15 Most Famous Men in History

These are the most famous men in the world, according to cold, hard data.

Becoming famous on Instagram is one thing. Becoming the GOAT is another. Most of the most famous men in history are no longer alive. With titles like “the father of physics,” most of these gentlemen are tough to top.

Do the world a favor and don’t try to match any of the dictators on this list, but feel free to try to beat Mozart and Beethoven. We can never have too much music.

15. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Hans Punz / AP

Birthplace: Salzburg, Austria

Years living: 1756-1791

What Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is famous for: Composing

Bottom line: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, more often just called Mozart, was the most prolific composer of his time. He only lived until the age of 35, but he got an early start. He could read and write music when he was only 5, and was already composing in earnest by the time he was 6.

In the three decades that followed, he composed over 800 works across every genre that existed at the time. Many of them are still regarded as masterpieces by today’s standards. He’s the second-most popular composer on Wikipedia, with over 19 million page views.

Note: All rankings are from the MIT Pantheon Project, a collaboration with MIT’s Collective Learning group that started in 2013 and uses Wikipedia data to create a Historical Popularity Index (HPI).

14. Adolf Hitler

AP Photo

Birthplace: Braunau am Inn, Austria

Years living: 1889-1945

What Adolf Hitler is famous for: Politics (and unspeakable evil)

Bottom line: Most figures on this list have at least some positive reasons to deserve fame, but Hitler is a glaring exception.

The German politician ran a horrific dictatorship and launched the Nazi party. He led them to commit widespread genocide in concentration camps across Europe, plus initiated World War II by invading Poland.

Even ignoring casualties during combat, Hitler was responsible for the deaths of around 6 million Jews and at least 5 million prisoners of war. His biography is, sadly, the most popular one from Austria.

13. Socrates

Sting / Wikimedia

Birthplace: Alopece, Greece

Years living: 470-399 B.C.

What Socrates is famous for: Philosophy

Bottom line: Among the first moral philosophers we have Socrates. Socrates was the founder of Western philosophy, despite never writing his theories down. His work is primarily known through secondhand accounts by his students, including Plato and Xenophon.

Recorded in the form of dialogues, examining a subject in question and answer form, Socrates invented an entire literary genre, the Socratic dialogue. And he didn’t write a single word.

His bio has over 13 million page views, making him the third-most popular philosopher on Wikipedia.

12. Napoleon

Jacques-Louis David / Wikimedia

Birthplace: Ajaccio, France

Years living: 1769-1821

What Napoleon is famous for: Politics

Bottom line: Napoleon Bonaparte was notoriously tiny and notoriously fierce.

A French military and political leader, he became known for his more modern military tactics, including an increase in decisive maneuvers and mobile warfare. He became the first emperor of France and led many successful conquests, in addition to establishing the Napoleonic Code.

Fun fact: Napoleon wasn’t actually that short. He was approximately 5-foot-6, which was an average height for a man in France at the time. Considering his bio has over 30 million page views, being vertically challenged didn’t get in his way in the slightest.

11. Galileo Galilei

Justus Sustermans / Wikimedia

Birthplace: Pisa, Italy

Years living: 1564-1642

What Galileo Galilei is famous for: Astronomy

Bottom line: Galileo Galilei, usually just referred to as Galileo, isn’t called the father of physics for nothing.

The Italian physicist, engineer and astronomer figured out that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around. He was also the first person to observe stars with a telescope, and invented both the thermoscope and the military compass.

He’s the most popular astronomer on Wikipedia, and his bio is the most popular from Italy.

10. Alexander the Great

Getty Images

Birthplace: Pella Greece

Years living: 356-323 B.C.

What Alexander the Great is famous for: Military achievements

Bottom line: Alexander III of Macedon, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, ruled over a Greek kingdom called Macedon.

He began leading the kingdom when he was only 20, and by the time he hit 30, he had built one of the biggest empires in history. His empire stretched from Greece to northwestern India, all thanks to his lengthy conquests.

He’s the second-most popular military leader on Wikipedia and the third-most popular biography in Greece.

9. Marco Polo

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Venice, Italy

Years living: 1254-1324

What Marco Polo is famous for: Exploring

Bottom line: Marco Polo is more than a fun game to play in the pool. Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant and explorer best known for his detailed accounts of his travels.

His journey to China during the 13th century was published in his book “The Travels of Marco Polo,” so he can also be considered an author.

He’s the most popular explorer on Wikipedia and the second-most popular biography from Italy.

8. Ludwig van Beethoven

Karl Joseph Stieler / Wikimedia

Birthplace: Bonn, Germany

Years living: 1770-1827

What Ludwig van Beethoven is famous for: Composing

Bottom line: “Moonlight Sonata” and “Fur Elise” would never have existed without the genius of Ludwig van Beethoven. He’s one of the most lauded figures in classical Western music, famous for composing everything from short concertos to symphonies fit for royalty.

His work is still some of the most performed in the world of classical music, and his bio has over 19 million page views.

7. Plato

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Athens, Greece

Years living: 427-347 B.C.

What Plato is famous for: Philosophy

Bottom line: Plato, a Greek philosopher born during the Classical period of ancient Greece, is among the most recognizable names in philosophy. He believed we only see a world of reflections based on a true world of “Forms.”

He’s the second-most popular philosopher on Wikipedia with over 14 million page views.

6. Aristotle

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Stagira, Greece

Years living: 384-321 B.C.

What Aristotle is famous for: Philosophy

Bottom line: Hailing from Greece, Aristotle was taught by Plato. He shared many of his mentor’s beliefs, but went on to found his own school of philosophy called the Peripatetic school.

He covered over a dozen different subjects, but his most famous philosophy was that of the “four causes.” He believed there were just four causes for everything, including the material, formal, efficient and final causes.

His Wikipedia page has been translated into 203 languages and has over 16 million page views.

5. Leonardo da Vinci

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Anchiano, Italy

Years living: 1452-1519

What Leonardo da Vinci is famous for: Inventing

Bottom line: What didn’t Leonardo da Vinci do? A painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist and architect, Leonardo da Vinci is the definition of a renaissance man.

He was best known for his artwork, including the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper,” but his sketches covered a broad range of subjects. He studied botany, human anatomy, astronomy and several other scientific subjects in such detail that most experts assume he had a genius-level IQ.

His Wikipedia page reflects his brilliance, with 28 million page views and availability in 226 different languages. His bio is also the most popular inventor bio and the most popular bio from Italy.

4. Genghis Khan

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Khentii Mountains, Mongolia

Years living: 1162-1227

What Genghis Khan is famous for: Military achievements

Bottom line: Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire. Known as the Great Khan, his military strategy was unmatched at the time. He united numerous nomadic tribes throughout the region to create an army virtually no one could compete with.

He conquered much of Eurasia, and while his tactics were brutal and unethical, he’s still considered a brilliant political and military leader. He remains the most popular military figure on Wikipedia, and his bio is the most popular one from Mongolia.

3. Jesus

The Sermon on the Mount Carl Bloch, 1890

Free Christ Images / Wikimedia

Birthplace: Herodian Kingdom of Judea, Israel

Years living: 4 B.C.-33 A.D.

What Jesus is famous for: Religion

Bottom line: Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, needs no introduction. Originally a Jewish preacher and religious leader, Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. His followers believe him to be the son of God, who died to repent for the sins of all of mankind.

His life has been heavily studied even outside of Christianity, and his Wikipedia page has an astronomical 30 million page views.

2. Isaac Newton

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, United Kingdom

Years living: 1642-1726

What Isaac Newton is famous for: Physics

Bottom line: The name Isaac Newton probably inspires images of apples falling from trees onto a math nerd’s head, but Newton did a lot more than “just” figure out how gravity worked. He was a central figure during the Enlightenment, a philosophical revolution that began in the late 1600s.

He wrote numerous studies both on physics, math and philosophy, and is most famous for formulating the three laws of motion. His biography has been translated into 220 different languages, and more than 24 million people have pulled up his page.

1. Muhammad

Miniature from Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's Jami al-Tawarikh, c.1315, illustrating the story of Muhammad's role in re-setting the Black Stone in 605.

Wikimedia

Birthplace: Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Years living: 570-632

What Muhammad is famous for: Religion

Bottom line: Muhammad ibn Abdullah was an early Arab religious and political leader. In the Islamic tradition, he’s believed to have been a prophet called upon to preach the teachings of biblical figures including Moses, Abraham, Adam and Jesus.

His Wikipedia page has been translated to 197 different languages so far, with over 28 million page views. Based on Wikipedia stats, he’s the most popular religious figure in all of history.

How well do you know historical influencers? Test your knowledge with this famous people in history quiz from Huge Quiz.