The Ten Most Important People of the 20th Century

B.W. Van Norden

In response to an inquiry from a Vassar College student publication, I wrote up my opinion of the ten most important people of the twentieth century. Lists like this are as entertaining as they are meaningless. My criteria for inclusion were as follows:

How many people were influenced, and to how great an extent, by the event(s) associated with this person?
Would the event(s) associated with this person not have occurred, or would they have happened in a significantly different way, had this person not existed?

Two things to keep in mind about this list are that "important" is different from "admirable," and that the figures are listed alphabetically, and not by order of importance.

Albert Einstein: Responsible for theory that led to nuclear weapons, and wrote letter encouraging US nuclear weapon research. I found Einstein's own Relativity: The Special and General Theory a helpful introduction for the non-specialist.
Mahatma Gandhi: Major figure in Indian independence movement, and influenced non-violent protest world-wide.
Adolph Hitler: WWII and the Holocaust are central events of this century.
John M. Keynes: Significant influence on economic policy in non-communist world.
V.I. Lenin: Central figure in Soviet Communism. Worldwide influence on Communist ideology.
Mao Tse-tung: Brought China under unified rule. Responsible for death and oppression of millions. For an intriguing but controversial biography, see The Private Life of Chairman Mao.
Pope Paul VI: Encyclical "Humanae Vitae" helps determine relationship of Catholicism to modernity.
Ronald Wilson Reagan: Irresponsible tax cuts and military spending spree created massive deficit, and altered fiscal policy of US government, perhaps permanently. For more on the Reagan administration's domestic policy, I recommend Sleepingwalking through History: America in the Reagan Years, by Haynes Johnson.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Kept US from heading toward either fascism or Communism during the depression. Leader of US in WWII.
Joseph Stalin: Central figure in WWII and Soviet Communism.

Honorable mention: Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy (mostly for the space program and starting US involvement in Vietnam War), Jonas Salk, Elvis Presley (yes, I'm serious).

Version of October 13, 1998.