Top 10 Most Inspiring Children

There are many influential and inspiring figures in history that many people tend to look up to. But what if some of these people, who managed to contribute change, aspiration, and even revolution to the world, happened to be younger than 18? There is irrefutable proof that kids are just as capable as adults in captivating the hearts and minds of many.

Which child do you think has managed to enlighten or help the world in your viewpoint?
The Top Ten
1 Iqbal Masih

If he was able to rally a large number of people to protest and challenge the corrupt and dangerous, especially in a developing country, you know this boy was a true hero and martyr. He has also received recognition, such as the Reebok Human Rights Award, and served as a major inspiration for the WE (Free the Children) Charity in Canada.

2 Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank was a German-born diarist. Anne for short. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. She was discovered with her group and arrested on August 4th, 1944. She... read more

Among the youngest World War II heroes, her diary serves as testimony to describe what kids have to deal with when there are blasts, bloodshed, and persecution in their environment. It's surprising to know how her diary is becoming progressively more relevant, seeing as more kids are getting massacred or orphaned due to war.

Anne Frank is a wonderful person who has interesting but sad stories based on real events.

She's inspiring, but her book is pretty depressing.

3 Alexandra Scott

I've wrote about her in my Unsung Heroes list, but she deserves a spot hands down. If it weren't for Scott, there wouldn't have been much investment and awareness in Pediatric Cancer.

4 Maria Goretti St. Maria Goretti is an Italian virgin-martyr of the Catholic Church, and one of the youngest canonized saints. ...read more.
5 Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, businesswoman, and diplomat who was Hollywood's number one box-office draw as a child actress from 1935 to 1938. As an adult, she was named United States ambassador to Ghana and to Czechoslovakia and also served as Chief of Protocol of the United States. ...read more.
6 Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer.

Helen Keller was a blind and deaf child, but she became successful because of her teacher Anne Sullivan. She became a successful author and died at the age of 87. "She died peacefully," Anne Sullivan said.

She was deaf, but that didn't stop her from trying to learn what people are saying or what it is like to hear.

7 Greta Thunberg

Come on, guys, saving the planet is even more important than stopping wars! We can't stop wars if we don't have people on the planet.

8 Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai S.St is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.

I think Malala is the bravest one on this chart because she was shot in the head three times and still survived, all because she wanted to learn and go to school.

I know why Anne Frank is first, but is she as inspiring as Malala? Just think about that before you vote.

Maybe most inspiring teenagers is more accurate, but she still is very inspiring.

9 Nkosi Johnson

Nkosi was born HIV-positive, and his mother succumbed to AIDS when he had just started grade school. He advocated for awareness in South Africa alongside his foster mother, eventually founding "Nkosi's Haven" in Johannesburg. Although he passed away in 2001, he was posthumously awarded an International Children's Peace Prize in 2005. Additionally, Nkosi's Haven received a $100,000 grant from the KidsRight Foundation.

10 Gabriella Miller

Like I've said in my Greatest Unsung Heroes list, she deserves recognition for bringing awareness to a rather obscure and overlooked topic. Her work and endeavor continues to be posthumously carried out by the "Smashing Walnuts" organisation.

The Contenders
11 Peter Wang

While he may not be with us, the memories of his heroism will. Wang risked his life to hold the door for classmates escaping from the shooter. His sacrifice was tragic, but his sacrifice made him a true JROTC cadet and hero.

12 Elena Desserich

Elena was diagnosed with DIPG and passed in 2007 at age 6 :(. What's surprising is that she had a lot of perseverance. She wrote love notes secretly to her parents and younger sister and hid them carefully, with her notes being discovered shortly after her death. Her parents set up the Cure Starts Now Foundation, dedicated to funding and researching enough for curing cancer. A memoir, "Notes Left Behind" was released in October 2009, detailing Elena's prognosis, life with cancer, death and aftermath.

13 Samantha Smith

Who would have thought a 10-year-old would become a symbol of peace when she wrote a letter to the Soviet leader Yuri Andropov during the Cold War? Yuri responded positively, and Samantha was seen as a peace activist and a symbol of peace during the Cold War. She even visited Russia and wrote a book about it. Unfortunately, she passed away in a plane crash in 1985 at age 13.

Her death, damn... What a shame, but kudos to her. RIP.

14 Ryan White

Influential in the awareness, consequences and dangers of AIDS. Even Elton John and Michael Jackson were influenced by Ryan, with Elton kickstarting an awareness/funding organisation on HIV/AIDS and the King of Pop making a song in dedication to him called "Gone Too Soon".

15 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.

Without a doubt, the greatest child musician of all time.

16 Talia Castellano

Talia was a child YouTuber who loved makeup and fashion. She went by the name "TaliaJoy18". She was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma and fought it for 6 years, passing away in August 2013. She was also a cancer advocate during that time, with collaborations with TheTruth365. Her channel and Instagram account is posthumously monitored by her mother and sister, ensuring her legacy lives on.

17 Om Prakash Gurjar

Gurjar was a child laborer who was freed by activists from the "Bachpan Bachao Andolan" organisation. He would later set up child-free villages, in an effort to cut down child labor, largely succeeding and even enabling greater rights to children, earning them further protection from exploitation. His actions ultimately won him an International Children's Peace Prize in 2006.

18 Ruby Bridges
19 X González
20 Marley Dias
21 Claudette Colvin
22 Melba Pattillo Beals
23 Sophie Scholl
24 Jiddu Krishnamurti
25 Hans Scholl
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