Who do you believe is the most fascinating historical figure?

[deviake]

Macho Man

 

[Prefect]

I don't think IQ determined who was the boss, but Hitler could not have been stupid. Goring may have been more intelligent than Hitler. Other things besides intelligence factor in to politics but Hitler most certainly was above average.

Hitler was very average and kind of dumb. He dropped out of school and managed to not get into art school. His book Mein Kopf is kind of badly written like something a emo teenager or your dumbass uncle at thanksgiving with overbearing opinions nowdays would write and think they were changing the world with their brilliance. Hitler was neither smart nor educated. This idea that he had to be smart to start a huge war is baffling. Without his weird rise to power, he likely would have been doing the modern day equivalent as working at McDonalds.

 

[Domitian]

Time Magazine's 100 most significant figures in history is a decent list:

Spoiler

1 Jesus

2 Napoleon

3 Muhammad

4 William Shakespeare

5 Abraham Lincoln

6 George Washington

7 Adolf Hitler

8 Aristotle

9 Alexander the Great

10 Thomas Jefferson

11 Henry VIII of England

12 Charles Darwin

13 Elizabeth I of England

14 Karl Marx

15 Julius Caesar

16 Queen Victoria

17 Martin Luther

18 Joseph Stalin

19 Albert Einstein

20 Christopher Columbus

21 Isaac Newton

22 Charlemagne

23 Theodore Roosevelt

24 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

25 Plato

26 Louis XIV of France

27 Ludwig van Beethoven

28 Ulysses S. Grant

29 Leonardo da Vinci

30 Augustus

31 Carl Linnaeus

32 Ronald Reagan

33 Charles Dickens

34 Paul the Apostle

35 Benjamin Franklin

36 George W. Bush

37 Winston Churchill

38 Genghis Khan

39 Charles I of England

40 Thomas Edison

41 James I of England

42 Friedrich Nietzsche

43 Franklin D. Roosevelt

44 Sigmund Freud

45 Alexander Hamilton

46 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

47 Woodrow Wilson

48 Johann Sebastian Bach

49 Galileo Galilei

50 Oliver Cromwell

51 James Madison

52 Gautama Buddha

53 Mark Twain

54 Edgar Allan Poe

55 Joseph Smith, Jr.

56 Adam Smith

57 David, King of Israel

58 George III of the United Kingdom

59 Immanuel Kant

60 James Cook

61 John Adams

62 Richard Wagner

63 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

64 Voltaire

65 Saint Peter

66 Andrew Jackson

67 Constantine the Great

68 Socrates

69 Elvis Presley

70 William the Conqueror

71 John F. Kennedy

72 Augustine of Hippo

73 Vincent van Gogh

74 Nicolaus Copernicus

75 Vladimir Lenin

76 Robert E. Lee

77 Oscar Wilde

78 Charles II of England

79 Cicero

80 Jean-Jacques Rousseau

81 Francis Bacon

82 Richard Nixon

83 Louis XVI of France

84 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

85 King Arthur

86 Michelangelo

87 Philip II of Spain

88 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

89 Ali, founder of Sufism

90 Thomas Aquinas

91 Pope John Paul II

92 René Descartes

93 Nikola Tesla

94 Harry S. Truman

95 Joan of Arc

96 Dante Alighieri

97 Otto von Bismarck

98 Grover Cleveland

99 John Calvin

100 John Locke

Napoleon at 2? Washington and Lincoln 5 and 6? All of history encompasses a lot of time, way too many Americans on there. I'd probably put Alexander behind Jesus and Muhammad. Almost every general in Europe and probably elsewhere has wanted to even be close to him in legacy.

 

[CrimsonFan]

Jesus

This is my answer.

This guy is the entire reason for Christmas, the way we discuss history (BC/AD). I'm not Christian really but it's very fascinating.

 

[Prefect]

This is my answer.

This guy is the entire reason for Christmas, the way we discuss history (BC/AD). I'm not Christian really but it's very fascinating.

but Jesus was gay.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

Time Magazine's 100 most significant figures in history is a decent list:

Spoiler

1 Jesus

2 Napoleon

3 Muhammad

4 William Shakespeare

5 Abraham Lincoln

6 George Washington

7 Adolf Hitler

8 Aristotle

9 Alexander the Great

10 Thomas Jefferson

11 Henry VIII of England

12 Charles Darwin

13 Elizabeth I of England

14 Karl Marx

15 Julius Caesar

16 Queen Victoria

17 Martin Luther

18 Joseph Stalin

19 Albert Einstein

20 Christopher Columbus

21 Isaac Newton

22 Charlemagne

23 Theodore Roosevelt

24 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

25 Plato

26 Louis XIV of France

27 Ludwig van Beethoven

28 Ulysses S. Grant

29 Leonardo da Vinci

30 Augustus

31 Carl Linnaeus

32 Ronald Reagan

33 Charles Dickens

34 Paul the Apostle

35 Benjamin Franklin

36 George W. Bush

37 Winston Churchill

38 Genghis Khan

39 Charles I of England

40 Thomas Edison

41 James I of England

42 Friedrich Nietzsche

43 Franklin D. Roosevelt

44 Sigmund Freud

45 Alexander Hamilton

46 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

47 Woodrow Wilson

48 Johann Sebastian Bach

49 Galileo Galilei

50 Oliver Cromwell

51 James Madison

52 Gautama Buddha

53 Mark Twain

54 Edgar Allan Poe

55 Joseph Smith, Jr.

56 Adam Smith

57 David, King of Israel

58 George III of the United Kingdom

59 Immanuel Kant

60 James Cook

61 John Adams

62 Richard Wagner

63 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

64 Voltaire

65 Saint Peter

66 Andrew Jackson

67 Constantine the Great

68 Socrates

69 Elvis Presley

70 William the Conqueror

71 John F. Kennedy

72 Augustine of Hippo

73 Vincent van Gogh

74 Nicolaus Copernicus

75 Vladimir Lenin

76 Robert E. Lee

77 Oscar Wilde

78 Charles II of England

79 Cicero

80 Jean-Jacques Rousseau

81 Francis Bacon

82 Richard Nixon

83 Louis XVI of France

84 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

85 King Arthur

86 Michelangelo

87 Philip II of Spain

88 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

89 Ali, founder of Sufism

90 Thomas Aquinas

91 Pope John Paul II

92 René Descartes

93 Nikola Tesla

94 Harry S. Truman

95 Joan of Arc

96 Dante Alighieri

97 Otto von Bismarck

98 Grover Cleveland

99 John Calvin

100 John Locke

This is a good list. Truman is higher if the human race ends via nuclear war.

I think Jesus is the right #1. I also like Napoleon at number 2.

I would say Napoleon's story has some of the highest highs and lowest lows of any human ever.

 

[666]

Genghis Khan. He killed so many people he caused climate change and fucked so much he has 16 million descendants now.

 

[Vergilius]

I don't think IQ determined who was the boss, but Hitler could not have been stupid. Goring may have been more intelligent than Hitler. Other things besides intelligence factor in to politics but Hitler most certainly was above average.

Interestingly, the IQ tests of the Nazis at the Nüremberg trial matches their position in the hierarchy pretty well. Hitler was a monster, but the other top nazis considered him a genius; he was an avid reader and conversant on almost any topic... but still a monster, so he wouldn't be my pick for most interesting guy in history.

Personally, I'd go for Cicero or Aristotle. Cicero lived through some of the most tumoltuous times in history and is the most well-documented person we know of until modern times. Aristotle was a foundational figure in almost everything interesting.

 

[Osculater]

This is my answer.

This guy is the entire reason for Christmas, the way we discuss history (BC/AD). I'm not Christian really but it's very fascinating.

Jesus wasn't even born on Christmas

 

[Osculater]

Jesus
He's actually a historical figure

Allegedly

 

[Osculater]

but Jesus was gay.

Allegedly

 

[Drunken Meat Fist]

Jesus would be a fucking drag, his answers are already written down for him to the bone and fiber. Sure he can pull fish and do some cool magic, but he has to poked, he'd be dud, ... no offense. Everybody these days are butthurt over being red pilled blue pilled, ... Son of God, what would we even do? Probably none of the shit i'd suggest. ...what age are we again... ah nevermind. don't comment on other's just say good call.

umm...., I'm sure neither on many people's top ten lists, but I'm good with people who aren't good with people because, well, I have my theories on that, .. Not the definitive answers and with no fucking Djinni trickery, or Twilight Zone twists and turns.

1. Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford - he wrote Shakespeare, so we need to talk
2. William Blake, obvious reasons
3. The man in Vergilius's avatar. Cause he's a hero. I talking to a guy just today and he brought up Vick's Vapor Rub for his congestion. To quote Jenny from the block on her superhit "in' shit, if ya know ya know."

Vergilius, enthusiasm and excitement can be misconstrued as being a wise-ass, I'm assuming nothing but I'm gung-ho on certain things and when I caught wind of a Lu Anne Henderson bio, I about shit my pants. I didn't shit my pants, I don't do that. ...."One and Only - The untold story of On the Road," wicked good read, super fast, and fills in a ton of angles and wonderment." If you've read, no offense, if you haven't, cheers.

 

[HHJ]

I really don't have only one.


But the most interesting I read about lately (as in yesterday) was Abbas The Great

 

[HHJ]

My favourite that I've read about is Lord Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Def a very interesting figure

 

[HHJ]

Yi Sun-shin

 

[KnightTemplar]

Hitler was very average and kind of dumb. He dropped out of school and managed to not get into art school. His book Mein Kopf is kind of badly written like something a emo teenager or your dumbass uncle at thanksgiving with overbearing opinions nowdays would write and think they were changing the world with their brilliance. Hitler was neither smart nor educated. This idea that he had to be smart to start a huge war is baffling. Without his weird rise to power, he likely would have been doing the modern day equivalent as working at McDonalds.

Hitler possessed a fair amount of cunning, which can pass for intelligence in poor light. He was a superb politician, a brilliant orator and a reasonably brave if undistinquished low level soldier. As a military leader he fucking sucked, thank God.

But really, the stars had to align for Hitler to rise to power. In any other time or country, Adolf would have been a fringe figure at best. But he appeared when Germans were dealing with financial collapse, poverty and national humiliation after WWI. Hitler's gift was the ability to make otherwise intelligent and civilised people believe that the Jews were responsible, and only the Nazis could save them.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Hitler was very average and kind of dumb. He dropped out of school and managed to not get into art school. His book Mein Kopf is kind of badly written like something a emo teenager or your dumbass uncle at thanksgiving with overbearing opinions nowdays would write and think they were changing the world with their brilliance. Hitler was neither smart nor educated. This idea that he had to be smart to start a huge war is baffling. Without his weird rise to power, he likely would have been doing the modern day equivalent as working at McDonalds.

There is simply no way Hitler could have had a “weird rise to power” without above average intelligence. To achieve and hold onto power, command the respect of his high IQ inner circle. No way.

Now some were calling him out on his bullshit but he still held onto his power until the end.

Probably comparable to a guy like Saddam Hussein who was a thug with above average (but not exceptional) intelligence but with exceptional hustle and drive who was in the right place at the right time.

But being exceptional in one area often comes with shit aptitude in another. A narcissistic complex can mask those deficiencies until they eventually blow up in your face.

And I know it’s autocorrect but lol at “Mein Kopf.”

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Time Magazine's 100 most significant figures in history is a decent list:

Spoiler

1 Jesus

2 Napoleon

3 Muhammad

4 William Shakespeare

5 Abraham Lincoln

6 George Washington

7 Adolf Hitler

8 Aristotle

9 Alexander the Great

10 Thomas Jefferson

11 Henry VIII of England

12 Charles Darwin

13 Elizabeth I of England

14 Karl Marx

15 Julius Caesar

16 Queen Victoria

17 Martin Luther

18 Joseph Stalin

19 Albert Einstein

20 Christopher Columbus

21 Isaac Newton

22 Charlemagne

23 Theodore Roosevelt

24 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

25 Plato

26 Louis XIV of France

27 Ludwig van Beethoven

28 Ulysses S. Grant

29 Leonardo da Vinci

30 Augustus

31 Carl Linnaeus

32 Ronald Reagan

33 Charles Dickens

34 Paul the Apostle

35 Benjamin Franklin

36 George W. Bush

37 Winston Churchill

38 Genghis Khan

39 Charles I of England

40 Thomas Edison

41 James I of England

42 Friedrich Nietzsche

43 Franklin D. Roosevelt

44 Sigmund Freud

45 Alexander Hamilton

46 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

47 Woodrow Wilson

48 Johann Sebastian Bach

49 Galileo Galilei

50 Oliver Cromwell

51 James Madison

52 Gautama Buddha

53 Mark Twain

54 Edgar Allan Poe

55 Joseph Smith, Jr.

56 Adam Smith

57 David, King of Israel

58 George III of the United Kingdom

59 Immanuel Kant

60 James Cook

61 John Adams

62 Richard Wagner

63 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

64 Voltaire

65 Saint Peter

66 Andrew Jackson

67 Constantine the Great

68 Socrates

69 Elvis Presley

70 William the Conqueror

71 John F. Kennedy

72 Augustine of Hippo

73 Vincent van Gogh

74 Nicolaus Copernicus

75 Vladimir Lenin

76 Robert E. Lee

77 Oscar Wilde

78 Charles II of England

79 Cicero

80 Jean-Jacques Rousseau

81 Francis Bacon

82 Richard Nixon

83 Louis XVI of France

84 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

85 King Arthur

86 Michelangelo

87 Philip II of Spain

88 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

89 Ali, founder of Sufism

90 Thomas Aquinas

91 Pope John Paul II

92 René Descartes

93 Nikola Tesla

94 Harry S. Truman

95 Joan of Arc

96 Dante Alighieri

97 Otto von Bismarck

98 Grover Cleveland

99 John Calvin

100 John Locke

I can't stop laughing at George Dubya being ranked number 35. Made me wonder if this list was created like the year after 9-11 or something. What a farce. Complete nonsense.

 

[Prefect]

Hitler possessed a fair amount of cunning, which can pass for intelligence in poor light. He was a superb politician, a brilliant orator and a reasonably brave if undistinquished low level soldier. As a military leader he fucking sucked, thank God.

But really, the stars had to align for Hitler to rise to power. In any other time or country, Adolf would have been a fringe figure at best. But he appeared when Germans were dealing with financial collapse, poverty and national humiliation after WWI. Hitler's gift was the ability to make otherwise intelligent and civilised people believe that the Jews were responsible, and only the Nazis could save them.

He wasn't a superb anything except being a great orator. His book is an incoherent mess. After the war a the Nuremberg trials, of course everyone is going to say he was the brain behind everything. Above that he was fragile. He dropped out of school because he was embarrassed that he was poor. If you read the intelligence briefs by the U.S. and Britian, he was a paranoid mess that was sexual dysfunction and incapable connecting to other people. At no point as a politician did he show any cunningness or political awareness. He slipped by in a three way election, cleaned out his party by just killing everyone that might be a threat during the Night of Long Knives, develop a crippling addiction to drugs, and wreck the entire country. It is impressive what he did but winning an election is hardly an intelligence test. There is no shortage of really stupid people in politics. The idea that the jews and non-Aryan blood was he reason why Germany lost WW1 is pretty stupid, even back than when so many in Germany had jewish relatives.

Everything that Germany did during the war that was impressive was largely the result Germany being heavily industrialized and the scientific and research center of the world. Hitler barely squeaked into power but someone like him would have existed just due to the many in the country wanting to blame someone for their post WW1 plight.

 

[Prefect]

There is simply no way Hitler could have had a “weird rise to power” without above average intelligence. To achieve and hold onto power, command the respect of his high IQ inner circle. No way.

Now some were calling him out on his bullshit but he still held onto his power until the end.

Probably comparable to a guy like Saddam Hussein who was a thug with above average (but not exceptional) intelligence but with exceptional hustle and drive who was in the right place at the right time.

But being exceptional in one area often comes with shit aptitude in another. A narcissistic complex can mask those deficiencies until they eventually blow up in your face.

And I know it’s autocorrect but lol at “Mein Kopf.”

Would you say that any politician in the U.S. requires above average intelligence to get elected? Because anyone here can rattle a list of politicians that are as dumb as a box of rocks but know how to check off the party checklist.