Personalities

200 Influential Personalities of all time

200 influential personalities of all time
Name
Nationality
Profession
Born -
Died -


200 Influential Personalities of all time

It is not easy for someone to decide if someone else is a remarkable or an exceptional individual or not. It is not easy to count up the significant, remarkable or exceptional people throughout the history of mankind. Someone may be missing… Someone may slip our mind… Someone may be added in the list later on…. Let’s face it…. Whether a personality is important or exceptional or not is a matter of opinion. Someone who is an exceptional, a remarkable person for me, may mean nothing for you… However, there are personalities that, whether you like it or not, are familiar to you… You know these people, even though you may have not met them and you that you are not going to meet the. They are usually people of the past that even future generations will keep in their memory. They are great people who have left their mark on the world making their names memorable. They are personalities who stood out, reversed the course of life, making either a positive impact or a negative one, people who tried to guide others leading them on to innovative paths.

Many previous studies tried to classify such personalities who have had a huge impact on people’s lives and affected their memories greatly. These personalities were people who were born in order to change the course of mankind, rebels full of hope for the future, researchers who worked hard in order to contribute greatly to the evolution of mankind. Personalities who were leaders, affected other peoples’ lives and they will be remembered over time. They were people who have shared their knowledge with us for a better future. Listed below are the top 200 personalities in the history of mankind, who have made either a positive or a negative impact on peoples’ lives; these people are worth being listed in this ranking as they made us realize what is right or wrong, what is good or bad. It’s a random ranking, without any rating scales.

Recommended by Motto Cosmos.

NAME DATE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH MOTTO OCCUPATION
John Locke 1632 1704 “All mankind… being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” philosopher
Johannes Calvin 1509 1564 “However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.” theologian, pastor and reformer
Grover Cleveland 1837 1908 “A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves.” president
Otto Von Bismarck 1815 1898 “Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.” statesman
Dante Alighieri 1265 1321 “Three things have remained outside paradies: stars, flowers and children.” Poet
Jeanne d’ Arc 1412 1431  “One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.” Heroine
Harry S. Truman 1884 1972 “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” president
Nikola Tesla 1856 1943 “Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.” Inventor, engineer, physicist, futurist
George Washington 1732 1799 It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company. president
Abraham Lincoln 1809 1865 Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. president
Alexander the Great 356v.Chr 322v.Chr I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. king
Aristoteles 384v.Chr 322v.Chr “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” Philosopher, scientist
Adolf Hitler 1889 1945 The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category. Politician, leader
Plato / / Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Philosopher, founder
Mohammad Ali 573 632 He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Boxer, activist
William Shakespeare 1564 1616 We know what we are, but know not what we may be. poet, playwright, actor
Napoleon Bonaparte 1769 1821 Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily. statesman and military leader
Jesus 4BC 31 c. AD And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. leader
Socrates 470 BC 399 BC The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. philosopher
Leonardo Da Vinci 1452 1519 Tears come from the heart and not from the brain. artist
Confucius 551 BC 479 BC It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. philosopher
Pythagoras 582 BC 497 BC Silence is better than unmeaning words. mathematician
Harry S. Truman 1884 1972 It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. president
Rene Descartes 1596 1650 It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. mathematician
Pole Johannes / / Once you see results, it becomes an addiction.
Thomas von Aquin 1225 1274 There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship. theologian
Ali Ibn Abi Talib 600 661 A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country. Clergyman
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 1832 The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. poet
Philipp II. (Spain) 1527 1598 God, who has given me so many Kingdoms to govern, has not given me a son fit to govern them. King
Michelangelo 1475 1564 The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection. artist
Ludwig XVI. (France) 1754 1793 I have no intention of sharing my authority. king
Richard Nixon 1913 1994 If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories. president
Francis Bacon 1561 1626 In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712 1778 The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless. philopopher
Cicero 106v.Chr 43v.Chr The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. statesman
Charles II 1630 1685 I always admired virtue – but I could never imitate it. royalty
Oscar Wilde 1854 1900 Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. dramatist
Robert Edward Lee 1807 1870 Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or to keep one. soldier
Wladimir Lenin 1870 1924 A lie told often enough becomes the truth. leader
Nikolaus Copernikus 1473 1543 To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge. scientist
Vincent Van Gogh 1853 1890 I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process. artist
Augustinus von Hippo 354 430 The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. saint
John F. Kennedy 1917 1963 Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. president
Elvis Presley 1935 1977 I’m not trying to be sexy. It’s just my way of expressing myself when I move around. musician
Andrew Jackson 1767 1845 Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there. president
Voltaire 1694 1778 God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. writer
Peter Tschaikowski 1840 1893 Where the heart does not enter; there can be no music. composer
Richard Wagner 1813 1883 I am fond of them, of the inferior beings of the abyss, of those who are full of longing. composer
John Adams 1735 1826 I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. president
James Cook 1728 1779 Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again. explorer
Immanuel Kant 1724 1804 Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. philosopher
Georg III. (Great Britain-Irland) 1738 1820 Everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel. president
Adam Smith 1723 1790 Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition. economist
Joseph Smith Jr. 1805 1844 An angel of God never has wings. clergyman
Edgar Allan Poe 1809 1849 All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream. poet
Mark Twain 1835 1910 The secret of getting ahead is getting started. author
Siddhartha Gautama 563v.Chr 483v.Chr “However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?” teacher
James Madison 1751 1836 Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power. president
Oliver Cromwell 1599 1658 He who stops being better stops being good. soldier
Galileo Galilei 1564 1642 We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves. scientist
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 1750 The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. composer
Woodrow Wilson 1856 1924 The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it. president
Mahatma Gandhi 1869 1948 A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes. leader
Alexander Hamilton 1757 1804 I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man. politician
Sigmund Freud 1856 1939 Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts. psychologist
Franklin Roosevelt 1882 1945 There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still. president
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844 1900 It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages. philosopher
Jakob I. (England) 1566 1625 The sour quality is set opposite to the bitter and the sweet, and is a good temper to all, a refreshing and cooling when the bitter and the sweet qualities are too much elevated or too preponderant. theologian
Thomas Alva Edison 1847 1931 I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. inventor
Dschingis Khan 1155 1227 The Greatest Happiness is to scatter your enemy and drive him before you. To see his cities reduced to ashes. To see those who love him shrouded and in tears. And to gather to your bosom his wives and daughters. Band
Winston Churchill 1874 1965 Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Statesman
George W. Bush 1946 Alive Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time. president
Benjamin Franklin 1706 1790 An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. politician
Charles Dickens 1812 1870 There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. novelist
Ronald Reagan 1911 2004 Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. president
Carl von Linne 1707 1778 If you do not know the names of things, the knowledge of them is lost, too. botanist, physician and zoologist
Augustus 63v.Chr. 14n.Chr. I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. royalty
Leonardo da Vinci 1452 1519 Tears come from the heart and not from the brain. artist
Ulysses S. Grant 1822 1885 My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent. president
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770 1827 Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. composer
Ludwig XIV. (France) 1638 1715 First feelings are always the most natural. royalty
Platon 428v.Chr 348v.Chr Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. philosopher
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 1791 I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings. musician
Theodore Roosevelt 1858 1919 Believe you can and you’re halfway there. president
Isaac Newton 1642 1727 If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. mathematician
Christoph Columbus 1451 1506 Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World. explorer
Albert Einstein 1879 1955 Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. physicist
Josef Stalin 1878 1953 Death is the solution to all problems. No man – no problem. leader
Martin Luther 1483 1546 Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave. leader
Queen Victoria 1819 1901 Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves. royalty
Gaius Iulius Caser 100v.Chr 44v.Chr Experience is the teacher of all things. leader
Karl Marx 1818 1883 The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people. philosopher
Queen Elisabeth I. 1533 1603 A clear and innocent conscience fears nothing. royalty
Charles Darwin 1809 1882 A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. scientist
Heinrich VIII. (England) 1491 1547 “Of all losses, time is the most irrecuperable for it can never be redeemed.” royalty
Thomas Jefferson 1743 1826 Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. president
Buddha 563 BC 483 BC No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. leader
Homer / / A sympathetic friend can be quite as dear as a brother. poet
Werner Heisenberg 1901 1976 “Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think.” Physicist
Albrecht Durer 1471 1528 If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle. Artist
Voltaire 1694 1778 God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. writer
Marie Curie 1867 1934 Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. scientist
James Watt 1736 1819 “An iron railroad would be a cheaper thing than a road of the common construction.” Here lay in a few words the idea from which our railway system has sprung.”  inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist
Johannes Gutenberg 1400 1468 “It is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams…Through it, God will spread His Word. A spring of truth shall flow from it: like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light heretofore unknown to shine amongst men”  blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher
Max Planck 1858 1947 Ego is the immediate dictate of human consciousness. scientist
Archimedes 287 BC 212  BC Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. Mathematician
Orville Wright 1871 1948 The airplane stays up because it doesn’t have the time to fall. Inventor
Michael Faraday 1791 1867 “Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature.”  scientist
Georges Braque 1882 1963 Painting is a nail to which I fasten my ideas. artist
Franz von Assisi 1182 1226 Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. saint
Alexander Graham Bell 1847 1922 Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. inventor
Julius Caesar 100BC 44 BC No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected leader
Lorenzo de’ Medici 1492 1519 “What I have dreamed in an hour is worth more than what you have done in four.” statesman
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen 1845 1923 Great discoveries are made accidentally less often than the populace likes to think. engineer and physicist
Robert Koch 1843 1910 The pure culture is the foundation for all research on infectious disease. physician and microbiologist
Michail Gorbatschow 1931 alive The world will not accept dictatorship or domination. politician
Demokritos 460 BC 370 BC Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. philosopher
Gagarin 1934 1968 I could have gone on flying through space forever. Astronaut
Kemal Atatürk 1881 1938 My people are going to learn the principles of democracy, the dictates of truth and the teachings of science. Superstition must go. leader
Pablo Picasso 1881 1973 The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. artist
Mao Zedong 1893 1976 Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed. leader
Cleopatra 68 BC 30 BC All strange and terrible events are welcome, but comforts we despise royalty
Niels Bohr 1885 1962 Your theory is crazy, but it’s not crazy enough to be true. physicist
Alexander Fleming 1881 1955 One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. scientist
Ludwig Boltzmann 1844 1906 Bring forth what is true; Write it so it it’s clear. Defend it to your last breath. Physicist, philosopher
Hippokrates 460 BC 357 BC Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. scientist
Hammurabi 1810 BC 1750 BC The first duty of government is to protect the powerless from the powerful.” king
Johannes Kepler 1571 1630 Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife. scientist
Guglielmo Marconi 1874 1937 Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time. scientist
Che Guevara 1928 1967 The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. revolutionary
Laozi / / The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step philosopher
Salvador Dali 1904 1989 The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents. artist
Siegmund Freud 1856 1939 Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts. psychologist
Giuseppe Garibaldi 1807 1882 We shall meet again before long to march to new triumphs. soldier
Gottlieb Daimler 1834 1900 “ The best or nothing at all.  engineer,

designer and industrialist

Steve Jobs 1955 2011 Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people. entrepreneur, business magnate, inventor, designer
Bill Gates 1955 / Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose. businessman
Alfred Nobel 1833 1986 Contentment is the only real wealth. scientist
Manfred von Ardenne 1907 1997 “Success flourishes only in perseverance — ceaseless, restless perseverance.” physicist
Rembrandt 1606 1669 Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know. painter
Henry Ford 1863 1947 Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. businessman
Louis Pasteur 1822 1895 Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. scientist
Gerhard Richter 1932 / Good art in general aspires to something, as a good painting aspires to something, almost spiritual or holy. artist
Niccolò Machiavelli 1469 1527 It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both. writer
Neil Armstrong 1930 2012 That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. astronaut
Nelson Mandela 1918 2013 Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. statesman
Carl Jung 1875 1961 Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. psychologist
Samuel Jackson 1948 / If you have an opportunity to use your voice you should use it. actor
Mikhail Gorbachev 1931 / The world will not accept dictatorship or domination. statesman
St. Paul 5BCE 67CE
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
saint
Simon Bolivar 1783 1830 Judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement revolutionary
Akbar 1542 1605 A monarch should be ever intent on conquest, lest his neighbours rise in arms against him. royalty
Konrad Adenauer 1876 1967 History is the sum total of things that could have been avoided. statesman
Jawaharlal Nehru 1889 1964 What we really are matters more than what other people think of us. leader
Charlemagne 742 814 To have another language is to possess a second soul. royalty
Sir Walter Raleigh 1552 1618 Fain would I climb, yet fear I to fall. explorer
Guru Nanak 1469 1539 From its brilliancy everything is illuminated. philosopher
Leo Tolstoy 1828 1910 The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. novelist
Ataturk 1881 1938 Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women. leader
Margaret Thatcher 1925 2013 If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. leader
Boris Yeltsin 1931 2007 You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can’t sit on it for long. statesman
Indira Gandhi 1917 1984 Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave. statesman
William Tyndale 1494 1536 No more doth it hurt to say that the body and blood are not in the sacrament. clergyman
Tim Berners Lee 1955 Alive We need diversity of thought in the world to face the new challenges. inventor
Rosa Parks 1913 2005 Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others. activist
Dalai Lama 1938 Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. leader
Malcolm X 1925 1965 Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. activist
Charles de Gaulle 1890 1970 The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs. leader
Mother Teresa 1910 1997 Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. saint
Bill Gates 1955 Alive Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose. businessman
Ernest Hemingway 1899 1961 The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. novelist
John Lennon 1940 1980 Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you’ve got to let it grow. musician
John M Keynes 1883 1946 Ideas shape the course of history. economist
Susan B. Anthony 1820 1906 Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less. activist
George Orwell 1903 1950 War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. author
Thomas Edison 1847 1931 Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. inventor
Kofi Annan 1938 Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. statesman
William Wilberforce 1759 1833 Of all things, guard against neglecting God in the secret place of prayer. politician
Evia Peron 1919 1952 Shadows cannot see themselves in the mirror of the sun. statesman
Princess Diana 1961 1997 Family is the most important thing in the world. royalty
Helen Keller 1880 1968 Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. author
Florence Nightingale 1820 1910 How very little can be done under the spirit of fear. activist
Harriet Tubman 1822 1913 Never wound a snake; kill it. activist
Anne Frank 1929 1945 Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. writer
Sri Chinmoy 1931 2007 Smile, smile, smile at your mind as often as possible. Your smiling will considerably reduce your mind’s tearing tension. author
Desmond Tutu 1931 You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. author
Jesse Owens 1913 1980 One chance is all you need. athlete
Rosa Parks 1913 2005 Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others. activist
Amelia Earhart 1897 1939 The most effective way to do it, is to do it. author
Barack Obama 1961 Still alive Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference. politician
Marco Polo 1254 1324 I did not write half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed merchant
Vasco da Gama 1469 1524 I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living. explorer
Ferdinand Magellan 1480 1521 Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a manly heart. explorer
Marie Antoinette 1755 1793 There is nothing new except what has been forgotten. royalty
Coco Chanel 1883 1971 A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. designer
Marlene Dietrich 1901 1992 Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast. actress
Katharine Hepburn 1907 2003 If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun. actress
Marilyn Monroe 1926 1962 I restore myself when I’m alone. actress
Bob Marley 1945 1981 One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. musician
Michael Jackson 1958 2009 My mother’s wonderful. To me she’s perfection. musician
Bruce Lee 1940 1973 Knowledge will give you power, but character respect. actor
Tupac 1971 1996 I don’t have no fear of death. My only fear is coming back reincarnated. musician
Michael Jordan 1963 / Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. athlete
Maya Angelou 1928 2014 If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love. poet

 

Remarkable personalities, strong personalities… Do you really know yourself? Do you know who you are and what are your personality traits? Can you change WHAT you are? Can you change WHO you are? So, learn yourself better and use this knowledge in order to have a better and more positive and advantageous life. This information is the key to understanding behaviors and, eventually, to the importance of personality formation and development.

 

Recommended by Motto Cosmos.

More information about

Would you like to learn more about topics of the personalities? Then please check out the links right down below:

Please rate this

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear.