Who is the most influencial man(or woman) ever?

[Coyote]

Are you really suggesting that Hamlet was inevitable?

In a way....yes. The play struck a chord with the audience at the time so there was clearly a social acceptance of such a story. It would not have been the exact same Hamlet that we know but a story rather along those lines and we would be celebrating that instead, and another great playwright would be in our books.


As for Eve? She has been traced back as the one common ancestor, and had she left the tribe or refused a mate, yes, perhaps someone else might have eventually passed on those genes... but that's not what happened, and so we reflect on Eve rather than.... Lilith, perhaps.

Others might include Hammurabi, who established the Code of Laws.

Or Lucille Ball, who turned television into a vehicle for transmitting schmaltzy Vaudeville entertainment and converted millions into dedicated TV zombies, thus charting the course for Western civilization as we know it today.

[Darth Gojira]

Or Lucille Ball, who turned television into a vehicle for transmitting schmaltzy Vaudeville entertainment and converted millions into dedicated TV zombies, thus charting the course for Western civilization as we know it today.

Not mention making my father and mother fight over the remote every Sunday.
Dad: "Baseball!"
Mom: "Lucy!"
Me: "Cosmos!"

[SyntaxVorlon]

The SIMPSONS!

[kojikun]

I agree with Periquus in that Bacon is probably the most influential person in history. He took a world of backwards philosophers and turned it into a modern industrial and postindustrial world in less time then it took jesus to get hold of Rome.

[Lonestar]

In the past 300 years?

George Washington.

His leadership allowed the Continental Army continue until Frecnh aid arrived, After French aid arrived, America's Chances for independance was multiplied immeasurably.

[seanrobertson]

Who has had the most impact on history?

Glog, of course

Glog was the first person to learn the the value of making up with his mate after a big fight.

His first efforts were crude--bashing her on the head while she wasn't looking--but in time, he perfected "I'm sorry" with a mere kidney punch.

In the context of the times, that WAS equivalent to an apology.

I'd say the vast majority of folks aren't conceived before a couple's first major fight. So, without the honorable Glog, we would not have the art of kissing our wives' asses in dire times. We owe our existence to Glog.

Be sure to go smash something in his honor, preferably using another person's skull as your weapon. He would've wanted it that way.

Btw, don't believe that horseshit of Graag inventing all this. Graag's a punk. He copied Glog's cave art.

[SyntaxVorlon]

Didn't he die with his head stuck in a chicken?

No he froze to death attempting to stuff ice into a live chicken, to see if it would better preserve it than salt would, smart as he was, he didn't put any heavy cloths on, and ended up dead, the chicken lived though, IIRC.
I got this from the Darwin Awards.

[PrinceofLowLight]

Not sure if he's the MOST, but Genghis Khan is at least as influential as William the Conqueror. The centuries of Mongol rule started up the autocratic traditions that held Russia back technologically and socially and were still around up until the end of 20th century, therefore is indirectly responsible for the Cold War. That's got to count for something.

[Perinquus]

In the past 300 years?

George Washington.

His leadership allowed the Continental Army continue until Frecnh aid arrived, After French aid arrived, America's Chances for independance was multiplied immeasurably.

Don't forget the tremendous effect he had on shaping the government in its early years. People today mostly have no idea how high Washington's personal prestige was in post-Revolutionary America. Nor do they appreciate just how incredibly lucky we were to get a leader who was not either power hungry, or driven by an ideology. It was largely thanks to his participation that the Constitutional Convention was a success. Washington also set a precedent, followed until FDR of presidents serving no more than two terms, then peacefully transferring power. Contrast this with the majority of revolutions in history, where the revolutionary leaders decided their vision, their sense of justice, their administrative talents, their leadership, etc. were indispensible, and held on to power.

It is thanks to Washington, possibly more than any other individual, that our revolution did not set up a dictatorship like so many other revolutions in history.

[XaLEv]

Greyface.

http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/greyface.html

In the year 1166 B.C., a malcontented hunchbrain by the name of Greyface, got it into his head that the universe was as humorless as he, and he began to teach that play was sinful because it contradicted the ways of Serious Order. ``Look at all the order around you,'' he said. And from that, he deluded honest men to believe that reality was a straightjacket affair and not the happy romance as men had known it.
It is not presently understood why men were so gullible at that particular time, for absolutely no one thought to observe all the disorder around them and conclude just the opposite. But anyway, Greyface and his followers took the game of playing at life more seriously than they took life itself and were known even to destroy other living beings whose ways of life differed from their own.
The unfortunate result of this is that mankind has since been suffering from a psychological and spiritual imbalance. Imbalance causes frustration, and frustration causes fear. And fear makes for a bad trip. Man has been on a bad trip for a long time now.
It is called THE CURSE OF GREYFACE.

[kojikun]

funny ass shit;

[Raptor 597]

I would like to say the genius Julius Gaius Caeser who kick started the Republic. And his nephew, Octavius who began the Rise of Rome it's fall and the eventual modern Europe that was too follow.

[Perinquus]

I would like to say the genius Julius Gaius Caeser who kick started the Republic. And his nephew, Octavius who began the Rise of Rome it's fall and the eventual modern Europe that was too follow.

Actually, that should be Gaius Julius Caesar, and he pretty much finished off the Republic, turning it into a dictatorship. Following his assassination in 44BC you had a round of civil war, and in 27BC Octavius became the first Emperor.

[Darth Gojira]

funny ass shit;

FEAR the trots!!!

[Baron Scarpia]

Since I'm not sure if Jesus actually existed, I would go with Paul of Tarsus being more influential, since it is really he who shaped Christianity and was responsible for spreading it throughout the Roman world. Christian tenets tend to reflect his personality (intolerant bigot) rather than that of the described Jesus (compassionate socialist).

Now, as for who *the* most influentual person ever was, I'll have to think about it a bit more...

[Peregrin Toker]

Others might include Hammurabi, who established the Code of Laws.

Wasn't he the first person to write down the rule "An Eye For An Eye And A Tooth For A Tooth"???

[Pablo Sanchez]

But what influence did she have on history? DNA isn't history.

I'd vote for Sargon the Great, who invented the concept of Empire by unifying the Sumerian city-states under his rule.

The moment I opened this thread, Sargon of Akkad was the first person who popped into my mind. He was not only the first military conqueror of any distinction, but he also created the conditions which led to Judaism and in turn to Christianity and Islam.

I really can't think of any other single person who set in motion so many things. I guess you have to start early.