One of the most popular debates, whether in a debating society or around a dinner table, is who the most influential humans are in history.
It’s unlikely you’d find two people that would agree on an entire list, as all opinions tend to be highly subjective.
The Macro Connections Group, in conjunction with MIT University, set up a project known as Pantheon, in which they tried to draw up just such a list of the most influential humans to have ever lived.
This multi-ethnic team included members from all disciplines, and they did their best to analyze, quantify, and measure culture on a global basis.
Using this data, the team drew up an academically-supported list of the greatest human beings in the history of the world.
Browsing the list makes fascinating reading, but simply listing the top 20 or 100 most influential people is misleading, as the top of the list would be dominated by people such as philosophers, politicians, soldiers, religious leaders, and scientists.
So rather than simply list the top few overall, we should perhaps look at the person ranked the highest in each particular field.
25. Business: Walt Disney
Overall rank on the MIT list was 168
Few individuals in the world have ever exhibited such imagination as Walt Disney and then gone on to create an enormous business empire based on the fruits of that imagination.
Walt Disney gave the world a series of cartoon icons; characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have enchanted generations of children since they were first brought to shaky life in enormously popular cartoons.
Not only did Disney build a series of enduring characters, but he also spawned a huge entertainment empire that leveraged the popularity of these characters into a financial success story.
Another measure of his success is the 22 Academy Awards that he and his creative teams have won.
His popular characters are enjoyed by children from across the globe, both rich and poor, and irrespective of skin color, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
24. Chemistry: Louis Pasteur
Overall rank on the MIT list was 146
It is surprising that this man holds such a low ranking in the MIT list when one considers his immense contribution to the health of humankind and how his discoveries have saved millions upon millions of lives.
Society often values wealth, entertainment, politics, and technology over the fundamental discoveries made by scientists over the ages.
Pasteur has long been considered the father of microbiology; his work toward pasteurization has ensured that millions of people drink milk cleansed of destructive bacteria.
The pasteurization process has extended into almost all facets of food production, making canned and frozen foods safe for everyone to eat.