However, there are crucial junctures where a powerful leader or thinker can change the course of history. Such was the case of Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Karl Marx and Mohammed, explains Professor MacMillan.
The phrase assumes that there is a course of history: that one event causes another, and that there is some larger pattern which is constructed by events unfolding. To change the course of history implies that an expected sequence of occurrences was somehow disrupted by an unforseen event.
Sometimes, however, history takes a sharp turn away from its ordained path in response to a single individual’s will. Sometimes you can go back to a particular moment in history and say that if it hadn’t been for one person, things would have been very different.
People who change the world aren't always who you expect. They're housewives, sisters, and ordinary people believe in a better world. Every editorial product is independently selected, though we may be compensated or receive an affiliate commission if you buy something through our links.
Jesus, Napoleon, Moses, Julius Caesar, Saint Paul, Alexander the Great, Gandhi, and Muhammad were men whose lives changed the course of history. They would have been remarkable in any era in which they were born. But by living when they did, each defined the times in which they lived.
Inspirational people – People who made a difference in a positive way and left the world a better place. Includes Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa and Emil Zatopek. – People who campaigned for equality, civil rights and civil justice. Includes Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948): Activist – India He has changed the world by being a strong source of inspiration for civil rights movements through his non-violent non-cooperation approach. Before leading the Indian National Congress, Gandhi studied law at University and then travelled to South Africa.
Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World.
People who changed the worldJesus of Nazareth (circa 5 BCE – 30 CE) Spiritual Teacher, central figure of Christianity.Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) American President 1801 – 1809. ... Mikhail Gorbachev. ... Lord Buddha (circa 563 BCE – 483 BCE) Spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism.More items...
These 10 People Made the World a Better Place. More People Should Know their NamesNiels Bohlin. Inventor of the Three-Point Seatbelt. ... Maurice Ralph Hilleman. Saved More Lives than Any Other. ... Vasili Arkhipov and Stanislav Petrov. ... Chuck Feeney. ... Norman Borlaug. ... Henrietta Lacks. ... Eugene Lazowski. ... James Harrison.More items...•
By their reckoning, Jesus, Napoleon, Muhammad, William Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln rank as the top five figures in world history. Their book ranks more than 1,000 individuals from all around the world, providing a new way to look at history.
Top 100 ListMuhammad (570 – 632 AD) Prophet of Islam.Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) – British mathematician and scientist.Jesus of Nazareth (c. ... Buddha (c 563 – 483 BC) Spiritual Teacher and founder of Buddhism.Confucius (551 – 479 BC) – Chinese philosopher.St. ... Ts'ai Lun (AD 50 – 121) Inventor of paper.More items...
The 100 Most Important People In HistoryJesus: central figure of Christianity (7 B.C. - A.D. 30)Napoleon: Emperor of France, involved in the Battle of Waterloo (1769 - 1821)Muhammad: prophet and founder of Islam (570 - 632)William Shakespeare: English playwright, wrote "Hamlet" (1564 - 1616)More items...•
Hart's Top 10 (from the 1992 edition)RankNameTime Frame1Muhammadc. 570–6322Isaac Newton1643–17273Jesus4 BC–33 AD4Buddha (Siddartha Gautama)563–483 BC6 more rows
Individuals cannot make history on their own but sometimes an individual and the times they live in meet to produce dramatic change, according to Margaret MacMillan, Oxford Professor of International History, who delivered the 2017 Annual Edmund Burke Lecture.