Tags
Famous in 500 years, Famous people, Historical actions, Important acts, Important people, man of the year, person of the year, TIME Top 100
The current TIME magazine has a list called The 2008 TIME 100 Finalists which is derived from 207 names created by a popular appraisal. Shigeru Miyamoto is rated #1 and Stephen Colbert #2, but moving on down the list there are lots of names which may be obscure to you. So at the risk of sucking in TIME’s ire for basing my comments on their list I have used it but added the desperately needed hot links to make it more meaningful. Those links will be handy for identifying all of those people you may not have heard of and so the rating of the fame of these people, projected 500 years into the future, may get off to a reasonable start.
This list is made up of people who are popular with the public today but that is just a possible beginning place for trying to determine who will be significant in the distant future. All of these people are significant now and are to be commended in their own field of activity. Sometimes it is painful to make a general statement of their memorability because some of them are terrorists. TIME admitted having this problem when choosing the Person of the Century because some of the most significant people are now recognized as evil. Was their Man of the Century to be Hitler who destroyed so much or Einstein who showed us how to destroy everything?
In the chart below the • mark is placed at the end of a line for people who have already accomplished something which may still be remembered in 500 years. The sitting American president always has an opportunity to do something memorable, such as Kennedy sending Armstrong and Aldrin to the Moon. This is reminiscent of Ferdinand and Isabella sending Columbus to the New World. These acts will certainly place their names in the 500 year memorable people list. Below are the current popular favorites.
Rank
|
Name | Rating | Votes | 500 year • | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
Shigeru Miyamoto | 72 | 1,766,424 | Game designer | |
2
|
Stephen Colbert | 69 | 921,161 | Comedian | |
3
|
Rain | 67 | 1,511,725 | Korean singer | |
4
|
Noam Chomsky | 65 | 48,715 | Cognitive activist | |
5
|
Tyler Perry | 61 | 239,376 | Playwright | |
6
|
Heidi Klum | 58 | 26,559 | Model | |
7
|
Tyra Banks | 58 | 16,873 | Model | |
8
|
Neil deGrasse Tyson | 57 | 208,775 | NOVA | |
9
|
Al Gore | 57 | 26,234 | Conservationist • | |
10
|
Mike Huckabee | 56 | 18,163 | Governor AK | |
11
|
George Clooney | 56 | 16,612 | Actor | |
12
|
Will Smith | 55 | 24,652 | rapper Actor | |
13
|
Tiger Woods | 55 | 21,735 | Golfer | |
14
|
Bono | 54 | 18,588 | singer Activist | |
15
|
Eliot Spitzer | 53 | 12,892 | Governor NY | |
16
|
David Beckham | 52 | 15,026 | English footballer | |
17
|
Shinya Yamanaka | 52 | 11,964 | Stem cell • | |
18
|
Jimmy Wales | 52 | 7,222 | Wikipedia • • | |
19
|
Nelson Mandela | 51 | 93,240 | Politician SA | |
20
|
Sergey Brin/Larry Page | 51 | 19,475 | Google • | |
21
|
Bruce Springsteen | 51 | 18,327 | Songwriter | |
22
|
Oscar Pastorius | 51 | 15,269 | Legless runner | |
23
|
Matt Damon | 51 | 9,488 | Actor | |
24
|
John Kufuor | 51 | 9,283 | Politician Ghana | |
25
|
Mandeeha Odhaib | 51 | 6,396 | Activist Iraq | |
26
|
Jon Stewart | 50 | 352,047 | TV Comedian | |
27
|
Bill Gates | 50 | 19,418 | Microsoft • | |
28
|
Coen Brothers | 50 | 11,334 | Filmmakers | |
29
|
Julia Roberts | 50 | 10,277 | Actor | |
30
|
Natalie Portman | 49 | 15,453 | Actor | |
31
|
Liu Xiang | 49 | 12,919 | Hurdles | |
32
|
Michael Cera | 49 | 12,596 | Actor | |
33
|
Angela Merkel | 49 | 8,446 | Chancellor | |
34
|
Wendy Kopp | 49 | 8,119 | Teacher activist | |
35
|
Barack Obama | 48 | 171,053 | US President ? | |
36
|
Ben Bernanke | 48 | 16,474 | Banker Federal | |
37
|
Chris Rock | 48 | 13,578 | Comedian | |
38
|
Craig Venter | 48 | 12,325 | Genetics • • | |
39
|
Pervez Mussharraf | 48 | 11,966 | Pres Pakistan | |
40
|
Warren Buffett | 48 | 11,917 | Investor | |
41
|
Paul Allen | 48 | 11,822 | Microsoft | |
42
|
Lance Armstrong | 48 | 11,401 | Cyclist | |
43
|
Jeff Bezos | 48 | 10,637 | Amazon | |
44
|
Nikki Finke | 48 | 10,244 | Journalist | |
45
|
Caroline Kennedy | 48 | 9,745 | Politician | |
46
|
Radiohead | 47 | 17,344 | Rock Musician | |
47
|
Michael Phelps | 47 | 10,344 | Swimmer | |
48
|
Kristin Halvorsen | 47 | 7,835 | Norwegian pol | |
49
|
Stephenie Meyer | 46 | 215,096 | Vampire Author | |
50
|
Nancy Pelosi | 46 | 8,601 | US politician | |
51
|
Sonia Gandhi | 46 | 68,064 | India politician | |
52
|
Nicholas Negroponte | 46 | 8,021 | $100 Computers | |
53
|
Ayaan Hirsi Ali | 46 | 5,802 | World Politician | |
54
|
Vladimir Putin | 45 | 28,274 | Russian Pres | |
55
|
High School Musical | 45 | 23,599 | Actors | |
56
|
John McCain | 45 | 21,945 | US politician | |
57
|
Tina Fey | 45 | 20,032 | Actor | |
58
|
Mark Zuckerberg | 45 | 17,056 | ||
59
|
Pope Benedict XVI | 45 | 12,408 | Catholic Pope | |
60
|
Amy Poehler | 45 | 10,709 | Actor | |
61
|
Aung San Suu Kyi | 45 | 10,190 | Politician Bruma | |
62
|
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | 45 | 10,088 | US Politician | |
63
|
Madonna | 44 | 74,957 | Entertainer | |
64
|
Brad Pitt | 44 | 30,755 | Actor | |
65
|
Wen Jiabao | 44 | 15,168 | Premier China | |
66
|
A. Schwarzenegger | 44 | 14,181 | Governor CA | |
67
|
Rupert Murdoch | 44 | 11,089 | Media mogul | |
68
|
The MySpace Men | 44 | 10,610 | Social Network • | |
69
|
Ratan Tata | 44 | 9,695 | Indian autos | |
70
|
Wu Yi | 44 | 6,151 | China politician | |
71
|
Britney Spears | 43 | 249,536 | US actor | |
72
|
Richard Branson | 43 | 13,639 | Industrialist | |
73
|
Khaled Hosseini | 43 | 9,798 | Afghan writer | |
74
|
Patric Verrone | 43 | 8,289 | TV writer | |
75
|
Jay Adelson | 43 | 6,662 | Digg | |
76
|
Sidney Crosby | 43 | 6,022 | Hockey player | |
77
|
Nicolas Sarkozy | 42 | 11,481 | President France | |
78
|
Michael Bloomberg | 42 | 10,992 | Mayor NYC | |
79
|
Daniel Day Lewis | 42 | 8,533 | Method actor | |
80
|
Ang Lee | 42 | 8,212 | Film director | |
81
|
Jay-Z | 42 | 7,896 | Hip hop artist | |
82
|
Gordon Brown | 42 | 7,892 | UK Prime | |
83
|
Alexis Sinduhije | 42 | 5,617 | African journalist | |
84
|
Craig Newmark | 42 | 4,865 | Craigslist • | |
85
|
Lewis Hamilton | 41 | 11,388 | Race car driver | |
86
|
Ahmadinejad | 41 | 10,998 | President Iran | |
87
|
Sarah Silverman | 41 | 10,604 | Comedian | |
88
|
Joan Blades | 41 | 7,343 | MoveOn.org | |
89
|
Joseph Stiglitz | 41 | 5,810 | Economist | |
90
|
Katsuaki Watanabe | 41 | 5,680 | President Toyota | |
91
|
David Axelrod | 41 | 4,858 | Pol consultant | |
92
|
Julia Gerberding | 41 | 4,793 | Head CDC | |
93
|
Anwar Ibrahim | 40 | 42,379 | Malaysian pol | |
94
|
M.I.A. | 40 | 10,361 | Songwriter | |
95
|
Condoleezza Rice | 40 | 10,027 | US Sec. of State | |
96
|
Ken Bruns | 40 | 7,457 | Docu films | |
97
|
Jeffrey Sachs | 40 | 4,505 | UN Millennium | |
98
|
Judd Apatow | 39 | 17,890 | Comedian | |
99
|
Mehmet Oz | 39 | 12,022 | Heart Dr. | |
100
|
Eli Manning | 39 | 12,006 | Football | |
101
|
Kim Jonh Il | 39 | 11,666 | North Korean pol | |
102
|
Steve Balmer | 39 | 11,561 | Microsoft | |
103
|
Cristina de Kirchner | 39 | 10,249 | Pres Argentina | |
104
|
Carlos Slim Helu | 39 | 9,532 | Telecom | |
105
|
Jeremiah Wright | 39 | 6,732 | Obama’s pastor | |
106
|
Garry Kasparov | 39 | 5,009 | Chess champion | |
107
|
Ma Ying-Jeou | 39 | 4,386 | President China | |
108
|
Tony Blair | 38 | 14,678 | Premier UK | |
109
|
Suze Orman | 38 | 10,468 | Financial advisor | |
110
|
Jean Claude-Trichet | 38 | 8,219 | European Bank | |
111
|
Vinod Kholsa | 38 | 6,136 | Capitalist | |
112
|
Muqtada al-Sadr | 37 | 17,883 | Iraqi theologian | |
113
|
Diablo Cody | 37 | 11,406 | Writer | |
114
|
J Abrams | 37 | 11,054 | TV producer | |
115
|
Mo Ibrahim | 37 | 9,536 | Telecom mogul | |
116
|
Hugo Chavez | 37 | 9,504 | Pres Colombia | |
117
|
Ali al-Naimi | 37 | 9,212 | Oil mogul | |
118
|
David Sedaris | 37 | 8,935 | Comedian | |
119
|
John Roberts | 37 | 6,764 | Chief Justice US | |
120
|
David Petraeus | 36 | 11,814 | US General | |
121
|
Peter Gabriel | 36 | 11,482 | Songwriter | |
122
|
Simon Cowell | 36 | 9,804 | TV American Idol | |
123
|
Lou Jiwei | 36 | 9,281 | Chinese finance | |
124
|
Tim Piper | 36 | 8,974 | Ad man | |
125
|
King Abdullah | 36 | 8,555 | King Saudi Arabia | |
126
|
Rem Koolhaus | 36 | 8,187 | Architect theorist | |
127
|
Liu Qi | 36 | 8,097 | Beijing Olympics | |
128
|
Hamid Karzai | 36 | 7,939 | Pres Afghanistan | |
129
|
Charles Gibson | 36 | 7,434 | ABC TV news | |
130
|
Klaus Schwab | 36 | 6,765 | World Econ | |
131
|
Guy Laliberte | 36 | 4,735 | Cirque du Soleil | |
132
|
Jacob Zuma | 35 | 18,596 | President ANC | |
133
|
Kevin Rudd | 35 | 8,856 | Minister Australia | |
134
|
Raul Castro | 35 | 8,306 | President Cuba | |
135
|
Michael Dell | 35 | 6,329 | Computer sales | |
136
|
will.I.am | 35 | 6,208 | Rapper | |
137
|
Tzipi Livni | 35 | 5,773 | Israeli Politician | |
138
|
Robert Gates | 35 | 22,108 | US Sec. Defense | |
139
|
Mia Farrow | 34 | 15,485 | Actor | |
140
|
Alex Rigopulos, | 34 | 15,485 | Music CEO | |
141
|
George Mitchell | 34 | 12,899 | Senator Majority | |
142
|
Ray Odierno | 34 | 10,317 | General, Iraq | |
143
|
Harold McGee | 34 | 10,049 | Author food | |
144
|
Robert Downey Jr. | 34 | 9,676 | Actor | |
145
|
Peter Gelb | 34 | 8,161 | NYC Opera | |
146
|
Miley Cyrus | 33 | 28,348 | Actor | |
147
|
General Kiyani | 33 | 13,765 | General Pakistan | |
148
|
Lorena Ochoa | 33 | 12,326 | Golfer | |
149
|
Shlomo Ben-Ami | 33 | 4,125 | Pol historian | |
150
|
Oprah Winfrey | 32 | 53,321 | TV personality | |
151
|
Isabel Caro | 32 | 8,829 | Anorexic activist | |
152
|
Ian McEwan | 32 | 7,056 | British Author | |
153
|
H. Lee Scott Jr. | 32 | 6,689 | Wal-Mart | |
154
|
Dimitry Medvedev | 32 | 6,680 | President Russia | |
155
|
Ichiro Suzuki | 32 | 4,853 | Baseball Seattle | |
156
|
Yousaf Raza Gilani | 32 | 4,205 | Pakistani pol | |
157
|
Ellen Page | 31 | 71,466 | Actor | |
158
|
George W. Bush | 31 | 33,783 | 43 US President | |
159
|
Hu Jintao | 31 | 33,121 | President China | |
160
|
Hurley/Steve Chen | 31 | 13,558 | YouTube • | |
161
|
Matt Drudge | 31 | 10,002 | Drudge news | |
162
|
James Cramer | 31 | 9,232 | TV Mad Money | |
163
|
Hassan Nasrallah | 31 | 8,722 | Hezbollah leader | |
164
|
David Frost | 31 | 5,788 | Broadcaster | |
165
|
Andrea Jung | 31 | 5,447 | Avon chief | |
166
|
Christopher Hitchens | 30 | 11,245 | Author polemicist | |
167
|
Joyce Carol Oates | 30 | 10,135 | Author 50 novels | |
168
|
Elizabeth Gilbert | 30 | 8,770 | Novelist essayist | |
169
|
Prince Charles | 30 | 7,821 | Heir apparent UK | |
170
|
Tom Stoppard | 30 | 7,648 | Playwright | |
171
|
Prince al-Waleed | 30 | 6,662 | Saudi billionaire | |
172
|
Tom Friedman | 30 | 5,033 | World author | |
173
|
Frank Rich | 30 | 4,979 | NY Times politics | |
174
|
Steve Jobs | 29 | 66,252 | Apple Inc | |
175
|
Amy Winehouse | 29 | 15,017 | Singer songwriter | |
176
|
Adam Moss | 29 | 9,367 | New Yorker | |
177
|
Mark Ronson | 29 | 9,166 | Music producer | |
178
|
Manny Ramirez | 29 | 8,567 | Baseball | |
179
|
Novak Djokovic | 29 | 8,054 | Tennis | |
180
|
Lloyd Blankfein | 29 | 7,268 | Financial | |
181
|
David Simon | 29 | 7,057 | Writer | |
182
|
Jamie Dimon | 29 | 4,558 | CEO JP Morgan | |
183
|
Ho Ching | 29 | 4,332 | 100 Billion $ | |
184
|
Hillary Clinton | 28 | 181,934 | US Sec of State | |
185
|
Baitullah Mehsud | 28 | 17,532 | Pakistan leader | |
186
|
Stella McCartney | 28 | 10,527 | Fashion designer | |
187
|
Rex Tillerson | 28 | 6,794 | CEO Exon | |
188
|
Shelly Lazarus | 28 | 4,948 | CEO Ogilvy | |
189
|
Alex Rodriquez | 27 | 8,949 | Baseball NY | |
190
|
Iggulden Brothers | 27 | 8,428 | Boys books | |
191
|
David Brooks | 27 | 5,657 | Journalist | |
192
|
Philip Rosedale | 27 | 5,357 | Second Life • | |
193
|
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari | 26 | 29,287 | Pakistani Pol | |
194
|
Ayman al-Zawahiri | 26 | 6,301 | al-Qaeda | |
195
|
Wang Jianzhou | 26 | 5,320 | China Mobile | |
196
|
Roger Federer | 25 | 179,638 | Tennis | |
197
|
Perez Hilton | 25 | 162,640 | TV buzz | |
198
|
Ai Weiwei | 25 | 12,427 | Art author China | |
199
|
Nick Denton | 25 | 8,937 | British journalist | |
200
|
Robert Polet | 25 | 5,369 | CEO Gucci | |
201
|
Cecily von Ziegesar | 24 | 9,276 | Children’s books | |
202
|
Rhonda Byrne | 23 | 6,371 | Popular writer | |
203
|
Carine Roitfeld | 22 | 5,632 | CEO Paris Vogue | |
204
|
Tomas Maier | 22 | 5,544 | Luxury designer | |
205
|
Mark Penn | 22 | 5,051 | Trends polling | |
206
|
Dalai Lama | 21 | 67,463 | Tibetan leader | |
207
|
Chip Kidd – – – – – – – – – – |
21 – – – | 7,445 – – – | Graphic designer |
That list of currently popular people probably doesn’t include most of those who will actually be remembered in 500 years. Pop musicians, authors, businessmen, clothing designers and the like are totally dependent upon passing fashion and will soon be passe and forgotten. The only fashion designer still popular after almost 200 years is Beau Brummel. “His fastidious attention to cleaning his teeth, shaving, and bathing daily became popular.” Only the Vatican garb is based on style over 500 years ago still in use and only the more “recent” Swiss Guards garb by Michelangelo has a designer name label.
Heads of state are in positions of great temporary power and from that position they might do something of lasting value such as Caesar setting the modern calendar in place, or Napoleon setting up the Metric System. Kennedy sending men to the Moon is highly memorable but setting up a decent medical system in the US matching that already in place for decades elsewhere, which is high on Obama’s to do list, would not be memorable. It is very important but it isn’t memorable.
There are • tags on several computer products because they are the foundation of things which will still be around in 500 years. There will be vast improvements but the basic idea is there and so these current embodiments may be remembered as foundations of much greater things which followed. There are two • • which have the best chance for long term memorability. Craig Venter • • because he sequenced the human genome and Jimmy Wales • • of Wikipedia because although it will be vastly improved by that time and may be superseded by some other organization Wikipedia will be remembered. Diderot’s Encyclopedia of 1747-1771, although no longer in use, is still remembered. It spawned a whole passel of Encyclopedias including the Britannica which is now struggling in competition with Wikipedia.