Greatest Person of the 20th Century

[Buckeye]

Originally Posted by headhawg

"Self Help For Trolls"? Did you get to page four yet?

See, keep on exposing yourself as a you know what.

[Buckeye]

It's pretty sad when ignoramuses or dopes as I call them come out of the woodwork.

[sammy the sage]

Originally Posted by Buckeye

It's pretty sad when ignoramuses or dopes as I call them come out of the woodwork.

What's your address Knitty Lion...or did I read Buckeye too now...

I will send you a FREE mirror....no charge...

[headhawg]

Originally Posted by Buckeye

See, keep on exposing yourself as a you know what.

I won't feed the troll anymore -- unless it has some ground glass in it.

[Marshall Bennett]

Fred Sanford

[chiguy]

I think it has to be Churchill overall. He saved it all by cunning and shear force of will. Many people don't realize how anti-war much of America was in the 1930's and FDR was not too inclined to get involved. Churchill was able to persuade him. He stood alone on an island for some time and was able to rally his people. My mom was born in this era and raised in London. The hardships that were endured during this time were incredible. She is one tough nut and I think that attitude came from Churchill.

[Tom]

Churchill also sold out Poland.

[OntheRail]

Nikola Tesla

The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine

[snappit]

No doubt Churchill was a great war leader and did inspire the country but I would argue that Alan Turing had far more direct impact on winning the war.

Despite the fact that Churchill was a great leader in WW2 he did not have the confidence of the people away from the war. Directly after the war his party lost office in the election ad he was replaced as prime minister. He also had many faults. He was no doubt a racist and white supremacist, his writings and speeches make this clear. He was an imperialist and caused a great deal of harm in India and possibly contributed to many deaths there. During WW1 performance and planning as First Lord of the Admiralty caused the deaths of thousands in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign. As Tom said he also sold out Poland, although you could argue that Roosevelt was also responsible.

[ReplayRandall]

1. Jonas Salk

2. Henry Ford

3. Billy Graham

[Tom]

Turing and Tesla are good choices.
Who knows what great things we would today if not for the government silencing Tesla.

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Amazing question.

Large part of it depends upon what part of the world you live in, and what you believe to be important.

This list of the "Western" world greatly shows significant advances or heroes of a sector that makes up 10-15% of the world population. While it is the most advanced via civil standards, and quality of life, there is the other 85% of the world that would have a list most of us wouldn't even recognize.

What does this list look like in China? Japan? Africa? USSR/Soviet Union? War torn countries in the Middle East?

I don't see that Explorers, Entertainers, Activists, Sports, or Artists/Writers offer much value for "Most Important" of any century much less decade. They have little impact on lives outside of a defining period or many times unnecessary needs, wants, or accomplishments of the society in which they live.

While I have great respect for those that took the first voyages into space, they have meant little in the grand scheme of which is human life on planet Earth. Bowie, Ali, Picasso, are simply artists in nature. People pay for their efforts, but they also mean little in anybodies daily lives.

For me, it is those that provide, extend, or end life in a medical or inventive nature.

Bosch/Haber and their fertilization efforts take hold in saving lives on this planet for at least 2/5ths of the people on this planet that wouldn't be alive today. Or still alive.

Hitler: While most would never consider him "great", he wanted to wipe out an entire population while looking to take over the entire world. He was the central figure of the biggest war this planet has ever seen, and was the very envelopment of evil when given power and ability. The world should never disillusion themselves that there are people that will forever live on this planet, that if given the power Hitler held, would want to do the exact same or worse.

[barahona44]

Interesting that Neil Armstrong was under the "Explorers" category.Did people forget Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were on Apollo 11 also?

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Originally Posted by barahona44

Interesting that Neil Armstrong was under the "Explorers" category.Did people forget Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were on Apollo 11 also?

He was 1st to step on the moon and made the quote.

Crazy how history is so subjective to weird ordering of events and beliefs.

Columbus wasn't the 1st to discover America for what is known as "our" civilization. Leif Ericson was the first Westerner to set foot on North American soil nearly 500 years before Columbus. And oh by the way, Columbus discovered the Bahamas. He never set foot in the land we call the United States, much less the contiguous 48 states. It wasn't like he landed on Plymouth Rock.

Then again, the actual first to set foot in the Americas crossed what we know now as the Bering Strait, but was connected thousands (likely 10 to 16 thousand or so) of years ago. People migrated and then moved down into the Americas, Mexico, and even South America.

[HalvOnHorseracing]

Originally Posted by snappit

All very subjective but interesting. Who would you choose as the greatest person of the 20th century.

Over the past few weeks there has been an interesting programme on BBC over here. The objective to see who the public thinks the greatest person of the 20th century.

Each week a different category was explored and a winner voted for by the public from a shortlist of four. The seven category winners went to a final where a public vote came up with the winner.

The shortlists were as follows. The winner of each category is in bold

Leaders: Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Franklin D Roosevelt

Explorers: Ernest Shackleton, Neil Armstrong, Gertrude Bell, Jane Goodall

Scientists: Alan Turing, Einstein, Marie Curie, Tu Youyou

Entertainers: David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin, Billie Holliday, Marylin Monroe

Activists: Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Helen Keller, Emmeline Pankhurst

Sports: Muhammad Ali, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Billie Jean King, Pele


Artists & Writers: Picasso, Alfred Hitchcock, Andy Warhol, Virginia Woolf

The eventual overall winner was Alan Turing. Well deserved in my opinion.

Who would you nominate?

Turing is a very logical choice for the British. In America, physicists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley (inventors of the transistor) revolutionized the field of electronics. Good arguments could be made for both.

I'd have put Rod Serling ahead of Hitchcock, Warhol an Woolf. Picasso was an excellent choice.

Tanni Grey-Thompson is also more familiar to the British. Muhammad Ali is probably an irrefutable choice.

I will readily admit of all the names I most envy Neil Armstrong. His quote is also one of the most memorable in the history of man.