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,
#9051
Juan Jesús Gómez‐reino
#158588
Overall Influence
#9052
Elizabeth Anne Bukusi
#157263
Overall Influence
Elizabeth Anne Bukusi FAAS is a research professor working within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, and global health. Bukusi's main areas of research focus around sexually transmitted infections, women's health, reproductive health, and HIV care, prevention and treatment. Bukusi is the Chief Research Officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and led a "landmark" study on the use of PrEP in Kenya.
Go to Profile#9053
Mary‐ellen Taplin
#158594
Overall Influence
#9054
Wil L. Iam Y. Chey
#158597
Overall Influence
#9055
R. W. Williams
#158611
Overall Influence
#9056
Joseph Rovan
#64540
Overall Influence
1918 - 2004 (86 years)
Joseph Adolphe Rovan , was a French philosopher and politician, and is considered a spiritual father of post-war Europe. Initially born into the Jewish faith, on Whitsunday 1944 he was received into the Catholic Church.
Go to Profile#9057
Frederick Samuel Kaplan
#158658
Overall Influence
#9058
Karsten Rippe
#158663
Overall Influence
#9059
Ken Hillman
#92453
Overall Influence
1947 - Present (79 years)
Ken Hillman AO FRCP FRCA FCICM is an Australian doctor and researcher. He is an intensive care specialist with research interests including health system reforms and end of life care. He has been Professor of Intensive Care at the University of New South Wales since 1990.
Go to Profile#9060
G. A. (gerald Allan) Cohen
#158669
Overall Influence
#9061
F.rederick J. Francis
#158670
Overall Influence
#9062
Hamid Ikram
#158672
Overall Influence
1937 - Present (89 years)
#9063
Luis Souhami
#158686
Overall Influence
#9064
Anna K. Nowak
#158723
Overall Influence
#9065
Robert P. Perrillo
#158725
Overall Influence
#9066
Jurij Moskvitin
#129399
Overall Influence
1938 - 2005 (67 years)
Jurij Moskvitin was a classical pianist, composer, philosopher, mathematician and boheme. Jurij Moskvitin grew up in Denmark; his mother was a Russian aristocrat and his father was a Danish civil engineer. After World War II he studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He then obtained a master's degree in Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen.
Go to Profile#9067
Manikkam Suthanthiran
#158744
Overall Influence
#9068
Welton M. Gersony
#158748
Overall Influence
#9069
Vinzenz Prof. Dr. Med. Hombach
#158749
Overall Influence
#9070
Hans-jochem Prof Dr Kolb
#158781
Overall Influence
#9071
Adolfo A. Ferrando
#158799
Overall Influence
#9072
E. Tessa Hedley‐whyte
#158822
Overall Influence
#9073
Helena Johansson
#158842
Overall Influence
#9074
Flemming Bendtsen
#158855
Overall Influence
#9075
Emre Kokmen
#158862
Overall Influence
#9076
Robert MacLaren
#60758
Overall Influence
1966 - Present (60 years)
Robert E. MacLaren FMedSci FRCOphth FRCS FACS VR is a British ophthalmologist who has led pioneering work in the treatment of blindness caused by diseases of the retina. He is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and Honorary Professor of Ophthalmology at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. He is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Oxford Eye Hospital. He is also an Honorary Consultant Vitreo-retinal Surgeon at the Moorfields Eye Hospital. MacLaren is an NIHR Senior Investigator, or lead researcher, for the speciality of Ophthalmology. In addition, he is a member of the res...
Go to Profile#9077
Rodney Bluestone
#158869
Overall Influence
#9078
John W. Barnwell
#158887
Overall Influence
#9079
Charles Michael Stein
#158903
Overall Influence
#9080
Paul B. Preciado
#63883
Overall Influence
1970 - Present (56 years)
Paul B. Preciado , is a writer, philosopher and curator whose work focuses on applied and theoretical topics relating to identity, gender, pornography, architecture and sexuality. Originally known as a female writer, in 2010 Preciado began a process of "slow transition" where he started taking testosterone to medically transition. From this point on he has publicly considered himself transgender as well as a feminist.
Go to Profile#9081
Nobuhiro Harada
#158914
Overall Influence
#9082
Lluís Clavell Ortiz-Repiso
#158931
Overall Influence
1941 - Present (85 years)
Lluis Clavell Ortiz-Repiso is a Roman Catholic priest. Career Although born in Barcelona, he spent all his childhood in Arenys de Mar where his father was the director of "El Forn del Vidre" . He was ordained priest on August 7, 1966, along with 23 other members of the Opus Dei, celebrating his first Mass on August 16, 1966, in the Church of the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes.
Go to Profile#9083
Frans F. Jöbsis
#158938
Overall Influence
#9084
John Punter
#15374
Overall Influence
1949 - Present (77 years)
John Punter is an English former record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, Doctors of Madness, Sad Café and Slade. His career in music spanned over 30 years and many different genres. He is now retired from the entertainment business, and ran a small bar in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. On July 24, 2019, he became a citizen of Canada.
Go to Profile#9085
Patrick Alexander Ott
#158947
Overall Influence
#9086
Hendrik Schulze‐koops
#158954
Overall Influence
#9087
Lars Søndergaard
#158960
Overall Influence
#9088
Diane Ackerman
#12645
Overall Influence
1948 - Present (78 years)
Diane Ackerman is an American poet, essayist, and naturalist known for her wide-ranging curiosity and poetic explorations of the natural world. Education and career Ackerman received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Among the members of her dissertation committee was Carl Sagan, an astronomer and the creator of the Cosmos television series. She has taught at a number of universities, including Columbia and Cornell.
Go to Profile#9089
John J. Paris, S.J.
#110879
Overall Influence
John J. Paris, S.J. is the current Michael P. Walsh Professor of Bioethics at Boston College. Biography He received a B.S in history from Boston College in 1959, an A.M. in Government and Education from Harvard University in 1969, a Ph.L. in Philosophy from Weston College in 1967, and a B.D. in Theology from Boston College in 1967. He then received both an M. A. and a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California. His doctoral thesis was "Toward an understanding of the Supreme Court's approach to religion in conscientious objector cases" Before coming to the Bost...
Go to Profile#9090
Natale Cascinelli
#158969
Overall Influence
#9091
Jean Talairach
#10604
Overall Influence
1911 - 2007 (96 years)
Jean Talairach was a psychiatrist and neurosurgeon who practiced at the Sainte-Anne Hospital Center in Paris, and who is noted for the Talairach coordinates, which are relevant in stereotactic neurosurgery.
Go to Profile#9092
D. S. Jacquette
#158980
Overall Influence
#9093
Luigi Barbara
#158981
Overall Influence
#9094
Christopher H. Boshoff
#158985
Overall Influence
#9095
Elbert P. Trulock
#158986
Overall Influence
#9096
Ronald Feld
#158992
Overall Influence
#9097
Francis E. Rosato
#159001
Overall Influence
#9098
Robert E. Hillman
#159015
Overall Influence
#9099
J. D. Thomas
#159036
Overall Influence
#9100
David E. Weissman
#159037
Overall Influence
1955 - Present (71 years)
