Ten Who Changed the Millennium

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 507.

The arrival of the year 2000 has provided much of humanity with cause for reflection on the last millennium. Scientific, social, and political revolutions during the last 1,000 years have left an indelible mark on the world that exists today.

Perhaps one of the best ways to examine the sprawling history of the second millennium is to consider the most influential people who shaped it. As American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “There is properly no history; only biography.”

But how does one go about selecting from 1,000 years of history a representative group of the most influential people? Which individuals most fully represented the triumphs of humanity and shaped the outcome of the millennium?

Five criteria were used to make the selections. The first one—whose contributions had a lasting influenceon history?—carried the most weight. The second criterion was the effect on the sum total of wisdom and beauty in the world. This allowed the consideration of artistic contributions, such as a Beethoven sonata, a Michelangelo fresco, or a Shakespearean sonnet, that may not have directly altered the history books but without which world culture would not be as rich as it is.

The next criterion was influence on contemporaries. How much did each individual affect the world during his or her own time? This standard allowed consideration of more modern figures, whose lasting contribution to the world is more difficult to gauge at this juncture in history.

Another point of evaluation was singularity of contribution. If a single person had invented the automobile or the Internet, that genius might have been considered for our roster. But so many of the innovations and inventions that made their mark on history were the result of collaborative efforts. The criterion of singularity of contribution recognized those people whose singular brilliance chartedentirely new territory.

The fifth and final criterion was charisma. This attribute brought to the selection process great leaders who may not have been intellectual giants noted for pathbreaking new discoveries, but who nevertheless exerted great influence by virtue of their ability to inspire other people to act.

Using these five criteria, the people whose contributions most changed the world in ten different categories were selected. The ten are Johannes Gutenberg, inventor; Christopher Columbus, explorer; Michelangelo, artist; Martin Luther, religious leader; William Shakespeare, writer; Galileo Galilei, scientist; George Washington, statesman; Ludwig van Beethoven, music composer; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, activist; and Mohandas Gandhi, peacemaker.