Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. - John Wooden
Some individuals rise in stature and change the course of history through their extraordinary efforts. These are people who followed their heart and believed in their own genius. In this article, I present a list of such famous people from the annals of history, who changed the world, challenged established thought, broke the shackles of conformity and dared to be themselves. If you are looking for inspiration, it can be found in the biographies of these great men and women who have influenced generations with their thinking.
We have chosen to present the names of these famous personalities in world history, according to the field of human culture to which they contributed or the role they played in shaping history.
Famous People Who Changed the World
Here is a list of some of the most famous personalities who broke all rules of conformity and created new paradigms of thought. They have been listed together, according to their fields of contribution.
Great Leaders of Men
Alexander the Great
July 356 BC - June 323 BC
Military Commander,
King of Macedonia
Pharaoh of Egypt,
King of Persia,
King of AsiaGenghis Khan
1162 AD - 1227 AD
Supreme Khan of the Mongols
Founder and Emperor of the Mongol Empire
Julius Caesar
100 BC - 44 BC
Dictator of the Roman Republic
Emperor Ashoka
304 BC - 232 BC
Emperor of India
Saladin
1138 AD - 1193 AD
Sultan of Syria and EgyptCatherine the Great
1729 AD - 1796 AD
Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias, Empress consort of All the Russias
Cleopatra
69 BC - 30 BC
Queen of EgyptQin Shi Huang
260 BC - 210 BC
King of Qin, Emperor of China
Attila the Hun
406 AD - 453 AD
Ruler of the Hunnic EmpireElizabeth I
1533 AD - 1603 AD
Queen of England and Ireland
Queen Victoria
1819 AD - 1901 AD
Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandPeter I of Russia
1672 AD - 1725 AD
Emperor of All Russia, Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of All Russia
Horatio Nelson
1758 AD - 1805 AD
Vice Admiral of the White, Royal British NavyOliver Cromwell
1599 AD - 1658 AD
English Political and Military Leader
Mahatma Gandhi
1869 - 1948
Father of India
1874 - 1965
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Napoleon Bonaparte
1769 - 1821
French Military and Political LeaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
1882 - 1945
32nd President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln
1809 - 1865
16th President of the United StatesIndira Gandhi
1917 - 1984
Prime Minister of India
Ho Chi Minh
1890 - 1969
1st President of VietnamJohn F. Kennedy
1917 - 1963
35th President of the United States
1918 - 2013
President of South Africa Queen Elizabeth II
Born 21 April, 1926
Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth
Theodore Roosevelt
1858 - 1919
26th President of the United StatesVladimir Lenin
1870 - 1924
Premier of the Soviet Union
Benjamin Franklin
1706 - 1790
A Founding Father of the United States Ariel Sharon
1928 - 2014
11th Prime Minister of Israel
Henri La Fontaine
1854 - 1943
President of the International Peace Bureau, Nobel LaureateJacques Chirac
Born: November 29, 1932
22nd President of France
Thomas Jefferson
1743 - 1826
3rd President of the United States Aung San Suu Kyi
Born: June 19, 1945
Burmese Politician
Fidel Castro
Born: August 13, 1926
President of CubaKofi Annan
Born: April 8, 1938
7th Secretary-General of the United Nations
Henry Kissinger
Born: May 27, 1923
56th United States Secretary of StateYasser Arafat
1929 - 2004
President of the Palestinian National Authority
George Washington
1732 - 1799
1st U.S. President Angela Merkel
Born: July 17, 1954
Chancellor of Germany
Religious Figures
Bahá'u'lláh
1817 - 1892
Founder of the Bahá'í FaithJesus Christ
7-2 BC - 30-33 AD
Central figure of Christianity
Buddha
563 BC to 483 BC - 483 BC or 411 BC and 400 BC
Sage, Founder of BuddhismKrishna
Hindu Deity, Incarnation of Vishnu
Moses
Prophet, Religious LeaderProphet Muhammad
570 AD - 632 AD
Islamic Prophet
Confucius
551 BC - 479 BC
Chinese PhilosopherMartin Luther
1483-1546
German Monk
St. John the Baptist
1st Century BC - 31 - 36 AD
Religious FigureMother Teresa
1910-1997
Christian Missionary
Saint Paul
5 AD - 67 AD
ApostleRamkrishna Paramhansa
1836 - 1886
Hindu Mystic
Sri Aurobindo
1872 - 1950
Indian Yogi, PoetSt. Francis of Assisi
1181/1182 - 1226
Italian Catholic Friar and Preacher
Swami Vivekananda
1863 - 1902
Indian Hindu MonkJohn Calvin
1509 - 1564
French Theologian and Pastor
Ayatollah Khomeini
1902 - 1989
Iranian Religious Leader and Politician Desmond Tutu
Born: October 7, 1931
South African Retired Anglican Bishop and Social Rights Activist
Zoroaster
Founder of Zoroastrianism14th Dalai Lama
Born: July 6, 1935
Tibetan Buddhist High Monk
Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929 - 1968
American Pastor, ActivistLao-tzu
604 BC - 531 BC
Chinese Poet and Philosopher
Mathematicians, Scientists, and Inventors
Nicolaus Copernicus
1473 - 1543
Polish Astronomer and Mathematician
1564 - 1642
Italian Physicist, Mathematician, Engineer, Astronomer
Pythagoras
570 BC - 495 BC
Greek Mathematician, Philosopher
Leonardo Da Vinci
1452 - 1519
Italian PolymathJoseph Louis Lagrange
1736 - 1813
Italian Astronomer and Mathematician
Leonhard Euler
1707 - 1783
Swiss Physicist and MathematicianAlbert Einstein
1879 - 1955
German Theoretical Physicist
Richard Feynman
1918 - 1988
American Theoretical Physicist Niels Bohr
1885 - 1962
Danish Physicist
Paul Dirac
1902 - 1984
English Theoretical PhysicistAlexander Graham Bell
1847 - 1922
Scottish Inventor of the Telephone
Heinrich Hertz
1857 - 1894
German PhysicistSatyendranath Bose
1894 - 1974
Indian Physicist
Thomas Edison
1847 - 1931
American InvestorArchimedes
287 BC - 212 BC
Ancient Greek Astronomer, Mathematician
Srinivasa Ramanujan
1887 - 1920
Indian Autodidact, MathematicianTim Berners-Lee
Born: June 8, 1955
Inventor of the World Wide Web
Sir Isaac Newton
1642 - 1727
English Physicist and MathematicianStefan Banach
1892 - 1945
Polish Mathematician
Aryabhata
476 AD - 550 AD
Indian Mathematician and AstronomerJohn von Neumann
1903 - 1957
Hungarian-American Polymath
Pierre de Fermat
1601/1607 - 1665
French Lawyer, MathematicianJames Clerk Maxwell
1831- 1879
Scottish Theoretical Physicist
Carl F. Gauss
1777 - 1855
German MathematicianJoseph Fourier
1768 - 1830
French Physicist and Mathematician
Henri Poincaré
1854 - 1912
French Theoretical Physicist, MathematicianDavid Hilbert
1862 - 1943
German Mathematician
Pierre-Simon Laplace
1749 - 1827
French Astronomer and MathematicianJohn Bardeen
1908 - 1991
American Physicist
Henri Becquerel
1852 - 1908
French PhysicistJames Chadwick
1891 - 1974
English Physicist
Hendrik Casimir
1909 - 2000
Dutch PhysicistEnrico Fermi
1901 - 1954
Italian Physicist
Robert Boyle
1627 - 1691
Irish Physicist, ChemistAbdus Salam
1926 - 1996
Theoretical Physicist
Stephen Hawking
Born: January 8, 1942
Theoretical PhysicistJack Kilby
1923 - 2005
American Electrical Engineer
Orville Wright
1871 - 1948
Aviation PioneerWilbur Wright
1867 - 1912
Aviation Pioneer
Writers, Poets, and Philosophers
Ernest Hemingway
1899 - 1961
American Author, JournalistHans Christian Andersen
1805 - 1875
Danish Author
Dante Alighieri
1265 - 1321
Italian PoetJalaluddin Rumi
1207 - 1273
Persian Sufi Mystic, Poet
Samuel Beckett
1906 - 1989
Irish Playwright, Novelist, Poet, Theater DirectorAnton Chekhov
1860 - 1904
Russian Author, Playwright, Physician
Ray Bradbury
1920 - 2012
American Fiction WriterLeo Tolstoy
1828 - 1910
Novelist, Playwright, Essayist
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1821- 1881
Russian Novelist, Essayist, WriterIsaac Asimov
1920 - 1992
American Science Fiction Writer
H.G.Wells
1866 - 1946
English Science Fiction NovelistArthur C. Clarke
1917 - 2008
British Science Fiction Writer
Cormac McCarthy
Born: July 20, 1933
American Novelist, Playwright, ScreenwriterPearl Buck
1892 - 1973
American Novelist
Jeffrey Archer
Born: April 15, 1940
English NovelistGeorge Byron
1788 - 1824
English Poet
Oscar Wilde
1854 - 1900
Irish Poet and WriterAlbert Camus
1913 - 1960
French Author, Journalist, Philosopher, Nobel Laureate
Truman Capote
(Truman Streckfus Persons)
1924 - 1984
American Playwright, Screenwriter, AuthorLewis Carroll
(Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
1832 - 1898
English Writer, Mathematician
Joseph Conrad
1857 - 1924
Polish AuthorHarper Lee
Born: April 28, 1926
American Novelist
T. S. Eliot
1888 - 1965
English/American Literary and Social Critic, Playwright, EssayistJ.R.R.Tolkien
1892 - 1973
English Writer, Poet
Salman Rushdie
Born: June 19, 1947
Indian British Novelist, EssayistV.S. Naipaul
Born: August 17, 1932
British Writer, Novelist
Paulo Coelho
Born: August 24, 1947
Brazilian Novelist and LyricistSidney Sheldon
1917 - 2007
American Screenwriter, Novelist
J. K. Rowling
Born July 31, 1965
British NovelistW. B. Yeats
1865 - 1939
Irish Poet
Alfred Tennyson
1809 - 1892
Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland Robert Frost
1874 - 1963
American Poet
Rabindranath Tagore
1861 - 1941
Indian Poet, Writer, Playwright, Painter, PolymathKahlil Gibran
1883 - 1931
Lebanese Poet, Writer, Artist
Mario Puzo
1920 - 1999
Italian American Novelist, Screenwriter
Sant Tukaram
1577 - 1650
Spiritual Poet, Saint
Saint Dnyaneshwar
1275 - 1296
Indian Poet, Writer, Philosopher, YogiMunshi Premchand
1880 - 1936
Indian Novelist
Mark Twain
(Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
1835 - 1910
American Humorist and WriterP. G. Wodehouse
1881 - 1975
English Humorist, Novelist, Journalist
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803 - 1882
American Poet, Lecturer, EssayistHenry David Thoreau
1817 - 1862
American Author, Poet, Philosopher, Polymath
Rudyard Kipling
1865 - 1936
English Poet, Writer, NovelistArthur Conan Doyle
1859 - 1930
Scottish Writer, Physician
Virginia Woolf
1882 - 1941
English WriterVictor Hugo
1802 - 1885
French Novelist, Dramatist
William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
English Playwright, Poet, ActorWilliam Somerset Maugham
1874 - 1965
British Novelist, Playwright
Walt Whitman
1819 - 1892
American Essayist, Poet, JournalistSylvia Plath
1932 - 1963
American Poet, Novelist, Writer
Pablo Neruda
(Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto)
1904 - 1973
Chilean Poet
Emily Dickinson
1830 - 1886
American Poet
John Keats
1795 - 1821
English PoetRobert Louis Stevenson
1850 - 1894
Scottish Novelist, Poet, Essayist, Travel Writer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807 - 1882
American PoetKarl Marx
1818 - 1883
German Philosopher, Economist, Revolutionary Socialist, Journalist
Friedrich Engels
1820 - 1895
German Author, Philosopher, Social ScientistGeorge Bernard Shaw
1856 - 1950
Irish Playwright
Friedrich Nietzsche
1844 - 1900
German Philosopher, Writer, Cultural Critic, Poet, ComposerImmanuel Kant
1724 - 1804
German Philosopher
Jean-Paul Sartre
1905 - 1980
French Playwright, Philosopher, Literary Critic, NovelistDavid Hume
1711 - 1776
Scottish Historian, Philosopher, Economist
Karl Popper
1902 - 1994
Austrian-British Philosopher, EconomistAdam Smith
1723 - 1790
Scottish Philosopher and Political Economist
Francis Bacon
1561 - 1626
English Philosopher, Scientist, StatesmanSocrates
470/469 BC - 399 BC
Greek Philosopher
Bertrand Russell
1872 - 1970
British Philosopher, MathematicianGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
1770 - 1831
German Philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712 - 1778
German Philosopher, Composer, WriterChānakya
370 BC - 283 BC
Indian Philosopher, Teacher, Royal Advisor
W. H. Auden
1907 - 1973
Anglo-American PoetPurushottam Lakshman Deshpande
1919 - 2000
Indian Humorist, Writer, Orator, Philanthropist
Explorers and Adventurers
Sir Edmund Hillary
1919 - 2008
New Zealand Mountaineer, Explorer, and PhilanthropistTenzing Norgay
1914 - 1986
Nepalese Sherpa Mountaineer
George Mallory
1886 - 1924
English Mountaineer
1254 - 1324
Italian Merchant Traveler
David Livingstone
1813 - 1873
Scottish Medical Missionary, Pioneering Explorer of Africa
Portuguese Explorer
1480 - 1521
Amerigo Vespucci
1454 - 1512
Italian explorer, Navigator, Cartographer, FinancierChristopher Columbus
1450/1451 - 1506
Italian Navigator, Explorer, Colonizer
Roald Amundsen
1872 - 1928
Norwegian Polar Explorer
Frederick Cook
1865 - 1940
American Explorer, Physician, Ethnographer
1728 - 1779
British Navigator, Explorer, Cartographer Neil Armstrong
1930 - 2012
American Astronaut, First Lunar Explorer
Yuri Gagarin
1934 - 1968
Soviet Cosmonaut and PilotCharles Augustus Lindbergh
1902 - 1974
American Explorer, Aviator, Author, Inventor
Amelia Earhart
1897 - 1937 (Disappeared)
American Aviation Pioneer, Author
Wiley Post
1898 - 1935
American Aviator
Famous Actors, Actresses, and Directors
Elizabeth Taylor
1932 - 2011
British-American ActressSir Sidney Poitier
Born: February 20, 1927
Bahamian-American Actor, Film Director
Clark Gable
1901 - 1960
American Film ActorMarilyn Monroe
(Norma Jeane Mortenson)
1926 - 1962
American, Actress, Model, Singer
Marlon Brando
1924 - 2004
American Film and Stage ActorSean Connery
Born: August 25, 1930
Scottish Actor and Producer
Harrison Ford
Born: July 13, 1942
American Film Actor, ProducerHumphrey Bogart
1899 - 1957
American Actor
Ingrid Bergman
1915 - 1982
Swedish ActressAlfred Hitchcock
1899 - 1980
English Film Director and Producer
Al Pacino
Born: April 25, 1940
American Film and Stage ActorRobert De Niro
Born: August 17, 1943
American Actor, Director, Producer
Tom Hanks
Born: July 9, 1956
American Actor, Writer, Producer, and DirectorSteven Spielberg
Born: December 18, 1946
American film Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Francis Ford Coppola
Born: April 7, 1939
American film director, Screenwriter, ProducerRobert Zemeckis
Born: May 14, 1952
Lithuanian-American Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Christopher Nolan
Born July 30, 1970
British-American Film Director, Producer, ScreenwriterAngelina Jolie
Born: June 4, 1975
American Actress, Screenwriter, Film Director
Cameron Diaz
Born: August 30, 1972
American Actress, ModelMeryl Streep
June 22, 1949
American Actress
Morgan Freeman
Born: June 1, 1937
American Actor, Film DirectorJim Carrey
Born: January 17, 1962
Canadian American Actor, Comedian
Rachel Weisz
Born: March 7, 1970
English Film, Theater ActressKate Winslet
Born: October 5, 1975
English Actress, SingerWill Smith
Born: September 25, 1968
American Actor, Producer, RapperKevin Costner
Born: January 18, 1955
American Actor, Musician, Singer
Russell Crowe
Born: April 7, 1964
New Zealand Actor, Musician, ProducerLeonardo Di Caprio
Born: November 11, 1974
American Actor, Producer
Jude Law
(David Jude Heyworth Law)
Born: December 29, 1972
English Actor, Director, ProducerRobert John Downey, Jr.
Born: April 4, 1965
American Actor
Charlie Chaplin
1889 - 1977
English Actor, Comedian, FilmmakerPaul Newman
1925 - 2008
American Actor, Director
Dustin Hoffman
Born August 8, 1937
American ActorRichard Burton
1925 - 1984
Welsh Actor
Denzel Washington
Born: December 28, 1954
American Actor, Producer, DirectorSean Penn
Born: August 17, 1960
American actor, Screenwriter, Director
Kevin Spacey
July 26, 1959
American Actor, Screenwriter, DirectorMichael Douglas
Born: September 25, 1944
American Actor and Producer
Tom Cruise
Born: July 3, 1962
American Actor and ProducerSir Ben Kingsley
Born: December 31, 1943
English Actor
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Bill Gates
Born: October 28, 1955
American Inventor, Programmer, Microsoft FounderSteve Jobs
1955 - 2011
American Entrepreneur, Inventor, Apple Inc. Founder, Philanthropist
Warren Buffett
Born: August 30, 1930
American Investor, Berkshire Hathaway CEO, PhilanthropistCarlos Slim Helú
Born: January 28, 1940
Mexican Businessman, Investor
Henry Ford
1863 - 1947
Ford Motor Company Founder, American IndustrialistJohn D. Rockefeller
1839 - 1937
Standard Oil Company Co-founder, Philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie
1835 - 1919
Scottish-American IndustrialistHoward Hughes
1905 - 1976
Aviator, Filmmaker, American Businessman
George Eastman
1854 - 1932
American Innovator, Entrepreneur, Eastman Kodak Company FounderLarry Page
Born: March 26, 1973
Google Co-founder
Sergey Brin
Born: August 21, 1973
Google Co-founderMark Zuckerberg
Born: May 14, 1984
Facebook Co-founder, Computer Programmer
Richard Branson
Born: July 18, 1950
Virgin Group Founder, InvestorJ. R. D. Tata
1904 - 1993
Indian Aviator, Business Tycoon
Famous Athletes and Sportsmen
Michael Jordan
Born: February 17, 1963
American Professional Basketball Player Wayne Gretzky
Born: January 26, 1961
Canadian Ice hockey, Head Coach
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay, Jr.)
Born: January 17, 1942
American Boxer, Heavyweight ChampionPelé
(Edson Arantes do Nascimento)
Born: October 23, 1940
Brazilian Footballer
Joe Montana
Born: June 11, 1956
American Football PlayerLarry Bird
Born: December 7, 1956
American Basketball Player
Usain Bolt
Born: August 21, 1986
Jamaican SprinterBabe Ruth
1895 - 1948
American Baseball Player
Michael Phelps
Born: June 30, 1985
American SwimmerBo Jackson
Born: November 30, 1962
American Baseball and Football Player
Alexander Karelin
Born: September 19, 1967
Russian Greco-Roman Wrestler Steffi Graf
Born: June 14, 1969
German Tennis Player
Björn Borg
Born: June 6, 1956
Swedish Tennis PlayerMichael Schumacher
Born: January 3, 1969
German Formula 1 Driver
Paula Radcliffe
Born: December 17, 1973
English Long-distance RunnerRoger Federer
Born: August 8, 1981
Swiss Tennis Player
David Beckham
Born: May 2, 1975
English FootballerCarolina Klüft
Born: February 2, 1983
Swedish Track and Field Athlete
Carl Lewis
Born: July 1, 1961
American Track and Field AthleteBruce Lee
1940 - 1973
Father of Mixed Martial Arts
Jim Thorpe
1888 - 1953
American AthleteMagic Johnson
Born: August 14, 1959
American Basketball Player
Tom Brady
Born: August 3, 1977
American Football QuarterbackJesse Owens
1913 - 1980
American Track and Field Athlete
Lou Gehrig
1903 - 1941
American Baseball First BasemanHank Aaron
Born: February 5, 1934
American Baseball Player
Chris Evert
Born: December 21, 1954
American Tennis PlayerYelena Isinbayeva
Born: June 3, 1982
Russian Pole Vaulter
Maria Sharapova
Born: April 19, 1987
Russian Tennis PlayerBoris Becker
Born: November 22, 1967
German Tennis Player
Tiger Woods
Born: December 30, 1975
American GolferLionel Messi
Born: June 24, 1987
Argentine Footballer
Oliver Kahn
Born: June 15, 1969
German Football GoalkeeperJackie Robinson
1919 - 1972
American Baseball Player
Famous Singers, Composers, and Musicians
1685 - 1750
German Composer and Musician Mick Jagger
Born: July 26, 1943
English Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Xian Xinghai
1905 - 1945
Chinese ComposerBob Marley
1945 - 1981
Jamaican Reggae Singer-songwriter, Guitarist
Madonna Louise Ciccone
Born: August 16, 1958
American Singer, Songwriter Caetano Veloso
Born: August 7, 1942
Brazilian Composer, Singer, Guitarist
Fela Kuti
1938 - 1997
Nigerian Musician, Multi-instrumentalist, ComposerMiles Davis
1926 - 1991
American Jazz Musician, Trumpeter, Composer
Billie Holiday
1915 - 1959
American Jazz Singer, SongwriterRobert Johnson
1911 - 1938
American Blues Singer, Musician
Bob Dylan
Born: May 24, 1941
American Musician, Singer, Songwriter Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756 - 1791
Austrian Classical Music Composer
Elvis Presley
1935 - 1977
American singer, Musician, ActorLouis Armstrong
1901 - 1971
American Jazz Trumpeter, Singer
Michael Jackson
1958 - 2009
American Singer, Songwriter, Musician, DancerJohn Lennon
1940 - 1980
English Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Paul McCartney
Born: June 18, 1942
English Musician, Singer, Songwriter, ComposerGeorge Harrison
1943 - 2001
English Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Ringo Starr
Born: July 7, 1940
English Musician, Singer, SongwriterLudwig van Beethoven
1770 - 1827
German Composer, Pianist
Kurt Cobain
1967 - 1994
American Musician, Guitarist, SongwriterElton John
March 25, 1947
English Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Pianist, Record Producer
Jimi Hendrix
1942 - 1970
American Electric Guitarist, Singer, SongwriterJim Morrison
1943 - 1971
American Singer, Songwriter, Poet
1946 - 1991
British Musician, Record Producer, Singer, Songwriter Aretha Franklin
Born: March 25, 1942
American Singer, Musician
Axl Rose
Born: February 6, 1962
American Singer, Songwriter, Musician Whitney Houston
1963 - 2012
American Singer, Actress, Producer
Stevie Wonder
Born: May 13, 1950
American Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Record ProducerRobert Plant
Born: 20 August, 1948
English Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Marvin Gaye
1939 - 1984
American Singer, Songwriter, Musician Bono
Born: May 10, 1960
Irish Singer, Songwriter, Musician
James Brown
1933 - 2006
American Recording Artist, Musician Frédéric Chopin
1810 - 1849
Polish Composer
This is a representative list of famous people in ancient and recent history. It is simply not possible to list each and every one of the famous personalities as it's endless. All these people symbolize the phenomenal power of the human will and creativity. If you wish to be added to such a list of people who changed the world, one day, I say to you, 'Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)' and challenge the impossible.