atop the list of most influential individuals simply because history turned on his life
more so than it did any other single figure. No one else can claim that history turned on a dime
after his life.
The fact that someone was both a spiritual and national leader is not relevant in this sense. That
is a personal accomplishment and might make that person more successful in his lifetime but
9
does not make him necessarily a more influential person in history. So whoever did this ranking
is simply incorrect if their criteria was the most influential person in history.
The Rev. Anthony J. Felich, (Pastor of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church
in America) in Overland Park, Kansas; www.redeemer-pca.org) offered the following comments
(9 April 2004):
While I appreciate the idea that Muhammad was both a founder of religion and a
political/military leader, he should not displace Jesus Christ. Newton should be third at best. My
obvious religious convictions aside:
1. Our dating system is based on Christ
2. 80% of the people in your top 100 were Christian or some sect thereof, not Islamic.
3. For good or bad, many wars have been fought over Christianity.
4. Christianity has mingled with "the state" in hundreds of countries for centuries.
Technically, Muhammad invented a religion somewhat based on Zoroastrianism. It was not very
unique, when analyzed. Jesus Christ is the forecasted Jewish Messiah and the founder of the
Christian Church. Hard to get more influential than that.
John F. Kennedy over FDR? Seriously? Other than the Cuban Missle Crisis, what did he really
do? Cultural icon maybe, but over FDR? Even Truman was more influential.
Whoever invented the television [Philo Farnsworth] should be way up near the top. It has forever
changed communication... probably not for the better.
Rev. Felich wrote (above): "Technically, Muhammad invented a religion somewhat based on
Zoroastrianism. It was not very unique, when analyzed. Jesus Christ is the forecasted Jewish
Messiah and the founder of the Christian Church. Hard to get more influential than that."
John McDonagh (22 July 2005) wrote in response to this statement (and another item on this
page):
Mr. Felich steps into matters beyond the ambit of the historian. A historian would have to
discount Jesus as the forecasted Jewish messiah, since 99.999999999% of all rabbis would not
accept Jesus as the forecasted messiah. For that matter, Christianity, as with Islam, remains quite
derivative.
Also, most historians would credit Paul with the establishment of the Christian Church.
Partially as a response to Rev. Felich's comments (and other comments shown here), M. S.
Abdullah has written a list of 16 Reasons why Muhammad (not Jesus) should be ranked first on
the list of history's most influential people.
[email protected], an Evangelical Christian, said he agreed with Mr. Hart's choice for the top
2 spots, and that Jesus should be listed even lower. His explanation is here.
10
Mark Aubart expressed the opinion that Jesus should not even be on a list of mortal men. You
can read his explanation here.
Musa Raza's response to Aubart, and his reasons why Muhammad should be at the top of the list
are here.
Patrick Egbuchunam of Lagos, Nigeria wrote this thoughtful and detailed essay explaining why
Jesus should be ranked #1 on the list of history's most influential people.
Other Suggested Revisions, Additions to the List
Michael McConnell (25 Sept. 2001) also suggests that some revisions to Hart's list are in order:
I just glanced at your list of the 100 most influential people and their religion and all I can say is
this list is terrible at best. Jesus would have to be number one, Marx/Muhammad tie for number
2... Issac Newton was put above Marx who influences social-economic policy to this day.
Aki Nestori Vainio, a self-described atheist from Finland, does not believe that Moses existed (9
June 2003):
The book [The 100] is indeed very subjective, as you remark on your page. My main problem
with it is the fact that Moses is seated at 15. I would've omitted him completely. He probably did
not exist. He is a mythological character, just like Sankara, who did not make it into the book.
[Most people would probably disagree with Vainio, simply because the existence of the books
attributed to Moses -- books which are the mostly widely published texts in human history -strongly suggest that somebodyhad to write them. That person (or persons) would clearly be
highly influential on human history, regardless of the particulars of his life.]
Steve Petersen [[email protected]] made the following suggestion (27 April 2002:
Yes, indeed, I think you need to add another person to your list! What about Ellen G. White of
the Seventh Day Adventist Church? She wrote more books than any other woman in history!
On 6 August 2002, Jukka Vatanen of Finland wrote with the following suggestion:
My vote for the list of "Top 100" is NICOLA TESLA, who was the actual inventor of the radio.
Marconi was most successiful in capitalizing the usage of it, but TESLA was first. He also
invented the Tesla turbine that powered the Niagara Falls alternating current generators. The
alternating current being propably his greatest invention, making it possible to transfer high
voltage current long distances. This invention alone would make him of same importance as
Marconi etc...
Charles Benedetti wrote:
11
I predict that the most influential person of all time will be L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the
Church of Scientology (1954). It may take 10 years, or 25 or 50, but that day will surely come. I
make this statement after 20 years of experiencing and drawing from the deep reservoir of this
spiritual philosophy and Wisdom. Only those who have experienced Scientology would
understand these words, and therefore I would not expect others to understand or agree with me.
For those who may seek to know more about Scientology, see my website: www.ourhome.org/charliebenedetti.
- Dean Knoblauch of Canada made many suggestions, including the suggestion to add Philo
Farnsworth and Miguel de Cervantes to the list. His detailed suggestions are here.
- Dr. M. A. Hafeez suggested that Ibn Nafis replace William Harvey on the list. More.
- Mark Soakai suggested Joseph Smith, Jr. should be on the list. More.
- Dragon Atma explained why he felt Columbus isn't so influential, and discussed who
should really be #1. More.
Of course, the most ridiculous ommission of all from Hart's list is Philo Farnsworth, the inventor
of the television. His invention came relatively late in history, and so he had no impact on
humanity during the first thousands of years of civilization. But today television has so
completely transformed human culture, values, beliefs, etc. that its inventor is easily one of the
most influential people in history with regards to people now living.
Muhammad
Many Muslims have written to us about this webpage. All that have written to us are in
agreement with Hart's assessment of Muhammad's top-ranked place on this list, but many have
written to disagree with parts of Hart's description of Muhammad. In particular, a number of
correspondents have written to point out that Muhammad is not the author of the Qu'ran, but is in
fact the Prophet through whom Allah delivered the Qu'ran to humanity. Hamzah Jaradat's notes
on this are representative of this discussion: Mohammad is the not the author of the Qu'ran.
Excerpt from Hart's book:
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise
some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was
supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels...
Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an
immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is
still powerful and pervasive... Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the
lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure
prominently in this book. Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the
world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There
are two principal reasons for that decision. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in
the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was
12
responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from
Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and
the author of a large portion of the New Testament.
Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and
moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith, and in
establishing the religious practices of Islam. Moreover, he is the author of the Moslem holy
scriptures, the Koran, a collection of certain of Muhammad's insights that he believed had been
directly revealed to him by Allah. Most of these utterances were copied more or less faithfully
during Muhammad's lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his
death. The Koran therefore, closely represents Muhammad's ideas and teachings and to a
considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has
survived. Since the Koran is at least as important to Moslems as the Bible is to Christians, the
influence of Muhammed through the medium of the Koran has been enormous It is probable that
the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of
Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. On the purely religious level, then, it seems likely that
Muhammad has been as influential in human history as Jesus.
Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the
driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader
of all time... the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role
in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and
religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single
figure in human history.
M. S. Abdullah has written a list of 16 Reasons why Muhammad (not Jesus) should be ranked
first on the list of history's most influential people.
Musa Raza's his reasons why Muhammad should be at the top of the list are here.
Additional Notes about the Religious Affiliation and Religious Beliefs of History's 100 Most
Influential People
NOTE: Adherents.com presents this list, and Hart's arguments, for informational
purposes. We do not take any stand on the validity of Hart's statements. We welcome (and
will post online) alternative viewpoints.
Is Alexander Graham Bell really the inventor of the telephone?: There is some dispute over
whether or not Bell is "the inventor" of the telephone. A helpful document is: Who is credited as
inventing the telephone? Was it Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, or Antonio Meucci?, a
page sponsored by the Science Reference Services of U.S. The Library of Congress. This page
states that "Alexander Graham Bell was the first to patent the telephone," but also points out that
Gray and Meucci played important roles in the development of the telephone. On the other hand,
the Italian Society of America has an article about Antonio Meucci that casts the Italian inventor
as the true father of the telephone, and takes a dim view of Bell.
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Additional Comments From Readers
M. S. Abdullah's
Reasons Why Muhammad (Not Jesus)
Should be Ranked as Most Influential Person in History
M. S. Abdullah (email address: [email protected]) sent us this letter and list on 25
August 2004:
To the owner of www.adherents.com/adh_influ.html
I am a comparative religion student who would like to share my views on this list. I would like to
shed some light as to the order of Muhammad and Jesus on this list. Please feel free to use this email on your website.
I believe that Muhammad should be the first in the list even though Jesus was a great man,
Muhammad was an even greater man and a greater influence to humanity. Michael Hart (a nonMuslim, in particular a Christian) was correct in taking a non-biased view and choosing
Muhammad.
Just look at the statistics and history
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Christianity (1.9+ billion people). 600 year head start on Islam
Islam (1.5+ billion people). Catching up at a rate of 10:1. Many of the converts are
Atheists or Christians (including many Church leaders and ministers). By 2025 Muslims
will outnumber Christians.
In America pre 9/11 40000+ people convert to Islam per year, post 9/11, people have
became curious about what makes Muslims tick. They are now discovering that what
Muslims like these do are completely in the opposite direction to the teachings of
Muhammad and Islam, hence why the number of converts has increased to 78000+ a
year.
Jesus' message was 2.4 years, Muhammad's 23 years
Jesus' had 120 followers at the end of his time on earth Muhammad had millions
Muhammad confirmed Jesus and believed in him, as Jesus said to his disciples whilst in
the Garden of Gethsemane that someone would come to confirm him
Jesus said he came to the tribe of Israel only, Muhammad said he came to all mankind.
The different denominations of Christianity don't agree with each other about Mary,
Jesus, the trinity, the many versions and revisions of the Bible etc, whereas the different
denominations of Islam agree that Muhammad is the final Prophet, Jesus is a Prophet and
performed miracles, God is One and Only, and the exact Quran as at the time of
Muhammad is still used today by all the denominations, and the originals are still
available.
10's of millions of Muslims have memorised the entire Quran all over the world, whereas
no Christian has memorised the bible and if they did they would have to memorise their
own version and would have to update their memorisations every time a new revision
was released.
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The bible that we know today was written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John (who are they?
Real name? Last name?) and Paul (Saul of Tarsus: A Christian Killer) who preached to
the Gentiles which Jesus said not to do. None where direct disciples of Jesus.
What is known as Apocrypha today is the Gospels that the Roman (Origin Pagans:
worshiped many gods, human gods etc) Catholic Church wanted to destroy because it
denies the trinity and the divinity of Jesus and reveals the coming of another
(Muhammad). "Eg. The Gospel of Barnabas was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the
Churches of Alexandria till 325 C.E. In 325 C.E., the Nicene Council was held, where it
was ordered that all original Gospels in Hebrew script should be destroyed. An Edict was
issued that any one in possession of these Gospels will be put to death"
(http://www.barnabas.net/)
Jesus did not found Christianity and the Church (Paul did). Muhammad founded Islam.
Muhammad taught a way of life from birth to death. Things as simple as one should sit
down when they put their shoes on etc (This has been medically proven that putting your
shoes on whilst standing and hunching causes lower back pain). He taught every day life
issues etc.
The Quran contains many scientific information that has been confirmed by science only
in the last century. Would Muhammad have known all this stuff or is he a lucky guesser?
The world as we know it today was influenced by Islam, scientifically, mathematically,
medically, agriculturally as well as through art etc. Islam promoted education for both
men and women whereas the Church forbade it and called it blasphemy and the penalty
was death to anyone who would go against the Church
(http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/ a documentary by non-Muslim American historians
and lecturers in religion)
Islam is in no way derived from Zoroastrianism but follows on from Judaism as
Christianity did.
The list can go on for many pages, but I think that has said enough.
So looking at the facts from a subjective point of view shows that there should be no doubt that
Muhammad should be the first on the list.
Regards
M. S. Abdullah
Churchiaya, an Evangelical Christian:
Jesus should be even further down on list,
the way to life eternal in narrow
[email protected] offered an unusual perspective, reprinted here with his permission.
Although he did not identify his denominational background, based on his email and his website
(www.christisdeity.com), it is clear that he is an Evangelical. Clearly he is not a Catholic. He
wrote:
I am Christian and I feel that Mr. Hart's choice for #1 and #2 were appropriate; for the road to
destruction is broad so that it is obvious that the biggest deception be listed first. I am thus
disappointed that Jesus is not further down on his list and that pope john paul and the false
doctrine of catholicism is not listed #3 after islam and science... As for the influence with respect
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to Christianity, especially on this list reflects that the way to life eternal in narrow. This of course
is to God's dismay, it is not His will that any should perish. Mr. Hart was correct in seeing that
few were properly influenced in regard to true Christianity, for many people are worshipping a
false christ. Moreover if one is not in darkness, they will not be offended by this list for in the
end every knee will bow at the name of Jesus.
Mark Aubart:
Jesus is above all men
Mark Aubart (29 October 2004) wrote to express the opinion that Jesus should not even be on a
list of mortal men. He provided this explanation to post on this website:
It is obvious to me, and it ought to be obvious to all mankind, that no research or understanding
of who the "Christ" is went into the list of top 100 Religious Leaders. Hart does not seem to me
to be legitimate in his creation of a list of mortals to include the CHRIST (Isa) in it at all. In fact,
Jesus (the Christ) should not even be on the list, he is above all men, as he is (still today) the son
of God - he LIVES! ALL people, everywhere, know this. Adherents would be best to either
make note of this and remove his name from this list of mere men, or simply single him out
above the list as "the Savior". Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected (the only man on earth
ever in the history of the world to resurrect). Jesus lives! Isn't this enough to put him above mere
man? Just take his name off the list (and make note of it) so you won't have to deal with this
issue any longer. Your list shames man and humanity by placing the living Christ on that list of
mortal beings. Christianity bases salvation on grace from God who sent his son for the final
sacrifice for all men (all people). Christianity promises everlasting life for those who commit
themselves to the seeking the WORD, receiving the holy spirit, and accepting Jesus as their
personal savior. Jesus (Isa) removed labels and levels within the body of believers, we are all
equal!
Born-again Believers of the son of God "the WORD" (the WORD is GOD)
MARK AUBART
Musa Raza:
Christ should be respected, but it is Muhammad who should be listed Number 1
With all my respect due to Mr. Mark, I think his respect towards Christ is mandatory as per his
belief but only to my friend's remarks that the only man on earth ever in the history of the world
to resurrect is The Christ. That's also the belief of all the Muslims on earth, it is true that Holy
Prophet Essa (Christ) will come back before the Day of Judgment. But what would he say about
our Holy Prophet Muhammad to whom Allah (God) called upon through His messenger Jibraeel
(Gabriel) towards Him to meet His Holy body (Muhammad), Muhammad who met Allah and
asked the forgiveness of not only his nation but for those who were to be coming toward Islam
after His Virtual Demise as to the Muslims belief that all the Prophets sent from Allah are alive
and living in heaven. Holy Muhammad came back to earth after meeting with Allah within no
time according to the world, because when he came back to earth his door lock was moving and
his bed was still warm so no one could imagine Allah's (God's) Miracles like this which All the
Muslims celebrate as the night of Mairaj, So in the end what would my friend say about who is
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the best among men or in other words The Best Among Humanity because He (Muhammad) was
sent as Peace for all the world visible or invisible created by Allah he did not only sent His
Messenger for Muslims but also for the worst humanity which was being tolerated by those who
were living a most immoral carnage life in the history, In Qur'an Allah says that I sent You
(Muhammad) as Peace to all the livings on earth and hereafter. Therefore there were no
commandments for him that he's been sent only for Arabs or Muslims.
He's the Prophet of every existence as Allah says in Qur'an That I created all the heavens and all
the worlds just in your (Muhammad's) Love because you are the Best among My (Allah's)
creations.
One more thing I would like to clear for all the readers that Muhammad is Not the Author of
Qur'an like Mr. Hart explained in his reason for Choosing Him the #1 most cogent person.
Qur'an was sent by Allah Almighty through His messenger Jibraeel (Gabriel) not at once but
with passage of time and completed in almost 23 years, Qur'an is Allah's message towards
humanity in which Allah have cleared all the disbeliefs of other religions included.
Musa RazaM. S. Abdullah's
Reasons Why Muhammad (Not Jesus)
Should be Ranked as Most Influential Person in History
Dean Knoblauch of Canada:
Alternative rankings or names of influential individuals who should be included in the
"Top 100"
For the most part Hart's list is accurately ranked and well rationalized.
Clearly, Muhammad has affected the lives of a great many people on the planet and, coupled
with the fanatical influence of the Quran on world population, including Christians, deserves to
be ranked first. By similar rationale of how religion has affected the number of people in the
world, alive and dead, Buddha and Confucius, whose teaching pervade the lives, and are
followed by, even many Christians, should be ranked slightly ahead of Jesus Christ.
Philo Farnsworth should be added to the list without saying as the inventor of the television.
I agree with Jukka Vatanen of Finland, Nicola Tesla does precede Guglielmo Marconi. Marconi
brought the radio to contemporary society, where it was made popular, but Tesla made it work
first.
Hernando Cortes, ranked at 63, is not noted [in the "Influence" column of table] for genocide of
the Aztecs [but this notation should be added]; through introduction of disease and war he led the
obliteration of the way of life for over 25 million people. This definitely puts him ahead of
Francisco Pizarro and, in some ways, even ahead of Adolf Hitler for eliminating a way of life in
the world for so many people before it's time.
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Johann Sebastian Bach does not deserve the ranking of 72. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is far
more widely recognized over time. At any rate, any composer, including Ludwig van Beethoven
ranked at 45, should be ranked in the runner up section, at best. While many composers
throughout history have touched the lives of others in some way, all others in the list affected a
way of life for a great many people.
Nicoli Machiavelli is noted for The Prince, but there is no mention of Sun Tzu for The Art of
War in the ranking. Sun Tzu's writings should rank ahead of Nicoli Machiavelli for influencing
both military and personal achievement and because it is still read and used by leaders today.
John F. Kennedy should not be in the list; he is a runner up at best, but certainly not ranked
ahead of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Henry Ford should note for his achievement in manufacturing and assembly, as well as
development of the automobile. His ranking should not change.
Mikhail Gorbachev affected all of Russia, Europe, and North America, by ending the Cold War
through Glasnost, nearly a religion in itself. Personally, for this achievement, I would rank
Mikhail Gorbachev 28, right behind Karl Marx. By similar reasoning for the bringing together
the Chinese, I would rank Sui Wen Ti at 69, behind William the Conqueror.
Finally, I would add Miguel de Cervantes to the list at a rank of 45, behind John Locke for his
prolific literature, including having an influence on William Shakespeare, but, more importantly,
for influencing the way many people write and read by the example of the revolutionary style of
the flowing narrative he is famous for: Don Quixote.
Dr. M. A. Hafeez:
Ibn Nafis instead of William Harvey first described the circulation of blood
A Muslim biologist wrote to suggest that British scientist William Harvey should be replaced
with Muslim scientist Ibn-e-Nafis:
I looked through the list of 100 most influential personalities, by Hart... On circulation of blood
the author gives credit to William Harvey (1578-1657). It was Ibn-e-Nafis (Allauddin Abul
Hassan ali-bin-abi-al-Hazm al Qarshi-ud-Damishqui, 1210-1288, Damascus) who has been
historically and correctly credited with discovery of circulation of blood. If the idea is to give
credit to Harvey as a scientist, it would be fair to include him in the list but if importance is
placed on discovery of circulation of blood, then Ibn-e-Nafis should replace him.
Dr. Hafeez was very fair-minded in noting that Harvey may have been included for the sum of
his contributions to science, and not simply for "discovering" the circulation of blood. Indeed,
this is the case. In the "influence" column next to Harvey's name we previously mentioned only
"discovery of the circulation of blood," which is does not do justice to all that Harvey did, and it
does not do justice to all that historian Michael H. Hart discusses in the Harvey chapter of his
book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. In response to Dr. Hafeez's
letter, I replaced "discovered" with "described," although this should not be taken to mean that
Harvey was the first to describe the circulation of blood. But his 1628 book An Anatomical Study
of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals was certainly immeasurably influential on
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Western medical practice. I also added a note about Harvey's 1651 Essays on the Generation of
Animals, which is the basis for modern embryology.
None of this takes away from what Ibn Nafis accomplished.
Mark Soakai:
Joseph Smith is one of history's 50 most influential people
Mark Soakai, a native of Tonga who lives in San Diego, California wrote:
I really appreciate the time and effort you have spent to create this great website... I am a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it bothers me that the founder of
our church is not listed on the list of "History's 100 Most Influential People." Consider these
facts:
1) 14th largest church in the world with more that 12 million and counting
2) The fastest growing church in the world
3) Founded by Joseph Smith on April 6th, 1830 (JUST 175 yrs ago)
4) The Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith and was recently included in the list of
the 20 most influential books in America by Book Magazine (http://www.bookmagazine.com/)
You can work in to any Marriott Hotel in the world and you will find a Book of Mormon in their
Hotel rooms. If it wasn't for Joseph Smith, there would never be a Brigham Young University.
Apart from our love of sports, BYU is listed by US News (USNews.com) as on of the Top 50
Business Schools (ranked 40), and also one of the Top 50 Law Schools (ranked 35).
I am hoping that one day, may be someone else other than the 12 million plus members of our
church members will give this man, Joseph Smith, some credit.
I hope this facts alone will earn Joseph Smith the right to be at least in the top among History's
100 Most Influential People. Thank you for what you do and all these informations you gathered
and make it available for us to see on the internet.
Hamzah Jaradat:
Mohammad is the not the author of the Qu'ran
Hamzah Jaradat of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada wrote (26 April 2005):
The sole author of the Qu'ran is not Mohammad, but God, this is a belief that all Muslims share.
Mr. Hart's comments stating that Mohammad is the author of the Qu'ran are incorrect. The
Qu'ran was sent to Mohammad piece by piece through memorization by the angle Jibreel (sent
by God); Mr. Hart stated that Mohammad's thoughts and ideas were put into the Qu'ran by
Mohammad. This is untrue, as I mentioned above; the sole author of the Qu'ran is Allah
(meaning God in Arabic or Aramaic).
However, Mohammad did show the Muslims (his companions) the way to lead a life
successfully, happily and in an Islamic manner. He would talk, and share his ideas and thoughts
with his companions. Muslims believe that this, his thoughts and knowledge, were a gift from
God after Mohammad began his prophetic journey. His thoughts and ideas are a great part of the
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fundamental Islamic belief and lifestyle. Mohammad's teachings are called Sunnah. An example
of the Sunnah is as follows: The prophet used to pray 7 times a day while the only mandatory
requirements (from Allah) were 5; some people today pray 7 times a day just like the prophet
Mohammad (Sunnah) although it is not mandatory.
Mr. Hart was incorrect in stating that the author of the Qu'ran is Mohammad, as I have briefly
explained, the creator of the Qu'ran is Allah and not Mohammad. I hope to have informed you
about the truth behind the Qu'ran and its author.
Nauman Awan:
Mohammad deserves to be ranked first. There are far more Muslim prayers than Christian
prayers.
Nauman Awan ([email protected]) sent us the following on 12 August 2005:
This is to support the authors Michael H. Hart's decision in his book, History's 100 Most
Influential People.
According to him MUHAMMAD (SAW) deserves the first ranking. I have a very simple
example and argument to support this decision. We Muslims, pray five times a day and before
pray we give ADAN, a mandatory act to say our NAMAZ (PRAY). During ADAN we say that
"MUHAMMAD IS THE LAST PROPHET OF ALLAH". This process continues 24 hrs a day in
the whole world as you can well imagine our prayer timings, which changes due to longitude and
latitude. That means if it is sunrise in east than we will say our morning pray while west Muslims
will say their night pray. So in this way ADAN is being going on 24 hrs a day throughout the
world.
With all kind respect for Mr. Paul, his argument of JESUS NAME in 6 billion books and
MUHAMMAD'S in 1 billion has no solid ground, without any proved research. And if it is there
i.e. proved, can you compare a person whom NAME is being respectably called 24 hrs a day
through out the whole world in groups of trillions of people, with a person whose NAME is
called out only once in a week as a group. A PROPHET who carries a book from ALLAH
(GOD), which has not been changed after 14 centuries, can you compare HIM with a PROPHET
whose book itself has been changed many times?
MUHAMMAD was sent by ALLAH and ALLAH REVEALED QURAN ON HIM, it is not HIS
BOOK and ALLAH ALSO REVEALED BIBLE ON JESUS. Why QURAN has not been
changed yet or no body has dared to change it? Because responsibility of protecting QURAN is
being taken by ALLAH (GOD).
The original version of BIBLE itself tells an incident in which JESUS was telling his followers
about MUHAMMAD, who would come after HIM but with a long gap. And also HE is ordering
them to follow HIM because HE WOULD BE LAST ONE AND THE LEADER OF ALL THE
PROPHETS.
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Being MUSLIMS we also believe that JESUS is alive and HE will come back when ALLAH
(GOD) will ask HIM TO DO SO. But HE WILL COME AS A FOLLOWER OF MUHAMMAD
BECAUSE HE WILL BE COMING IN MUHAMMADS ERA WHICH IS TILL THE DAY OF
JUDGEMENT and no one can now come from ALLAH saying that I am the last prophet,
because MUHAMMAD IS THE LAST PROPHET - THE NUMBER ONE and also THERE IS
NO NEED OF ANY PROPHET BECAUSE HE HAS TOLD US EACH AND EVERYTHING
THAT IS TO BE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THIS LIFE AND THE LIFE AFTER DEATH
THROUGH QURAN AND THOURGH HIS HADITHS AND DEEDS (SUUNAH).
The above arguments are made just to support the author’s point of view and have no intention to
harm any Religion's credibility, or to harm any personal feelings. These arguments are made just
to support authors decision and not to let any others arguments down or not to negate his
understanding about author's point of view.
Guralivu Paul:
Christ should be first. Here's why
Guralivu Paul [[email protected]] wrote (4 July 2005):
With all respect for Muslims, Jesus Christ should be first because:
* Everybody has a belief about Him. For example, Christians say He is God. Muslims say He is
a prophet. Hindus says He is an incarnation of Krishna. Buddhists say He is only another path.
So almost 6 billion people have this name in their books and in their teachings.
Only 1 billion have the name Muhammad in their books.
Only 330 millions have the name Buddha in their books and teachings.
Only 900 millions have the name Krishna in their books and teachings.
* Napoleon said that Jesus is the greatest man that ever lived. This is because He shares with us
His divine love. Jesus has a great empire of love, and it remains with us after 2000 years. Many
people had empires, but where are these empires today?
* Every year 6 million Muslims leave Islam for Christ in Africa alone. (Ahmad Al Katani said
this.)
* Jesus should be the first because everybody agrees that He is alive.
Christians say that He is alive.
Muslims say that He is alive.
Modern Pagans say that He is alive.
I don't understand why Issac Newton is listed at #2 and Jesus #3. Issac Newton should be #3
because he did believe in Jesus and he loved Jesus. If Newton were alive today he would
probably say that Jesus should be listed first.
Patrick Egbuchunam:
Jesus is first and clearly the greatest figure in human history
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Patrick Egbuchunam of Lagos, Nigeria wrote (11 October 2005):
I have been to your site on the web and must thank you for the information contained there.
I wish to comment on the list of the 100 most influential people in human history and the listing
of Mohammed as first, Isaac Newton as second and Jesus as third.
Firstly, I must say that as you rightly pointed out, such an analysis is subjective. I also think it
should not be done by only one person as was the case. It is best carried out by a committee of
academic professors of world history who should come from varying religious and cultural
backgrounds and must include atheists and secular humanists.
I believe the sole author of your analysis did a bad job probably because he has Christian roots (I
may be wrong) and did not want to be accused of bias.
The simple truth is that Mohammed the founder of Islam has not affected human history the way
the Galilean carpenter has.
Firstly, the fact adduced that Jesus of Nazareth did not found an empire even makes his influence
the more glaring. Jesus also did not write anything nor cause anything to be written about him
while on earth.
Secondly, Jesus is recognized by Christians the way Peter made his profession of faith. "You are
the Christ, the Son of the Living God". All Christians despite being hopelessly divided and
fragmented hold fast to this statement and also use the New Testament without disagreement. On
the other hand, Moslems and the Koran recognize Jesus as the Christ but declare that God cannot
have a son. The Koran spends so much time debating and disputing Christianity's claim that
Jesus is the Son of God, that the status of Jesus is the single most topical issue that Islam has had
to confront in its fourteen centuries of existence. Jews totally reject Peter's profession of faith but
Jesus for them remains an enigma and a mystery. The fact that a fellow Jew founded the world's
most predominant and influential religion still baffles them to no end. Other religious groups
such as Eckankar and the Grail message and even founders of major religious/philosophical
systems such as Karl Marx who do not accept Peter's declaration still refer to Jesus in superlative
terms, calling him, for example, "one of the masters," etc.
The great influence of Jesus can be seen in the pre-eminent status of Europe (the so-called
Christian continent). Europe colonized most of the world - Africa, Latin, Central and North
America, Australasia and small parts of the Middle East and Asia. Missionaries followed the
colonialists and adventurers everywhere.
The Crusades against the Moslem Ottoman Turks were instigated by a Pope and actually brought
Europe in contact with a better civilization and signaled the beginning of Europe's ascendancy.
The quarrel was about the use of Jesus birthplace.
Let us also consider that despite twelve centuries of different Moslem empires in the Middle
East, Africa and Asia, these people did not make much technological and economic progress. It
was Christian Europe that did. Even the discovery of oil in the Middle East in the 20th century
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has not had much impact in the closed Moslem societies where women have no liberty and
despots are in control.
What about the modern miracle of the founding of the modern nation state of Israel? This was
facilitated by the United States and Britain, two clearly Christian powers. Moslem protests,
suicide attacks and terrorism have failed as Israel has gone on from strength to strength.
What about the impact of the Papacy? Peter's successors for good or for bad have had a great
impact on the world stage since Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD. For over sixteen
centuries Popes have remained undisputed as the most visible, most influential and best known
religious leaders in the world. We are all living witnesses to the impact of Pope John Paul II. He
was not the first great Pope. Even going back to 1968, check out the mass reaction to Pope Paul's
decision to ban artificial forms of contraception among Catholics. It generated wide furor.
One can go on and on. One billion Moslems know him and debate and argue about Jesus. Two
billion Christians worship him. This totals about half the earth's current population. But what
about the Bible? The world's runaway best seller with over 6 billion copies sold. It is Jesus that
makes the Bible tick. Without him it would just be the Jewish scriptures.
What about the influence of his mother Mary? She is the most important woman in Islam and a
whole chapter in the Koran is devoted to her (the only woman to be so honored by the Koran). In
fact, Moslems always refer to Jesus as the son of Mary. The Koran accepts the virgin birth of
Jesus.
On the other hand, Mary divides Christians. One one hand are the half of the world's Christians
who are Catholics (the world's biggest religious denomination) along with some other sects that
revere and honor her. On the other hand are the other half that reject her pre-eminence or at best
prefer to ignore her.
To place Jesus at third place behind even Isaac Newton is, to say the least, a travesty of
judgment, if I may call it that.
I know that every child that goes through school learns of Newton in elementary physics, but
what is the percentage of the world's children in school? Most of the humanitarian organizations
that give aid to impoverished regions of the world where children cannot go to school are
Christian. They bring Jesus along with their aid.
I submit that Jesus is first and clearly the greatest figure in human history. Mohammed comes a
distant second and Newton may be third.
Thank you.
Patrick Egbuchunam
Lagos, Nigeria
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Ramazan Saeed:
Muhammad was a family man
Ramazan Saeed wrote (31 October 2005):
I was reading the section on your site about the religious affiliation of history's 100 most
influential people (http://www.adherents.com/adh_influ.html). I would just like to make a point
that everyone else seems to have forgotten, and please feel free to add this to your website.
Many can argue whether Muhammad, Jesus and Newton should be the most influential using
numbers on how many followers they have, how great a secular influence they had, whose
empire was larger, etc etc. However one thing that differentiates one from the others, is that
Muhammad was beyond what is already described, a family man. Not only did he marry, he also
had children. And as any father alive will testify, marriage and the raising of children are very
difficult tasks, and for Muhammad to do this as well as his other accomplishments show how
great a man he was.
Dragon Atma:
Christopher Columbus didn't discover America; religious founders shouldn't top modern
tech developers
Dragon Atma wrote (31 May 2007):
Christopher Columbus's only real draw is that he discovered America... problem is, he didn't!
Leif Ericson discovered it a good five hundred years earlier. Don't believe me? They actually
found the remains of a Norse settlemant in L'anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland.
Furthermore, sticking a religious founder at #1 is a complete joke. Why not stick other religious
nutjobs like Osama Bin-Laden in too?
As for who should go at the #1 spot, there are only three possibilities: The man who created
computers, the man who created the internet, and the man who discovered electiricty -- all three
changed the world more than jesus or mohammed did and in a far shorter amount of time.
Time Magazine's Person of the Century Poll
"While Time deliberated on its Person of the Century, the magazine's Web site invited readers to
vote. [Source: The King of the Century" in the San Jose Mercury News, 27 Dec. 1999.; URL:
http://www7.mercurycenter.com:80/premium/nation/docs/timebox27.htm]
Elvis Presley
Assemblies of God
624,574
Yitzhak Rabin
Jewish
599,557
Adolf Hitler
Nazism
516,408
Billy Graham
Presbyterian, Baptist
470,477
Albert Einstein
Jewish
443,630
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Baptist
381,462
Pope John Paul II
Catholic
372,015
Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley
Latter-day Saint
255,026
Mohandas Gandhi
Hindu, Jain
163,940
Ronald Reagan
Presbyterian
81,262
Source: Time Web site: www.pathfinder.com/time/
*Hinckley is president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In choosing their Person of the Century, Time did not use the poll results, but made their own
decision. They chose Albert Einstein (Jewish).
The runners-up for Time's Person of the Century were Franklin Roosevelt (an Episcopalian)
and Mohandas Gandhi (a devout Hindu whose mother was a Jain and whose beliefs and
practices were partially Jain).
Most Influential Asians of the 20th Century
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Hirohito
Ho Chi Minh
Pol Pot
Issey Miyake
Daisuke Inoue
Rabindranath Tagore
Sun Yat-sen
Mohandas Gandhi
Sukarno
Mao Zedong
Lee Kuan Yew
Deng Xiaoping
Corazon Aquino
Park Chung Hee
Eiji Toyoda
King Rama
Swaminathan
Akira Kurosawa
Dalai Lama
Akio Morita
[Source: Nisid Hajari. "Asians of the Century" in Time Asia, August 23-30, 1999 Vol. 154 No.
7/8; URL: http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/time/asia/magazine/1999/990823/cover1.html]
Useful Biography Links
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Biography.com - In association with the A&E television show.
Catalog of the Scientific Community in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Related Links on this Web Site
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100s: Books and Lists Ranking People in Various Categories
The 100 Most Influential Jews in History
The Film 100 - most influential people in movie history
Religious Affiliation of History's Greatest Philosophers
History's Great Religious Leaders
Religious Affiliation of U.S. Presidents
Religious Affiliation of U.S. Congress
Religious Affiliation of Famous Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers
Famous Adherents - Famous Christians, Famous Muslims, Famous Zoroastrians, etc.
Most Admired Men and Women - Gallup poll results show Pope John Paul II, Billy
Graham, Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley and Dalai Lama on short list of men Americans
admire most
The 100 Greatest Heroes of All Time
The 100 Most Influential Military Leaders in History
The 100 Most Influential Figures in Modern Business
The 100 Most Influential Hispanics in American History
The Novel 100: A Ranking of Greatest Novels All Time
The 100 Most Influential Novelists, Playwrights, and Poets
The 100 Greatest Golfers of All Time
100 Women Who Shaped World History
100 Most Powerful Women in the World
100 Greatest Men of All Time
100 Scientists Who Shaped World History
The Millennium 100 - results of a reader poll: most influential people of the 2nd
millennium B.C.
Lists of Influential People Without Reference to or
Information About Religious Affiliation
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Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the
20th Century
Biography of the Millennium - Top 100 most influential people of the millennium, from
the A&E program Biography
Our thanks to Jason Quartarone for assistance with some Voltaire, Marconi and Copernicus
facts. Thanks to Joe Rowe for assistance with Johann Gutenberg info. Thanks to Ann RodgersMelnick of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for additional Edison information.
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