Throughout history, there have been hundreds of people who have changed the world, who have changed the thought process of their countrymen, who have worked towards the development of their country, and these changes have brought about with their thoughts, ideas, inventions, political thoughts and so on. Some of you might be familiar with Lord Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Newton, Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Copernicus, whose ideas and thoughts have not only influenced the people of their own country but the whole world. Their ideas have led to various scientific inventions, freedom from colonial rule, founding of a new religion.
I know that you are eagerly waiting to know who are these influential people, but I am afraid you have to hold on to your patience for sometime while I give you a list of the top 10 people who had played a major role in the development of the nation.
| Name |
Contributions to American History |
| Abraham Lincoln |
He was the 16th President of the United States, and a champion of human liberty. He successfully led America during the Civil War, abolished slavery and was also successful in preserving the Union. |
| Albert Einstein |
He was a theoretical physicist, an author, and a philosopher. He is mainly known for his theory of relativity, and is regarded as the 'Father of Modern Physics'. |
| Al Gore |
He failed to be the US President in the year 2000 and his career was on the verge of getting over. But, as a spokesman for the Global Warming movement, he became the voice of the environmentalists and his ideas and actions moved hundreds of people into demanding the world to stop global warming. |
| George Washington |
He was the first President of the United States and was the one who helped America to defeat the British during the Revolution. He is often referred to as the 'Father of America' and both he and Lincoln were known for their republican values, their sacrifices for the country, and also for their civic and military leadership. |
| Benjamin Franklin |
He was one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. Besides that he was an author, a politician, postmaster, inventor, a statesman, and a diplomat. He is known for the invention of lightning rod, bifocals, the carriage odometer, the Franklin stove as well as the glass armonica. He is also known for forming the first public lending library and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. |
| Wright Brothers |
The whole system of transport changed due to the Wright brothers. Oliver and Wilbur Wright were the first to build and fly the first airplane. This was their most important contribution not only to America but to the whole world. |
| Eleanor Roosevelt |
Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of United States (1933 - 1945) when her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President. She was the one who fought for improving the status of working women and also supported the formation of United Nations. The President called her as the 'First Lady of the World'. |
| Alexander Graham Bell |
He was a scientist, inventor, innovator and an engineer. He is known for inventing the first practical telephone. He was also one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society. |
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
He was the 32nd President of United States. He successfully led America during the great economic crisis and also during the Second World War. |
| Martin Luther King Jr |
An activist and a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans. Following Mahatma Gandhi's idea of nonviolence, he fought for the betterment of the African-Americans. |
Apart from the table above, there are many more individuals who have helped shaped the world we know today. Let's see who they are.
- Alexander Hamilton
- Andrew Carnegie
- Andrew Jackson
- Benjamin Spock
- Betty Friedan
- Bill Clinton
- Bill Gates
- Booker T. Washington
- Brigham Young
- Cyrus McCormick
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Earl Warren
- Eli Whitney
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- Elvis Presley
- Enrico Fermi
- Ernest Hemingway
- George W. Bush
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Frederick Douglass
- Frederick Law Olmsted
- George Eastman
- George Gallup
- George Herman
- George Marshall
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Harry Truman
- Henry Clay
- Henry David Thoreau
- Henry Ford
- Herman Melville
|
- Hillary Clinton
- Horace Mann
- Howard Schultz
- J. P. Morgan
- Jackie Robinson
- James D. Watson
- James Fenimore Cooper
- James Gordon Bennett
- James K. Polk
- Jane Addams
- John Adams
- John C. Calhoun
- John D. Rockefeller
- John Dewey
- John Marshall
- John Quincy Adams
- John Steinbeck
- Jonas Salk
- Jonathan Edwards
- Joseph Smith
- Lewis and Clark
- Louis Armstrong
- Louis Sullivan
- Lyman Beecher
- Lyndon Baines Johnson
- Margaret Mead
- Margaret Sanger
- Mark Twain
- Mary Baker Eddy
- Michael Jordan
- Nat Turner
|
- Noah Webster
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
- Oprah Winfrey
- P. T. Barnum
- Rachel Carson
- Ralph Nader
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Richard Nixon
- Robert E. Lee
- Robert Oppenheimer
- Ronald Reagan
- Ryan White
- Sam Goldwyn
- Sam Walton
- Samuel F. B. Morse
- Samuel Gompers
- Sergey Brin and Larry Page
- Stephen Foster
- Susan B. Anthony
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Ulysses S. Grant
- W. E. B. Dubois
- Walt Disney
- Walt Whitman
- Walter Lippmann
- William Faulkner
- William James
- William Jennings Bryan
- William Lloyd Garrison
- William Randolph Hearst
- Woodrow Wilson
|
Thus, these were the influential people whose thoughts and actions had a major impact on the people of America.
