Jesus? Buddha? Mohammed? These were all inspiring to some people. But inspiring them to do what? Tens of millions have died and billions have been persecuted in the name of religion, and the deaths and persecutions continue to this day. But my point is not so much that evil was done by the followers of religion (which could also be said about the great people I list below) but that Religion itself, by its very nature, is about controlling the minds of people to obey the will of tyrants. Some of this control, might have been a good idea a long long time ago. But since the invention of a secular Democracy, which derives its authority from the consent of the governed (and not the Will of God) Religion is worse than obsolete.
The greatest person (in my book) of all time is not a "religious leader", but instead, the first modern scientist...
The greatest single founder of modern science, and principal author of the beginning of the Scientific Revolution). Among other things, invented the telescope and was the first to see the universe for what it really is. Talk about eye opening or mind expanding...Galileo really did it for everybody.
Certainly there was slavery in the beginning of the U.S., segregation after that, and the spate of prohibitions (alcohol, abortion, and drugs) which began in the 20th century. But as serious as all these defects are, the concept of constitutional limited government with multiple competing branches is the greatest invention of all time, and it has inspired numerous imitators (some of whom may have even improved on the original model). Sharing some of the glory are James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and many others. But Washington was the one indispensible person; the one who, more than anyone else, made it possible.
Some of the worst sins of the U.S. involve imperialism. To his great credit, George Washington not only warned us about foreign entanglements, but even sacrificed his own popularity when President by avoiding war. (Very much unlike Eisenhower, another great General, who became one of our worst presidents because he secretly perpetrated heinous Cold War actions in many places including Vietnam, Guatemala, and Iran, and failed to bring about disarmament when it was in his grasp, for fear of damaging his own popularity. Then, after building 17,000 nuclear devices, he had the nerve to tell us to resist the power of the military industrial complex.) If only U.S. Presidents had stayed with George's true moral example and advice, and not merely used his words for phony symbolic effect.
Most U.S. citizens have for a long time not thought very carefully about their acts toward non-U.S. citizens: the American Indians, Mexicans, Vietnamese, Iranians, Guatemalans, and many others. The U.S. is still fighting a terrible (but pointless) war against Iraq and Iraqi citizens which is resulting in the deaths of thousands of children every month according the U.N., and yet most U.S. citizens hardly know about it. The War on Drugs has spilled over into many countries, with U.S. arms being used to subvert liberties everywhere. Because of all this, in many ways I feel ashamed to be a U.S. citizen. But I am working toward ending U.S. imperialism, as are many others. We are not all totally evil. But we must not remain silent, because our silence makes this tyranny possible.
Greatest playwright of all time who was able to illuminate human character, emotions, and politics better than anyone else before or since. Invented modern theatre, which lead to the movies, TV, and other forms of entertainment. Everything since Shakespeare has seemed like cheap imitation, and everything before (e.g. Sophocles) isn't usually worth the bother.
Invented modern philosophy, which ultimately lead to science as well.
Modern science is the very embodiment of the Socratic method
which Plato explicated beautifully (from his legendary mentor). Plato
is the greatest of the Greeks.
Inventor of the theory of natural selection, which, as much as we can know about anything, is the basis of the evolution of life on earth, and probably everywhere else it exists in the universe.
Modern physics and mechanics was invented by this amazing man, obviously one of the greatest geniouses of all time (even if somewhat cranky and looney -- the first scientific geek -- and very much unlike Galileo who was an ambassador of science). Wed science, mathematics, and engineering forever through the Calculus.
His special and general relativity redefined the universe in ways that hardly anyone else could have imagined before. He also began the search for grand unification which has virtually defined physics in the last two decades.
The first guy to get it all right and bring it all together in philosophy, morality, economics, and government. A liberal libertarian (Utilitarian has he defined it); widely regarded as the father of modern liberalism (which, unfortunately, many modern "liberals" have forgotten about). Not his father's cold-hearted rationalist, but a passionate believer in the greatest diversity as well as the greatest happiness for all. He lived by his own words as well, and defended the otherwise undefended of his time.
Although I am not a Marxist, I do recognize that Marx contributed greatly to our understanding of philosophy, history, and economics. Athough there are grave errors of comission and omission in his work, he is nonetheless one of the most original and brilliant thinkers of all time, and probably the single greatest thinker in the fields of history and economics. (I also list Marx as one of the worst people of all time because of how his errors bolstered tyrants.)
An imperfect person and imperfect leader, but as author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and in particular the immortal phrase including as inalienable rights "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," he deserves mention. He resisted considerable pressure from others (esp. Alexander Hamilton) to use "Property" (which can itself be a form of tyranny) in place of "Pursuit of Happiness." In many other ways as well he was a great (if imperfect) leader and had a very positive influence on others even to this day. He also wrote a wonderful revised New Testiment expunging the evil ideas of The Apostle Paul.
Soviet leader who sacrificed his popularity by unilaterally choosing to end the incredibly wasteful "Cold War." In so doing, he proved himself to be one of the greatest men in leadership in the 20th century, even if he later had the flaws some allege. (There are no great leaders without flaws.) George Washington also sacrificed his leadership popularity by resisting the war temptation (to get involved in the war between Britain and France). Unfortunately, Gorbachev's reduced popularity within the Soviet Union led to the rise of a corrupt U.S. puppet leader named Yeltsin.
Actually, the full story of how Gorbachev fell to Yeltsin isn't fully understood and may never be. Some portray Yeltsin, at least in the beginning of his presidency, as the true democrat who saved Russia from Gorbachev's "final turning." I tend to think that, at worst, Gorbachev saw the growing power of the corrupt Yeltsin and his cronies, and, combined with his own growing weakness, did the only thing he could by essentially not doing anything at all to stop the tanks. He might not have been able to stop them anyway, and there was a chance they could derail Yeltsin. Gorbachev hoped his enemies on both sides would neutralize each other. That was his best game at the time, and a clever one it was, but it failed. Yeltsin had already grown too powerful.
The days of Yeltsin as a true man of the people were by any account very short. After a few short and painful years of ultra-capitalist "shock therapy," it was Yeltsin who was sending in the tanks. And under Yeltsin, the tanks actually fired. And, to bolster his popularity, Yeltsin did not avoid conducting an ugly war in a satelite republic which by all rights should have become an independent state. These turns proved that Yeltsin was neither truly a man of the people nor a man of peace. And however bad things were for the masses under Gorbachev, they got far worse under Yelsin, while all of Russia's resources ended up in the hands of a handful of oligarchs. This is, by the way, the inevitable tendency of Capitalism, and since Yeltsin's capitalism was unmixed with any kind of socialism, or even sound governmental institutions, it happened much quicker. Now, the anti-socialists admit some of these problems with Yeltsin and his regime in order to ignore the fundamental flaws in pure capitalism itself. Capitalism must be mixed with some degree of socialism to be fair, or even sustainable. I am sure that Gorbachev understood and still understands this. Probably most of the Russian people do too, but they are even more powerless under their government than the U.S. masses are.
Inventor of the bifocals, one of the greatest inventions of all time (yes, there can be life after 40), and many other things. But for many of his economic and philosophical ideas, particularly Earlyism, I have also listed him among the Worst People of All Time.
A really, really, really nice guy, as well as a great musician. Because of that, I just had to list him ahead of John Lennon. Sometimes, unfortunately, he lacked judgement, particularly in the marrying of his last wife, a prohibitionist. It was prohibitionism that killed Jerry. When people have continuous free access to clean pure drugs in the proper supportive environment, they don't need to die young. Maybe a little younger, but not that much younger; and if drugs give you inspiration, if drugs make you go, dying just a little younger is OK. It's when the dosage is unknown and you have to kiss ass to get them and you have to hide the fact that you're on them that they're really really really dangerous in the short run. Unfortunately that will be the case until the era of prohibition has ended, if it ever does, so in the meantime don't do drugs, particularly those drugs.
Put together a little band known as The Beatles, and, even if he couldn't hold a tune (not uncommon for the genre), he was the raw flame that really made it burn; it set the world on fire. His influence has touched all popular music since. He was the real King, in my book; the other guy (Elvis) was merely the musical equivalent of John the Baptist. John Lennon created a whole new art form and made it art. He was never manipulated (or even manipulable) by mere handlers. Luckily, he recruited Paul McCartney, one of the best musicians of our time, or else the band wouldn't have worked, while it worked. And don't forget that John ultimately didn't kill himself. There's a role model for you.
But I absolutely have to list J.L. here because he also wrote Imagine, which could serve as theme song of PriceOfLiberty.com if I could afford it. John got most of the ideas right, even if his own life didn't follow. This song really irritated me when it first came out; here's this guy worth $100 million, with mansions all over the world, telling me I shouldn't sweat my toothbrush. I was also irritated by those fans I knew that said, oh, it's all right, he didn't put any furniture in those mansions, as if that made it all right. They get it wrong because it's Property, not mere Possessions, that represents force in the Marxist sense (which has now been appropriated by those other so-called "Libertarians" to describe taxation...they're wrong, but that's another story I'll get to some day). Nobody wants your junk (except on eBay, and there it's all just a game, not a war). But I forgive John; he got most of the ideas right, far more than most people. And, considering he was assasinated in the Year of Reagan, where are the conspiracy nuts when you need them?