Top 10 Greatest Minds in History

The Top Ten
1 Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical ...read more.

He solved some observational issues we have always had in predictive modelling of the visible universe and his work has been applied (for better or worse) to other fields of study. Few have had an impact to humanity in answering many questions both big and small as he did.

Albert Einstein is greatest mind ever as he understood geometry of space-time which is not at all easy stuff, I mean you can do math like newton and formulate laws but it only need to master in a technique but to really think and understand nature through imagination is very tough indeed.

Simply turned physics on its head. The top physicists before him said that we have no more to learn except to get more accurate. He showed that the universe had far more nuance and opened the door to modern physics.

The photoelectric electric effect, relativity and the special theory of relativity, any one of his theories would have booked his name in the hall of fame of physics.

2 Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system, X rays, Radio, Remote Control, Laser, and Electric motors. Tesla developed and used fluorescent bulbs in his lab some 40 years before industry “invented” them. Nikola Tesla had perhaps thousands of other ideas and inventions that remain unreleased.

It hard to compare tesla to Einstein or Hawking. Tesla with what he had to work with attained an understanding of electricity that was so far ahead of his peers that even today we don't fully get it. A lot of what he said still seems like madness but every few years it turns out another thing he said was right. He is most likely one of the best alien glitch candidates on the basis of how else could you explain this guy.

I also vote for Tesla because the alternating current and his discoveries on magnetism, waves and so on still power the world today. From WiFi and internet to lights and even basic things like hair dryer (electric motor) nothing has supplanted him. He was right about so many things no one could even imagine. And that makes Tesla's mind even relevant today. He had theories which he didn't get to work on. Those should be studied.

Tesla's had a lots of useful foundations in the producing of electricity. His solutions about the electric generators and transformators are the basics of our energetic system. All of those comes from him. The discovering of electromagnetic laws is one of the most difficult part of Physics, and he had built machines based on it, not just thought about that, realized. He was a true engineer, and he had never ran out of ideas. Remained a lots of work to do...

Tesla was the truth.I wish we listen to him right now we would be traveling the cosmos if we had listen to Tesla. People talk about aliens and how they are so technology advanced if we followed Tesla we would be similarly or more advanced. With free energy the whole world could have been so advanced no war, we could focus on technology and traveling the universe.

3 Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution.

Newton discovered a major part of Optics (mainly that white light is made out of rainbow colors... How does that work for the artist work? ). He discovered the Laws of Motion. He discovered Universal Gravitation. And then one day one of his friends comes up to him and ask "Why are the orbits of the planets elliptic and not circular? ", "I don't know... I'll come back to you in a few months" Newton said. A couple of months later Newton comes back to his friend "You see the elliptic orbits are sections of a cone cut in slices", "And how did you come up with that? " his friend asked. Newton answered "Oh I had to create Differential and Integral Calculus to do it". And then he turned 26! LMAO

This man, quite frankly, invented physics. He also shared in the creation (or representation, to those who believe that mathematics is a discovery and not an invention) of Calculus, a branch of mathematics that changed everything and opened the gates to higher branches of mathematics and physics.

Isaac Newton definitely should be number 1. Before Newton science virtually didn't exist. His intelligence seems to have been super human. Which is probably more than you can say about any of the other geniuses listed here.

Second or third, Archimedes or Einstein.

He has been the greatest of them all without any doubt.
His contributions to to the world are huge and well known; but the place giving on this comparisons also have to include them along with their story.

No one has done or been like him, he's a GIANT!

4 Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, ...read more.

One of the few well rounded intellectuals of human history. If he cared about religion beyond the rules and structures he had to live by at the time I'm sure there would be a religion named after him. Thankfully he concentrated on science and art instead of religion.

A master of every field he touched, the Vinci questioned authority and combined the smartest practices if the world during a time when it was believed that all knowledge as already known, creativity was the work of God and anything else was blasphemy. Artist, inventor, war strategist, philosopher, thinker, and great athlete (he was famous for his ability to fence and bend steel with his bare hands), the Vinci was the quintessential Renaissance man, the likes of which there had never been before and there hasn't been since.

Leonardo the Vinci as an artist, inventor and engineer among other things was truly and extraordinary mind. I don't think we will ever see a man that creatively intelligent and bright in this world. He is the creator and founder of so many useful products and theories, most of which he hasn't been credited for. I feel his history has been repressed and people forget about his true contributions to our modern day society and just label him as a painter without knowing that he was so much more.

A great mind in many fields, the Vinci is still referred to as the father of invention. Wright Brothers? Ha! He was the one who constructed the first flying machine (or at the least, designed). Whatever he put his hands to he excelled at. As an artist, he created the finest piece of art in history, the Mona Lisa. As a scientist, he founded many methods we still use today. This man was a genius, perhaps the greatest in history, and the Renaissance period can't agree more.

5 Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is now widely accepted and considered a fundamental ...read more.

How Muhammed can be viewed as having a greater mind than Darwin is beyond me! Our understanding of biology, anthropology, paleontology stem from his work on evolution. Yes Muhammad was a great man but by no means was his mind greater than Darwins for he wouldn't be able to comprehend the world in the way Darwin could.

Challenged religion methodically and laid the foundations for medicine and biology. The theory of evolution by natural selection is easily one of the most fundamental principles in science and has stood the test of time despite the vitrol which is constantly flung in its way.

Not sharing the religious arguments but he did have a way with thoughts and thinking outside the box.

Darwin saw clearly in a time of ignorance and religious prejudice. A very clever human being and a great scientist

6 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era, born in Salzburg.

He listened to a song twice only at the age of eight and wrote the notes on paper that was a very tight secret by the Catholic Church at the time. Awesome!

A child prodigy all right who was autistic back then he's a very unique being during that era

7 Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (January 8, 1942 - March 14, 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. His most famous research was on the theory of Black Holes.

Stephen hawking is easily the greatest human mind the earth has ever seen to date. Don't get me wrong, there are many others that shaped the world we know, but he is current on the leading edge of what's really going on out there. He's proved that for example, some of Einstein's equations and theories don't fully apply to the grand scheme of things. Yes, they work very well for what the earth has used them for for years. But Stephen has found the existence of a world (figuratively speaking) that when you apply Einstein's equations, they become erratic and fall apart. Stephen's theories are so far beyond anything anybody has yet to even imagine. He will most likely be the greatest mind this earth will ever see. (And he won't be succeeded only because "some" currently "unknown" source will be the cause of the human race won't survive long enough for a successor to emerge). He probably couldn't have done it without the many others before him but he understands so much more beyond what ...more

Oh my God. He is just not human. A man who cannot talk, or walk or move any part of his body and yet, as he would put it, "in my mind I am free". His principles and theories, his computations so unassailable, at least for the next century, his findings so groundbreaking. One of the only couple of people who understand Einstein's relativity in full. He has even disproved its universal application! He just showed me how the universe can "create itself out of nothing", and a time "when there shall be no time". I just love him. I am into philosophy, but I can't help but make him my role model!

Inspirational person. When he speaks about something, you listen. I am very grateful to be alive when he is, his moment in time will be an important moment in time. I can say I was there too!

He discovered that the black hole has a type of radiation named after him which is called hawking radiation and the black hole of being such an inescapable binding force.

8 Muhammad Muhammad ibn Abdullah (570 AD - 632 AD) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of the world religion of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets within Islam. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis of Islamic religious belief.

This is the man that not only gave the world something to believe in but also showed the world how to achieve great success. This is the only man on this list who has had an effect on all spheres of life. Not a single one of his prophecies to this day have been proven false. Each and every word in the book which was brought down on to him have been proven to be true, word for word...!

For his followers, he is the last messenger of God (Allah in Islam and monotheistic religions). However, what makes him is not this side, possibly. His humbleness while equating human in rich and poor and guiding them for social equity in a society of of clans makes him as great history maker with vision ever I believe.

Muhammed was not a genius nor a man of peace. He was an impulsive and manipulative conqueror who preyed on the minds of weak men through faith and liked to diddle kids.

Muhammad is the greatest human being ever walked on earth. No doubt at all, seriously if you read his biography and what he said and done it's a miracle

9 Paul Dirac

One of the best mathematical physicists of the 20th century!

10 Augusto Pinochet
The Contenders
11 Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx ( 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, critic of political economy, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the four-volume Das Kapital ...read more.

Greatest thinker of all time.

Should be on the top.

12 Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (January 6, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General.
13 Aryabhata Aryabhata or Aryabhata I was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy.

The discoveries by him are beyond nature and were very powerful. He only invented mathematical digit '0', but did not get credit for it.

To be creative and flexible in thinking to grasp such an ubiquitous concept as math is incredible all be itself.

Creator of first Number is Called 0(Zero). Because of this person.

Greatest genius...
Dear solving an equation is simple
But giving a new number 0
Damn this man rocks!

14 Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, ...read more.
15 Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
16 Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist, and Nobel laureate.
17 Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer.

This list is certainly laughable, but if it to include those outside of the realm of science, it should certainly include military and political strategists, and philosophers. From the Ancient Greek world there's none before Aristotle.

Archimedes invented the pulley! Several of his inventions are still used today, in my opinion he was brilliant, everyone that came after him, stood on his shoulders.

Archimedes is the best in my opinion. Even for his time, such inventions and mathematics reshaped the world of knowledge. Better than any other mind. imagine before christ and you found much before any other great mind which is why this man should be praised.

Knolwedge surpassed roman Irons. He built a whole city of machines! So ahead of his time.

18 Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. ...read more.

To know yourself...know him...one of the greatest teacher ever to take birth...with incomparable discriminating ability...a flawless command over english... a orator like no other...whose little influence is enough to change the course of anyone's life...The very embodiment of fearlessness...THE WARRIOR SAINT.

He combined the best of all major faiths via. ,Vedantic thoughts, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism etc and worked for real advancement of humanism.

Energized the youths of India... Most active person on earth at his times..

Its mind is sharp as he had spoken 24 hours on zero.

19 Jesus Christ Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, Palestine. He was born to Mary, as the bible says "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18). He was both man and God (John 20:28). According to the bible He is God alone (Deuteronomy 6:4). ...read more.

Guys, I understand and respect all opinions, but just because Jesus Christ was God's son and a wise man does not mean he was by any means a genius. It means he had integrity and compassion. This man probably didn't know any mathematics either, and if he did a very basic portion, but, given the time period, that was common. However, since he didn't invent a new way of thinking, redefined our SCIENTIFIC world, or contributed to any SCIENTIFIC principle, he shouldn't be considered to be up here.

Jesus never claimed to be God. In fact he clearly said that the Father was greater than he was. The Bible also says that Jesus was the first of God's creations, and subsequently God used to him to create all other things. Therefore, he must have had an extensive knowledge of science and mathematics, far more than any human could ever have.

Jesus is above the station of all on this list. His words and life still affect the entire world today. Time is calculated starting from his death, and preceding his life. Non is up to the task. He is by far the greatest. The most searched name on the internet.

I love the way the writer stated it made a case for Jesus' inclusion. No human being as done more than Jesus than just His integrity, reason and influence. I agree with Josephus on this, "What are we to say about this man Jesus - if we can call him a man."

Chesterton summarized Him the best "The Strangest Story in the World."

20 B. R. Ambedkar

He is the greatest person on the planet, I have ever heard. He changed the lives of millions of people of India which no one could change for thousands years. Whatever I am today is because of him, not because of any other person.

Absolutely right, he is the greatest person India has. His work might have contributed a little to the world (because of Indian situations at that time), but India witnessed his greatness since independence and will.

He was truly a master in all fields from philosophy, to law, to anthropology, to social sciences, no field which he was a master & that is great feat in one lifetime.

I think Dr. Ambedkar is the greatest personality who used his mind in the raise of the humanity in the whole world since the begining of the life on the earth so he is the most intelligent person in the world.

21 John Adams John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. Adams served as the president of the United States from March 4, 1797 to March 4, 1801. He died on July 4, 1826 at the age of 90.
22 Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the father of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst.

Even though Freud's theories can't be scientifically proven, they are fascinating! It's a tough job to try to develop a theory that attempts to explain human thought processes and behaviors for our crazy human race

We can't understand the world before understanding ourselves.

One of the greatest minds in Psychology.

This man was nuts

23 Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics for which he proposed the ...read more.
24 Galileo Galilei Galileo Galilei, was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician who played a major role in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance.

Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations

Coming in at 19. Just shows people need to read a book or two. Easily number 1, 2 or 3.

Greatest scientist ever had in universe...

25 Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history.

Many people misinterpret his work on only take snippets of what he's meaning to say. His work is, in reality, much more than Western society makes it out to be. His work, while not a "must like" is a must read for anyone who wants to know about knowledge itself.

Way ahead of his time. Releavs the truth about our rotten society.

One of the smartest men of all time.

Nietzsche was a prophet

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