The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H. Hart. It is a ranking of the 100 people who, according to Hart, most influenced human history. The first person on the list is the Prophet of Islam Muhammad, a selection that generated some controversy.

About The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History in brief

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H. Hart, an astrophysicist, alien life researcher and white separatist. It is a ranking of the 100 people who, according to Hart, most influenced human history. The first person on Hart’s list is the Prophet of Islam Muhammad, a selection that generated some controversy. Hart wrote another book in 1999, entitled A View from the Year 3000, voiced in the perspective of a person from that future year and ranking the most influential people in history. Roughly half of those entries are fictional people from 2000–3000, but the remainder are actual people. These were taken mostly from the 1992 edition, with some re-ranking of order. The 1992 revisions included the demotion of figures associated with Communism, such as Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, and the introduction of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Hart took sides in the Shakespearean authorship issue and substituted Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for William Shakespeare. Hart also substituted Niels Bohr and Henri Becquerel with Ernest Rutherford, thus correcting an error in the first edition. Henry Ford was also promoted from the \”Honorary Mentions\” list, replacing Pablo Picasso. The book has been translated into many languages. Many writers have quoted the book as a worth-reading list of the historical figures. Many Muslim writers and preachers used the reference of the book for promoting support and admiration of Muhammad and Islam. Hart’s ranking system may seem outrageous to some—Muhammad is ranked first, followed by Newton and then Christ.