100 Most Influential of the Last 100 Years

Time Magazine last week released it's list of the World's 100 Most Influential People. With any list, there is a lot of subjectivity and varying methodologies for inclusion. (For a great discussion on the merits of this list, please visit my friend Matt over at Matt-Speak.) While I agree with many names on this list, the majority of them I don't. So, being the arrogant and opinionated individualist that I am, I decided to compile my own list of the 100 Most Influential over the last 100 years.

Feel free to comment and tell me which names you agree with and which names you think I must have been out of my mind to include. ;-)

• ABBA: I'm totally serious. Though they haven't been together for 25 years, they are more popular than ever thanks to no less than 20 tribute bands performing around the world right now; Hollywood (Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Ugly Betty, The Office), and the respect and influence their peers have given and acknowledged over time (U2, Phil Collins, Marshall Crenshaw, John Lennon, John Lord of Deep Purple and more). Not to mention that juggernaut of a jukebox musical called Mamma Mia! which has raked in over $2 billion and seen by more than 30 million people worldwide and which will take the world by storm in 2008 thanks to the movie being released July 18th starring Meryl Streep.
  The thing about ABBA that appeals to so many is that their music is generally happy. Who can listen to Dancing Queen for five seconds and not begin to smile? In the 1970s, with Vietnam, Watergate and rising energy prices, the world needed to escape, if only for a little while. In the last decade, with the Iraq War, the faltering economy and rising energy prices, the world needs to escape again, if only for a little while. ABBA music and Mamma Mia! provide that escape with their feel-good rhythms and infectious melodies. Oh, and the 360 million albums they sold while they were together still ranks third behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles, who are also on this list.


• Anthony, Susan B.: credited with gaining women the right to vote in the U.S.


• Ball, Lucille and Desi Arnaz: perhaps the funniest comedic pair ever to grace television; I Love Lucy is still on the air more than 50 years later. But more than that, they innovated a 3 camera system for broadcasting television, and were the first to record their shows on tape. Their television company, Desilu, is also famous for being the studio to produce another series some of you might have heard of as well: Star Trek.


• Bannister, Roger: the first human being to run a mile in under four minutes.


• The Beatles: the greatest group of all time, mostly because they were the first rock group. Their lyrics were sometimes hokey, but their music was always original, groundbreaking, and has proved to stand the test of time. They were major influences in almost every other musical act that came after them, including ABBA.


• The Bee Gees: along with ABBA, Olivia Newton-John, Andy Gibb, Donna Summer, Kris Kristofferson and Earth Wind and Fire performed at the charity concert at the United Nations in 1979: "Music for UNICEF". At this concert, each artist donated the royalties in perpetuity of one of their songs to UNICEF. This was well before the "Band-Aid" and "We Are The World" charity events. The Bee Gees are also inextricably linked to Saturday Night Fever and the Disco Era, having written, performed, or both most of the recognizable hits of that genre.


• Begin, Menachem: Prime Minister of Israel, and along with Anwar Sadat of Egypt, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for working towards peace in the Middle East.


• Bin Laden, Osama: makes this list in infamy for his abililty to spread terror throughout the world.


• Birdseye, Clarence: founder of the modern frozen foods industry.


• Brower, David: Longtime environmentalist and leader of the Sierra Club.


• Cameron, James: filmmaker. Titanic is still the highest grossing film of all time and has received more Oscars than any other film, excepting The Return of the Kingwhich is tied with Titanic. Cameron is also known for other, smaller films, such as Terminator.


• Carson, Rachel: with her groundbreaking book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson almost single-handedly launched the modern environmental movement. Earth Day was soon created following the publishing of this book.


• Churchill, Winston: Prime Minister of Britain during World War II.


• Clinton, Hillary: In addition to her life-long advocacy in support of children, Hillary Clinton made history in 2008 as the first legitamate female candidate for President of the United States.


• Comaneci, Nadia: with her string of 10s in gynastics under direction of her coach Bela Karoyli for Romania at the Montreal Olympics in 1976; Nadia changed women's gymnastics forever.


• Couric, Katie: the first woman to anchor the storied CBS Evening News.


• Cronkite, Walter: following in the footsteps of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite is a journalistic legend and longtime anchor of the CBS Evening News.


• Cruise, Tom: still arguably the most popular actor in Hollywood history.


• The Dalai Lama: Spiritual Leader of the Tibetan people and main figure humanizing the Human Rights struggles in China.


• Disney, Walt: in addition to Mickey Mouse, the films we have all adored as children, the creator of DisneyLand and DisneyWorld; Walt was a humanitarian as well.


• The Dixie Chicks: Grammy winning country music stars who stood up to the Bush Administration following the beginning of the Iraq War. Following their unpopular convictions at the time, they incurred great personal costs, death threats, and more--including harassment by the US Government; and have been vindicated by time.


• Einstein, Albert: King of Physics.


• Elizabeth II, Queen of England: Perhaps the longest-serving monarch presiding over her country during the period of greatest change the world has ever seen.


• Fleming, Alexander: Discoverer of Penicillin.


• Fleming, Peggy: America's first true Ice Princess and Olympic Gold Medalist in Ladies Figure Skating.


• Ford, Henry: Fine-tuned assembly-line production and put America to work


• Gandhi: Non-violent resistance.


• Gates, Bill and Steve Jobs: Creators/Innovators of MS-DOS, the disk operating system of PCs which is the underpining behind Windows; and the GUI (graphical user interface) which was the initial uniqueness of the Mac and Apple Computers. Where would we be right now without our personal computers?


• Gordon, Doug, Jamie McEwan, Tom McEwan, Roger Zbel and Wick Walker: Although you've never heard of any of them, they are the ones responsible for first descent of the Tsang Po River--the whitewater equivalent of Mt. Everest.


• Gore, Al: Nobel Prize Winner, advocate for the environmental movement, and world statesman. Wouldn't it be interesting if Al Gore were drafted at the Democratic Convention to be the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States?


• Hamill, Dorothy: Olympic Gold Medalist in Ladies Figure Skating in 1976, Dorothy was everywhere with her "Short and Sassy" Hairdo, the Hamill Camel, nad the spokeswoman for Campbell Soup.


• Hamilton, Laird: Big Wave Surfer, Model, Fitness Guru.


• Hawking, Stephen: Physicist primarily known for his theories in cosmology and quantum gravity.


• Hefner, Hugh: Founder of Playboy, created an empire, and through his publication helped to inform about and liberalize sex and sexuality.


• Hemingway, Ernest: Nobel and Pulitizer Prize-winning American Novelist, Short Story Writer and Journalist.


• Herzl, Theodor: Wrote an essay entitled The Jewish State, which became the rationale for and put in motion the creation of the State of Israel.


• Hillary, Sir Edmund and Tenzing Norgay: First to Summit Mt. Everest.


• Hitler, Adolph: Very inspiring dictator with dreams of creating a superior race while conducting genocide: most famously the Jewish Holocaust, but with an equal number of non-Jews as well. If any good can come from Adolph Hitler's life, he should be kept in the front of everyone's mind as an example of the need to be wary of inspirational speech.


• Jackson, Michael: The King of Pop.


• The Kennedy Family: The closest the United States has ever come to having its own Royal Family, this one family has probably had more influence in American Political, Social, and Literary life than any other.


• Korbut, Olga: Before there was Nadia, there was Olga: the darling of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games for her Uneven Bars Routine.


• Krakauer, Jon: author of Into The Wild and Into Thin Air, Krakauer is the preeminent outdoors writer of our time.


• Kroc, Ray: though not the founder of McDonald's, he made them what they are.


• Kwan, Michelle: Perhaps the most accomplished ladies figure skater of all time, Michelle Kwan dominated the World Figure Skating scene for 13 years, and although she never won the Olympic Gold Medal, with her five World Championships and nine US Championships, and her grace, elegance, humility and true love and respect for the sport, Michelle Kwan has probably influenced more young girls than any other sports champion.


• Leinweber, Ruth: My Debate Coach, Honors Lit, World Lit and AP English Teacher. We all have had one or two special teachers that have been major influences in our lives. Ruth Leinweber was mine, and she makes this list as a representative of her profession which shapes the lives of every generation in ways we can only imagine.


• Lombardi, Vince: Legendary Football Coach who spoke on what it takes to win.


• Lucas, George: "May the force be with you," creator of Star Wars.


• Luther King, Jr., Martin: Pivotal leader of the American Civil Rights movement.


• Madonna: Master of Reinvention, Unabashed opponent of hypocrisy and double-standards, particularly as they pertain to sexual and religious mores, one of the greatest female recording acts of all time--acknowledging her influence by ABBA with the 2006 global hit Hung Up, which is primarily a sampling of the ABBA hit Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!


• Mandela, Nelson: Former President of South Africa, anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress.


• Meir, Golda, one of the founders of the state of isarel and its 4th Prime Minister. She was also only the third woman to ever be a Prime Minister or President of any country, and the first woman in the world to do so without a relative being head of state.


• Mom and Dad: No one influences anyone more so than our parents. Without any teaching, without any training, without any guidebook, our parents collectively have the power to create the world we hope for, or to destroy it. No group is more important.


• Morrison, Toni: Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-Winning American Novelist.


• Muir, John: Founder of the Sierra Club.


• Murphy Brown: As the only fictional character on this list, Murphy Brown--played by Candice Bergen--actively engaged Dan Quayle--then Vice President of the United States--over the issue of deciding to have a baby out of wedlock and be a single-mother. Dan Quayle actually sent a stuffed animal to the fictional Murphy Brown. The writers of Murphy Brown skewered Dan Quayle unrelentlingly, and undoubtedly contributed to the failure of George Herbert Walker Bush being re-elected President of the United States.


• Murrow, Edward R.: Murrow set the standard of modern television journalism, beginning the storied era of the CBS Evening News by taking on McCarthy in the 1950s.


• NASA: The Moon Landing, Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, the Mars Rovers, Satellite Communication, and all the applied space sciences that effect our lives in countless ways every single day. Nuff said.


• Navratilova, Martina: Not only the greatest tennis player, male or female that has ever lived with more championships than anyone else; Martina Navartilova is a courageous leader who defected from Czechoslovakia to the United States in defiance of the Iron Curtain, gained US Citizenship, came out of the closet as a lesbian at great personal cost when it was not "popular" or "acceptable" to do so, and then later, in protest of Bush Administration policies, regained her Czech Republic citizenship. Martina Navratilova is a great athlete and a great human believing following her own personal convictions and is a role model for us all.


• Newton-John, Olivia: Loved all around the world for her performance as Sandy in Grease, a participant in the Concert for UNICEF, breast cancer survivor and spokesperson; Olivia Newton-John helped kick-start the fitness movement with one of the biggest hit songs of all time in 1981: Physical, and has been a leading activist for environmental issues throughout her long career.


• Nobel, Alfred: the inventor of both Dynamite and the Nobel Peace Prize.


• O’Connor, Sandra Day: Not just the first female Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but for the better part of three decades, Sandra Day O'Connor balanced the court in it's decisions and held swing votes keeping the court from swinging either too far to the left or to the right.


• Oppenheimer, Robert: The father of the Atom Bomb.


• Owens, Jesse: an African American track and field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team--much to the consternation of Adolph Hitler and his ideas of African Americans being an "inferior" race.


• Parks, Rosa: By her simple refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, Rosa Parks made international news and helped put an end to segregation in America.


• Pele: widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time.


• Picasso, Pablo: Groundbreaking artist and founder of the Cubist movement.


• Presley, Elvis: The King of Rock n Roll. No other performer in music has as much influence in the industry. From his many blockbuster movies to his swiveling hips on the Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis was a performer the likes of which we'll probably never see again.


• Rather, Dan: Followed where Cronkite left off on the CBS Evening News.


• Reagan, Ronald: The "Cowboy President," Ronald Reagan hugged us as a nation following the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger shortly after lift-off, and was in the right place at the right time to help end the Cold War for good with his challenges to Mikail Gorbachev to "tear down that wall,". Not only was the Berlin Wall torn down, Gorbachev put into place a program known as perestroika, which eventually led to the break-up of the Soviet Union and changed Europe forever.


• Redfield, John: author of The Celestine Prophecy which was pretty much the beginning of the golden age of new-age and pseudo-religious literature.


• Regret, Genuine Risk, Winning Colors: Before women were allowed to vote and Susan B. Anthony proved victorious, in 1915 Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, proving once and for all that the girls can compete with the boys. In the 134 years of the Kentucky Derby, only three fillies have ever won: Regret, Genuine Risk in 1980, and Winning Colors in 1988. Last Saturday, the latest filly to attempt this feat, Eight Belles, finished second and moments later collapsed with two shattered ankles.


• Retton, Mary-Lou: The first American Woman to win the All-Around Gold Medal in Olympic gymnastics. Like Nadia, Mary-Lou was coached by Bela Karolyi.


• Rockne, Knute: an American football player and is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history. The legend around the "Gipper" only enhances the storied history of the Notre Dame football program.


• The Roosevelts, Eleanor and Franklin Delano: FDR was the only 4-term President of the United States. Following his last term in office, a constitutional amendment was passed to limit Presidents to just two terms. Through his public works programs, FDR worked dilligently to bring the US out of the Great Depression. Eleanor Roosevelt, as First Lady of the United States, supported the New Deal policies of her husband and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, she continued to be an internationally prominent author and speaker for the New Deal coalition.


• Rowlings, J.K.: The author of the Harry Potter series, perhaps the greatest achievement in children's literature of all time.


• Rudolph, Wilma: Inspirational Olympic Gold Medalist. Wilma Rudolph overcame the crippling of her legs from polio to win three gold medals in track and field in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games.


• Russert, Tim: Perhaps the most respected journalist on the air today, Tim Russert is the host of Meet the Press, a frequent Presidential Debate Moderator, and author.


• Sadat, Anwar, along with Menachem Begin, Sadat shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the Camp David Accords. He was assassinated shortly afterwards.


• Sagan, Carl: Cosmologist and philosopher, his favorite phrase was "Billions and billions...."


• Salk, Jonas: Inventor of the Polio Vaccine.


• Schembechler, Bo: Legendary football coach of the University of Michigan, Bo ranks among the greatest coaches of all time and led what is still the winningest football program in all of college football.


• Sinatra, Frank: Old blue eyes. Before Elvis Presley and the Beatles, there was Frank Sinatra.


• Spencer, Lady Diana: World Humanitarian, she was larger than life.


• Spielberg, Stephen: Schindler's List, E.T., Munich, Indiana Jones.


• Spitz, Mark: Still the first and only winner of 7 Gold Medals in a single Olympic Games, Mark Spitz won gold for the U.S. in swimming at the 1972 Munich Games. As an American Jew, Mark Spitz competed despite the risk to his personal safety while the Israeli team had been taken hostage and assassinated.


• Stalin, Joseph: like Hitler, responible for the genocide of 20 million human beings, but unlike Hitler, Stalin happened to be on the United State's side at the time.


• Steinam, Gloria: Leader of the Femininst Movement in the U.S.


• Streep, Meryl: Perhaps the greatest actor that has ever lived, with more Oscar Nominations than anyone else in history. See her this summer in Mamma Mia!: the movie version of the global smash musical based on the songs of ABBA.


• Tolkien, J.R.R.: He gave us The Lord of the Rings, the greatest science fiction/fantasy trilogy ever written.


• Truman, Harry: Thankfully to this day, the only human being who ever had to command the use of the atomic bomb, and by doing so, ended World War II.


• Twain, Mark: or Samuel Clemens, but better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is also known for his quotations. During his lifetime, Twain became a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists and European royalty. Twain enjoyed immense public popularity, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. American author William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."


• Weber, Sir Andrew Lloyd: Along with Tim Rice, Weber invented the Rock Opera with Jesus Christ, Superstar and changed the course of musical theater with his other groundbreaking productions of Evita, Starlight Express, Cats, Joseph, and The Phantom of the Opera.


• White, E. B.: Before there was Harry Potter, there was Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan.


• Winfrey, Oprah: When Oprah talks, people listen and spend their money.


• Woods, Tiger: The greatest golfer of all time, and is now more and more regarded as teh greatest athlete of all time.


• Woodward and Bernstein: Exposed the Watergate tapes and put an end to the Presidency of Richard Milhouse Nixon.


• Wright Brothers: Well, I guess you could say that without them, the airlines wouldn't be going bankrupt right now; nor would there be almost instanteous spreads of deadly diseases around the world; but neither of those characterizations would be fair. Air travel has shrunk the planet. No invention, except the internet, has contributed more to the evolution of a truly global society, for better or for worse.


• Yamaguchi, Kristi: Last on my list, and not least, Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic Gold Medalist in Ladies Figure Skating was the last true American Ice Princess prior to Michelle Kwan. She was a role model for young girls the same way Michelle Kwan was with her grace and class and humility; and now she is entertaining again as the favorite to win Season Six of Dancing with the Stars; and she is inspiring again a whole new audience with her grace and class and humility in tact.

Thanks for reading.

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