Sunday Times 2
Jesus Christ tops list of world’s top ten most significant people
Jesus has been named the most significant person in human history, followed by Napoleon and Shakespeare, as ruled by the internet.
Based on the impact on opinions certain individuals have had over time, and how that has reflected onto their Wikipedia pages, two computer scientists have come up with the ultimate list.
Professor Steven Skiena and Charles Ward use quantative analysis to rank more than a thousand historical figures and prominent people, from Elvis to Beethoven, Stalin and Queen Victoria.
A statue portraying Jesus Christ is carried by Catholic devotees taking part in the Jesus of Nazareth Merced procession during Holy Week in Guatemala City (AFP)
With Jesus as a front runner it comes as no great surprise that the prophet Muhammad is ranked at number four.
Leaders of empires are prominent on the list with Napoleon as number second and Alexander the Great at number nine.
Alexander’s teacher and the founder of Western philosophy, Aristotle, is listed as number eight.
The list sees three US presidents, two of which were the founding fathers of the United States, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
However despite their indisputable significance in history, they are both outranked by Abraham Lincoln, who is listed as number five.
The only entry on the list which serves as a person of impact ‘lest we forget’ is Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who is ranked as the seventh most significant person in human history.
American leader: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US, and the first of three of the same on the list
There is an unmissable absence of women on the list, which the authors explain is a result of centuries of inequality meaning the impact of female figures has not been as great.
In the book Who’s Bigger? Where Historical Figures Really Rank, Professor Skiena and Mr Ward compare their ranking to Google’s system of ranking web pages in a search.
By collection millions of opinions on famous and infamous figures throughout history they have calculated, how successfully the idea of each person has spread in society through time.
‘We would call Jesus “the most significant person ever”,’ Professor Skiena told Pacific Standard.
‘With over two billion followers a full 2,000 years after his death, Jesus is an incredibly successful historical meme.’
© Daily Mail, London
| THE TEN MOST SIGNIFICANT FIGURES IN HUMAN HISTORY1. Jesus 2. Napoleon Bonaparte 3. William Shakespeare 4. Muhammad 5. Abraham Lincoln 6. George Washington 7. Adolf Hitler 8. Aristotle 9. Alexander the Great 10. Thomas Jefferson |