History Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead  

alexf
Originally by
116.7k votes 8.1k voters 60.7k views 96 items

List Rules Vote up the historical figures you'd like to see come back from the dead, hopefully to help improve society.

Throughout the course of history, the human race has produced some truly remarkable individuals - individuals who, sadly, have passed away, leaving nothing behind but the footprint of their influence on society. But what if these towering figures didn't have to stay dead? If you could bring someone of significant historical importance back from the dead, who would you pick?

list ordered by

1
2,370 896
Leonardo da Vinci is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 67 (1452-1519) Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He is ...more

2
2,763 1,481
Jesus Christ is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God. Christianity regards Jesus as ...more

3
2,663 993
Nikola Tesla is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 87 (1856-1943) Nikola Tesla was a Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current ...more

4
1,238 925
William Shakespeare is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 52 (1564-1616) William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's ...more

5
2,100 764
Albert Einstein is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Morten Evensen-Næri added Died at 76 (1879-1955) Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist. Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the ...more

6
2,044 976
Martin Luther King, Jr. is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 39 (1929-1968) Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr., January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for ...more

7
1,907 951
Abraham Lincoln is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 56 (1809-1865) Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war ...more

8
1,153 766
Aristotle is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 62 (383 BC-321 BC) Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the Macedonian city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was ...more

9
1,786 945
John F. Kennedy is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 46 (1917-1963) John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. He served from ...more

10
910 612
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Nate Hodges added Died at 35 (1756-1791) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his ...more

11
1,517 865
Benjamin Franklin is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 84 (1706-1790) Benjamin Franklin FRS was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, ...more

12
1,005 801
Marie Curie is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Morten Evensen-Næri added Died at 67 (1867-1934) Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first ...more

13
764 610
Ludwig van Beethoven is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Nate Hodges added Died at 57 (1770-1827) Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and ...more

14
996 1,037
Mahatma Gandhi is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 79 (1869-1948) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and ...more

15
1,249 925
George Washington is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 67 (1732-1799) George Washington was the first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the ...more

16
657 583
Johann Sebastian Bach is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Nate Hodges added Died at 65 (1685-1750) Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and ...more

17
1,265 882
Theodore Roosevelt is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 61 (1858-1919) Theodore "T.R." Roosevelt Jr. was an American politician, author, naturalist, soldier, explorer, and historian who served as the 26th President of the United States. He was a leader of ...more

18
1,009 907
Thomas Jefferson is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 83 (1743-1826) Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States. He was a spokesman for democracy, and ...more

19
638 679
Florence Nightingale is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Morten Evensen-Næri added Died at 90 (1820-1910) Florence Nightingale, OM, RRC was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager of nurses trained by ...more

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1,080 990
George Carlin is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 71 (1937-2008) George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American comedian, social critic, actor, and author. Carlin was noted for his black comedy and his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, ...more

21
874 939
Winston Churchill is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 91 (1874-1965) Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, DL, FRS, RA was a British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely ...more

22
436 471
Marcus Aurelius is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
bionicdeadpool added Died at 59 (121-180) Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is also considered ...more

23
822 871
Alexander the Great is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 33 (355 BC-322 BC) Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander ...more

24
233 209
Gautama Buddha is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in eastern ...more

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255 216
George Orwell is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Died at 47 (1903-1950) Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 21 January 1950), better known by his psuedonymGeorge Orwell, was an English author. His work is marked by a profound conscientiousness of social injustice, an ...more

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209 248
Charlie Chaplin is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Died at 88 (1889-1977) Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor and filmmaker who rose to fame in the silent film era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona ...more

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640 579
Joan of Arc is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Saffron Higgins added Died at 19 (1412-1431) Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans", is considered a heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. She was born to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle, a peasant family, at ...more

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362 359
Michael Jackson is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
EdwardDrawde added Died at 51 (1958-2009) Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music and dance, along with his publicized personal ...more

29
918 965
Franklin D. Roosevelt is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 63 (1882-1945) Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States. A Democrat, he won a record ...more

30
309 447
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Nate Hodges added Died at 90 (1918-2008) Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist, historian, and critic of Soviet totalitarianism. He helped to raise global awareness of the gulag and the Soviet Union's forced labor ...more

31
144 98
Alan Turing is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
victorBafcop added Died at 42 (1912-1954) Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS was a British pioneering computer scientist, mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, mathematical biologist, and marathon and ultra distance runner. He ...more

32
434 480
Cleopatra is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Jennifer Malone added Died at 39 (68 BC-29 BC) Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history simply as "Cleopatra", was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, only shortly survived by her son, Caesarion as pharaoh. Cleopatra was a ...more

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498 562
Elizabeth I of England is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Christine Sears added Died at 70 (1533-1603) Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, the childless Elizabeth was the fifth and last ...more

34
397 395
William Wallace is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
bionicdeadpool added Died at 35 (1270-1305) Sir William Wallace was a Scottish landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle ...more

35
545 686
King Arthur is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Mollevangsvagen added King Arthur is a fictional character from Monty Python's Spamalot.

36
635 747
Robert Kennedy is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
age 45 Robert John Kennedy is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in four Tests and seven One Day Internationals for New Zealand in 1996. His best international figures of 3/28 came on his Test ...more

37
761 932
Mother Teresa is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 87 (1910-1997) Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, MC, commonly known as Mother Teresa, was a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary who lived most of her life in India. She was born in today's Macedonia, with ...more

38
170 108
Jimi Hendrix is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Scott O'Donnell added Died at 28 (1942-1970) James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...more

39
500 623
Harry Houdini is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Chris Keyes added Died at 52 (1874-1926) Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the US and then as "Harry Handcuff ...more

40
764 984
Ronald Reagan is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 93 (1911-2004) Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. Before his presidency he served as the 33rd Governor of California and was also an actor from 1937–1964. Born and raised in ...more

41
159 163
Hypatia is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Died at 65 (350-415) Hypatia was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher in Egypt, then a part of the Byzantine Empire. She was the head of the Neoplatonic school at Alexandria, where she taught ...more

42
170 129
Confucius is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Died at 72 (550 BC-478 BC) Confucius was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental ...more

43
470 590
Moses is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
icoachfb added Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a former Egyptian prince later turned prophet, religious leader and lawgiver, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also ...more

44
333 438
Alfred Hitchcock is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Nate Hodges added Died at 81 (1899-1980) Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was an English film director and producer. Often nicknamed "The Master of Suspense", he pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological ...more

45
474 551
Prince is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Sandra Spencer added Died at 57 (1958-2016) Prince Roger Nelson, known by his mononym Prince, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor. A major figure in popular music for over three decades, Prince is renowned ...more

46
162 191
Boudica is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Boudica, also known as Boadicea, and known in Welsh as Buddug was queen of the British Iceni tribe, a Celtic tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. Boudica's ...more

47
460 639
Vincent Price is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
MargoPflug added Died at 82 (1911-1993) Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice as well as his serio-comic performances in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.

48
445 595
Robert E. Lee is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Randall Feinen added Died at 63 (1807-1870) Robert Edward Lee was an American soldier best known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. The son of ...more

49
451 700
Julius Caesar is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Died at 56 (99 BC-43 BC) Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise ...more

50
63 23
Sitting Bull is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead
Valdave added Died at 59 (1831-1890) Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the ...more