Originally by Walter GravesList RulesVote up the individuals who you think had the most influential ideas throughout history.
List of the Greatest Minds of All Time, throughout history. This list represents the most influential thinkers across various disciplines, ranked in a way that represents the power of their ideas and their impact on the world. The wisest men and women include top philosophers, physicists, famous poets, thinkers, teachers, physiologists, artists, inventors, engineers, the most irreplaceable CEOs in the world, economists and politicians and those whose talents span across many fields of study.
This list takes a historic perspective, so the greatest thinkers who are included on this list come from many different eras. The greatest minds of the 21st century may be quite different from great geniuses from the distant past, but each person should be judged within the context of the time that they were living. For example, inventing a new type of telephone in 2013 would not qualify one as "the most brilliant mind of all time," but in 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell first patented the telephone, it was an act of genius not seen before.
See Also: The Most Influential People of All Time.1
19,0595,062Leonardo da Vinci
Dec. at 67 (1452-1519)Birthplace: Vinci, Italy
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath, painter, sculptor, architect,... more2
15,5134,203Isaac Newton
Dec. at 84 (1643-1727)Birthplace: Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, United Kingdom
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician,... more3
10,6683,072Galileo Galilei
Dec. at 78 (1564-1642)Birthplace: Pisa, Italy
Galileo Galilei ( GAL-il-AY-oh, also US: -EE-oh, Italian: [ɡaliˈlɛːo ɡaliˈlɛi]; 15 February... more4
6,7572,029Socrates (; Ancient Greek: Σωκρᾰ́της, romanized: Sōkrátēs, [sɔːkrátɛːs]; c. 470 – 399 BC) was... more5
17,7315,332Albert Einstein
Dec. at 76 (1879-1955)Birthplace: Ulm, Germany
Albert Einstein ( EYEN-styne; German: [ˈalbɛɐ̯t ˈʔaɪnʃtaɪn] (listen); 14 March 1879 – 18 April... more6
15,8993,063Nikola Tesla
Dec. at 87 (1856-1943)Birthplace: Smiljan, Croatia
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer,... more7
7,1182,259Archimedes of Syracuse (; Greek: Ἀρχιμήδης; c. 287 – c. 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician,... more8
5,4641,689Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570 – c. 495 BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the... more9
9,3273,292Aristotle
Dec. at 62 (383 BC-321 BC)Birthplace: Stagira, Greece
Aristotle (; Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotélēs, pronounced [aristotélɛːs]; 384–322 BC) was a... more10
7,5432,637Marie Curie
Dec. at 67 (1867-1934)Birthplace: Warsaw, Second Polish Republic
Marie Skłodowska Curie ( KEWR-ee, French: [kyʁi], Polish: [kʲiˈri]; born Maria Salomea... more11
4,0661,242Alan Turing
Dec. at 42 (1912-1954)Birthplace: Maida Vale, London, United Kingdom
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer... more12
3,3421,052Carl Friedrich Gauss
Dec. at 78 (1777-1855)Birthplace: Braunschweig, Germany
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; German: Gauß [ˈkaɐ̯l ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈɡaʊs] (listen); Latin: Carolus... more13
4,2041,394Nicolaus Copernicus
Dec. at 70 (1473-1543)Birthplace: Toruń, Poland
Nicolaus Copernicus (; Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik; German: Nikolaus Kopernikus; Niklas... more14
4,8421,615Johannes Kepler
Dec. at 59 (1571-1630)Birthplace: Weil der Stadt, Germany
Johannes Kepler (; German: [joˈhanəs ˈkɛplɐ, -nɛs -]; December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630)... more15
1,523389Wilhelm Röntgen
Dec. at 78 (1845-1923)Birthplace: Remscheid, Germany
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; German: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈʁœntɡən]; 27 March 1845 – 10 February 1923) was a... more16
1,945561Euclid (; Ancient Greek: Εὐκλείδης – Eukleídēs, pronounced [eu̯.kleː.dɛːs]; fl. 300 BC),... more17
5,7502,018Ludwig van Beethoven
Dec. at 57 (1770-1827)Birthplace: Bonn, Germany
Ludwig van Beethoven ( (listen); German: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːthoːfn̩] (listen); baptised 17... more18
8,9483,496Plato (; PLAY-toe Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn, pronounced [plá.tɔːn] in Classical Attic; 428/427 or... more19
6,1592,349Michelangelo
Dec. at 89 (1475-1564)Birthplace: Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian... more20
2,572819Michael Faraday
Dec. at 76 (1791-1867)Birthplace: Newington Butts, United Kingdom
Michael Faraday FRS (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who... more21
5,5832,346Johann Sebastian Bach
Dec. at 65 (1685-1750)Birthplace: Eisenach, Germany
Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and... more22
2,6991,087Johannes Gutenberg
Dec. at 70 (1398-1468)Birthplace: Mainz, Germany
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; c. 1400 – February 3, 1468) was a German... more23
3,4721,304Max Planck
Dec. at 89 (1858-1947)Birthplace: Kiel, Germany
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS (German: [ˈplaŋk]; English: ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October... more24
3,3131,385Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
Dec. at 70 (1646-1716)Birthplace: Leipzig, Germany
Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz (sometimes spelled Leibnitz) (; German: [ˈɡɔtfʁiːt ˈvɪlhɛlm... more25
2,6731,133René Descartes
Dec. at 54 (1596-1650)Birthplace: Descartes, Indre-et-Loire, France
René Descartes ( day-KART, also UK: DAY-kart, French: [ʁəne dekaʁt] (listen); Latinized:... more
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