The Most Influential People Across History
Find the most influential people in 24 academic disciplines and numerous subdisciplines
Find famous and important people related to your research. This is an excellent tool for research papers, topic papers, and building a bibliography. Using our influence-based algorithm, our rankings synthesize data from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Semantic Scholar, and CrossRef.
Students and researchers now have a fast and reliable way to find influential thinkers from 24 disciplines and 300 sub-disciplines (and growing). If you want to find history’s most influential philsosophers, or the world’s most influential mathematicians currently, now you can.
We also provide custom rankings of people by discipline as well as interviews with influential academics who are currently active.
To use this tool, select the discipline (and optional subdiscipline) relevant to your research, and specify influential academics by history, world, or US. Even results that are counterintuitive are often enlightening (our algorithm always picks up a signal).
Methodology: How and Why We Rank by Influence …
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List of the most influential people in Philosophy,
#8051
Olivier Beauchet
#138453
Overall Influence
Olivier Beauchet is a physician, Professor of Medicine, and Joseph Kaufman Chair in Geriatric Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was also appointed Director of the Centre of Excellence on Longevity at McGill University and is a senior investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research.
Go to Profile#8052
John H. Yardley
#61247
Overall Influence
1926 - 2011 (85 years)
John Howard "Jack" Yardley, M.D. was an American pathologist known for his work in gastrointestinal pathology. He worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1954 until his retirement in 2006. He served as Baxley Professor of Pathology and director of the Department of Pathology from 1988 to 1992. He also served as associate dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1977 to 1984. He is regarded as one of the founders of the field of gastrointestinal pathology.
Go to Profile#8053
G. Richard Iii Locke
#148077
Overall Influence
#8054
S. Joshua Swamidass
#42457
Overall Influence
S. Joshua Swamidass is an American computational biologist, physician, academic, and author. He is an associate professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, and a Faculty Lead of Translational Bioinformatics in the Institute for Informatics at Washington University in St. Louis.
Go to Profile#8055
David Oliver
#90110
Overall Influence
1966 - Present (60 years)
David Oliver is a British physician specialising in the geriatric medicine and acute general internal medicine. He was President of the British Geriatrics Society from 2014 to 2016. He is Visiting Professor of Medicine for Older People in the School of Community and Health Sciences at City University London and a King's Fund Senior Visiting Fellow. He was formerly the UK Department of Health National Clinical Director for Older People's Services from 2009 to 2013. He is a researcher, writer, teacher and lecturer on services for older people and a regular blogger, columnist and media commentator.
Go to Profile#8056
Ernst. Wolner
#148096
Overall Influence
#8057
Fevzi Okumuş
#148108
Overall Influence
#8058
Eldon A. Shaffer
#148109
Overall Influence
#8059
Nicolae Simionescu
#100296
Overall Influence
1926 - 1995 (69 years)
Nicolae Simionescu was a Romanian physician. Born in Bucharest, he attended Dimitrie Cantemir and then Saint Andrew High School, graduating in 1944. He then enrolled in the medical faculty of the University of Bucharest, which he completed in 1950, earning his doctorate in 1966. From 1946 to 1970, he was on the staff of the same institution, rising from junior teaching assistant to teaching assistant to associate professor and department chairman. Meanwhile, he improved his skills as a surgeon until 1957, when he transferred to the Bucharest Endocrinology Institute. Working there until 1970, ...
Go to Profile#8060
Howard Neil Hodis
#148137
Overall Influence
#8061
Steven m. Rothman
#148141
Overall Influence
#8062
Nancy J. Tarbell
#148163
Overall Influence
#8063
Lorenz Studer
#44526
Overall Influence
1966 - Present (60 years)
Lorenz Studer is a Swiss biologist. He is the founder and director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He is a developmental biologist and neuroscientist who is pioneering the generation of midbrain dopamine neurons for transplantation and clinical applications. His expertise in cell engineering spans a wide range of cells/tissues within the nervous system geared toward disease modeling and exploring cell replacement therapy. Currently, he is a member of the Developmental Biology Program and Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Slo...
Go to Profile#8064
Jane Roland Martin
#83378
Overall Influence
1929 - Present (97 years)
Jane Roland Martin is an American philosopher known for her work on education. She is Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has published a number of works relating to issues of gender in education. In 1987, she received a Guggenheim Award for her work.
Go to Profile#8065
Hendrik van Riessen
#115527
Overall Influence
1911 - 2000 (89 years)
Hendrik Van Riessen was one of the second generation of reformational philosophers arising from the Free University in Amsterdam, after the first generation of Herman Dooyeweerd and D. H. Th. Vollenhoven. Other second generationers were: K. J. Popma, S. U. Zuidema and J. P. A. Mekkes.
Go to Profile#8066
Jan E. Lindsten
#148194
Overall Influence
1935 - Present (91 years)
#8067
Richard J. Ablin
#36520
Overall Influence
1940 - Present (86 years)
Richard J. Ablin is an American scientist, most notable for research on prostate cancer. According to the Wall Street Journal: Early years Ablin received a bachelor's degree from Lake Forest College in 1962 and a doctorate in microbiology from the University at Buffalo in 1967, where he received the distinguished alumni award in 2010.
Go to Profile#8068
Graham Frcp Jackson
#148228
Overall Influence
#8069
Michel Aubier
#148243
Overall Influence
#8070
Elyse D. Foster
#148264
Overall Influence
#8071
Michael L. Steer
#148275
Overall Influence
#8072
Raymond C. Harris, Jr.
#148288
Overall Influence
#8073
Gustavo Cudkowicz
#148291
Overall Influence
#8074
Bernd C. Kieseier
#148311
Overall Influence
#8075
Raymond G. Hoffmann
#148326
Overall Influence
#8076
John Patrick Donohue
#148327
Overall Influence
#8077
Martin G. Zeier
#148335
Overall Influence
#8078
Thomas J. Herzog
#148347
Overall Influence
#8079
Lukáš Plank
#50539
Overall Influence
1951 - Present (75 years)
Lukáš Plank is a Slovak medical researcher, pathologist, and author. Career He studied medicine at, and is currently a professor of pathology at the Jessenius School of Medicine in Martin which is a part of the Comenius University in Bratislava. He is also the head of the department of Pathology at the Martin University Hospital. He is the former chairman of the Slovak Scientific Council .
Go to Profile#8080
Gere S. Dizerega
#148373
Overall Influence
#8081
Shirish M. Gadgeel
#148395
Overall Influence
#8082
Walter R. Wilson
#148400
Overall Influence
#8083
Jon Oberlander
#96221
Overall Influence
1962 - 2017 (55 years)
Jon Reid Oberlander FRSE was a British philosopher and cognitive scientist who was Professor of Epistemics at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. He received a BA in Philosophy from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1983 and a PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of Edinburgh in 1987.
Go to Profile#8084
Pedro L. Alonso
#69280
Overall Influence
1959 - Present (67 years)
Pedro L. Alonso , is a physician, epidemiologist, and researcher in diseases that affect vulnerable populations. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, his work focuses mainly on malaria, although he has also studied other infectious diseases. He served as the Director of the Global Malaria Programme at the World Health Organization between 2014 and 2022, and is currently Professor of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science-Hospital Clinic, at the University of Barcelona.
Go to Profile#8085
Crickette Sanz
#58697
Overall Influence
Crickette Marie Sanz is a professor, naturalist, explorer, and field biologist notable for her work on primates and great apes in the Republic of the Congo. Background and career Sanz received her BS and MS in experimental psychology from Central Washington University, followed by her PhD in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, where she is currently a professor of biological anthropology.
Go to Profile#8086
Martin Buchheit
#148426
Overall Influence
#8087
Sehadete Mekuli
#29540
Overall Influence
1928 - 2013 (85 years)
Sehadete Mekuli , also spelled Sadete Mekuli, was a Yugoslavian-born Albanian gynecologist, professor, and public figure. She became known for tending to the injured students of the 1981 protests in Kosovo, when Albanians demanded more autonomy within the Yugoslav federation. As a result of her actions, she was denied a full professorship at the University of Pristina School of Medicine and was forced into early retirement in 1988. She is the inspiration for the character of Teuta Shkreli in Ismail Kadare's 1985 novel The Wedding Procession Turned to Ice .
Go to Profile#8088
Monique Deveaux
#101808
Overall Influence
Monique Deveaux is a Canadian philosopher. She is a Full Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ethics and Global Social Change at the University of Guelph. She is known for her research on poverty, cultural pluralism and global justice.
Go to Profile#8089
Matthew J. Mcgirt
#148436
Overall Influence
#8090
Richard E. Kuntz
#148443
Overall Influence
#8091
Regis J. O'keefe†
#148448
Overall Influence
#8092
Adam Wanner
#148449
Overall Influence
#8093
Michael S. Torbenson
#148490
Overall Influence
#8094
Roberto De Franchis
#148494
Overall Influence
#8095
Felicity J.m. Reynolds
#148496
Overall Influence
#8096
Abraham T. K. Cockett
#148500
Overall Influence
#8097
Klaus Klaushofer
#148502
Overall Influence
#8098
John F. Forbes
#148507
Overall Influence
#8099
Michael Thomas Clandinin
#148528
Overall Influence
#8100
Kazuo Sugamura
#148535
Overall Influence
