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,
#9751
Eitan Friedman
#165790
Overall Influence
#9752
H. C. Robbins Landon
#19561
Overall Influence
1926 - 2009 (83 years)
Howard Chandler Robbins Landon was an American musicologist, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by Haydn and in correcting misunderstandings about Mozart.
Go to Profile#9753
Edward Michael Gilbert
#165814
Overall Influence
#9754
Tsann Ming Chu
#165821
Overall Influence
#9755
Jean‐pierre Boissel
#165824
Overall Influence
#9756
Elke Lütjen‐drecoll
#165849
Overall Influence
#9757
Laurie J. Morrison
#165859
Overall Influence
#9758
Norman P. Salzman
#165876
Overall Influence
#9759
Magne Kristoffer Fagerhol
#165883
Overall Influence
#9760
Hans Will
#165887
Overall Influence
#9761
Salomone Di Saverio
#165897
Overall Influence
#9762
Christine A. Sinsky
#165904
Overall Influence
#9763
Otto Cars
#165914
Overall Influence
#9764
Richard C. Dodel
#165917
Overall Influence
#9765
Richard Ovenden
#43043
Overall Influence
1964 - Present (62 years)
Richard Ovenden is a British librarian and author. He currently serves as the 25th Bodley's Librarian in the University of Oxford, having been appointed in 2014. Ovenden also serves as the Director of the Bodleian Library's Centre for the Study of the Book and holds a Professorial Fellowship at Balliol College. Ovenden is a trustee of the Chawton House Library and vice-chair of the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation. In 2009, he was elected third chair of the Digital Preservation Coalition, succeeding Ronald Milne and Dame Lynne Brindley in a post he held until 2013. and returning in 2015 to the honorary position of President of the DPC.
Go to Profile#9766
Susan Nalugwa Kiguli
#74376
Overall Influence
1969 - Present (57 years)
Susan Nalugwa Kiguli is a Ugandan poet and literary scholar. She is an associate professor of literature at Makerere University. Kiguli has been an advocate for creative writing in Africa, including service as a founding member of FEMRITE, a judge for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize , and an advisory board member for the African Writers Trust. As a poet, Kiguli is best known for her 1998 collection The African Saga, as a scholar, and for her work on oral poetry and performance.
Go to Profile#9767
Cornelis Niek Van Dijk
#165933
Overall Influence
#9768
R. F. Patrick Cronin
#43372
Overall Influence
1926 - 2007 (81 years)
Robert Francis Patrick Cronin FRCPC FACP FRCP was a cardiologist, researcher, professor, and healthcare consultant, who served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University from 1972 to 1977.
Go to Profile#9769
Peter B. Corr
#165947
Overall Influence
#9770
Sewa S. Legha
#165953
Overall Influence
#9771
Robert Provenzano
#39343
Overall Influence
Robert Provenzano is an American nephrologist. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Affiliations Robert works with several professional societies and advisory boards. He is past-President of the Renal Physicians Association, immediate past-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, and an active member of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Society of Transplantation, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Go to Profile#9772
W. P. Daniel Su
#165976
Overall Influence
#9773
Urs Granacher
#165989
Overall Influence
2000 - Present (26 years)
#9774
David P. Jr. Wood
#166001
Overall Influence
#9775
Martin Eybl
#95922
Overall Influence
1960 - Present (66 years)
Martin Eybl is an Austrian musicologist. Early life and education Martin Eybl was born on December 7, 1960 in Neumarkt im Hausruckkreis, a town in the province of Upper Austria, and was educated at the Gymnasium in Kremsmünster where he graduated in 1979. Thereafter, he studied at the Anton Bruckner Conservatory in Linz and, in 1984, majored there in Piano Performance . At the same time, he studied composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, as well as musicology at the University of Vienna, from where he graduated in 1988 and 1995 .
Go to Profile#9776
Steven M. Hollenberg
#166004
Overall Influence
#9777
Bernhard Dietzschold
#166010
Overall Influence
#9778
Christoph Hedinger
#166030
Overall Influence
#9779
Thomas Grogan
#40300
Overall Influence
Thomas Grogan is an American professor, pathologist and founder of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. He currently holds the positions of Professor of Pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and Chief Scientific Officer at Ventana.
Go to Profile#9780
Karen A. Robinson
#139428
Overall Influence
Karen A. Robinson is a Canadian-American epidemiologist. She is a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University and Director of the school's Evidence-based Practice Center. Early life and education Robinson earned her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from McMaster University and her master's degree in the University of Waterloo. Following this, she moved to the United States for her PhD in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Go to Profile#9781
William S. M. Wold
#166063
Overall Influence
#9782
Hannelore Daniel
#166080
Overall Influence
#9783
Peter M. Kern
#166092
Overall Influence
#9784
Joseph Anthony Caprini
#166113
Overall Influence
#9785
Jacobijn Gussekloo
#166121
Overall Influence
#9786
Dimitrios P. Mikhailidis
#166129
Overall Influence
#9787
Joseph Proietto
#166140
Overall Influence
#9788
Masayo Takahashi
#11739
Overall Influence
1961 - Present (65 years)
Masayo Takahashi is a Japanese medical physician, ophthalmologist and stem cell researcher. Takahashi serves as a project research leader at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe focusing on the clinical application of iPS Cell technology on macular degeneration. In 2014, Takahashi was named by British science journal Nature as one of "five to watch" global scientists for her groundbreaking work in regenerative medicine.
Go to Profile#9789
Dewey K. Ziegler
#166144
Overall Influence
#9790
Douglas W. Mahoney
#166160
Overall Influence
#9791
Alan Forrest
#166161
Overall Influence
#9792
Pascale Barberger‐gateau
#166162
Overall Influence
#9793
Nir Peled
#166165
Overall Influence
#9794
Joel Michael Reynolds
#141452
Overall Influence
1985 - Present (41 years)
Joel Michael Reynolds is an American philosopher whose research focuses on disability. His areas of specialization include Philosophy of Disability, Bioethics, Continental Philosophy, and Social Epistemology. He is an assistant professor of Philosophy and Disability Studies in the Department of Philosophy at Georgetown University, a Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, a senior bioethics advisor to The Hastings Center, and core faculty in Georgetown's Disability Studies Program. In 2022, he was named a Faculty Scholar of The Greenwall Foundation in support of his proje...
Go to Profile#9795
Jonathan S. Lewin
#74000
Overall Influence
1959 - Present (67 years)
Jonathan S. Lewin is an American neuroradiologist specializing in medical imaging research with an emphasis on the investigation, development, and translation of new magnetic resonance imaging techniques. He is the former executive vice president for health affairs and executive director of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center for Emory University, and former President, CEO, and chairman of the board of Emory Healthcare. He currently serves as professor of radiology, biomedical engineering, and neurosurgery in the Emory School of Medicine and as professor of health policy and management...
Go to Profile#9796
Joseph S. Torg
#166238
Overall Influence
#9797
Lee D. Kaufman
#166252
Overall Influence
#9798
David L. Vesely
#166262
Overall Influence
#9799
David B. Rye
#166274
Overall Influence
#9800
Nour Sneige
#166277
Overall Influence
