Top 10 Most Significant People in American History
Without these people, America wouldn't be the same.
George Washington (February 22, 1732– December 14, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot... read more Not only did George Washington fight in the American Revolutionary War and win the war, but he was also the first president in the U.S.A. ever. He is the second greatest president of all time (Abraham Lincoln is number one, obviously), but he is the reason that America exists at all.
Sure, there was a lot of questionable and wrong stuff, like him owning slaves or maybe marrying Martha Washington because she was rich, but his role in America is the most important of anyone ever.
Guided America through much of its early years. He had an immense devotion to his country and did everything he could to help his country.
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 He had to keep the Union together during a very rocky time in America's history.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an African American minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King is best known for advancing civil rights through... read more The zenith of what it means to be an American. Beaten, maligned, misjudged, and jailed, yet through it all, and with a grace few will ever match, he turned a mirror on the deficiencies of our democracy while holding aloft a picture of how great we can be as a healed and whole nation.
Uncommon bravery amidst the reality that his dream would cost him his life. A wonderful American for whom we can all be proud.
He helped everyone have the same rights!
He is probably the best because of his leadership and his stance against racism.
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,... read more An innovator and founding father who helped reshape America.
A key founding father, he was very intelligent and always knew what to do.
Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father who was principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and served as the 3rd President of the United States from 1801-1809. He was born on April 13, 1743, and died on July 4, 1826, on the same day 2nd United States President John Adams died.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and dominated his party for many years as a central figure in world events... read more He should be higher up. He dealt with the Great Depression and World War II, probably the most deadly war of all time.
Who saved us from the Great Depression? Who served for four terms? Only one: FDR.
Susan Brownell Anthony was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement.
Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who was the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. Not just one of the best Americans, Neil Armstrong's name and achievements will be remembered for thousands of years after everyone else from our time is long gone.
So sad that American schools no longer talk much about this great human being, who holds such significance to the entire human species.
First human being to leave the planet and walk on another world. In 10,000 years, this will be the only thing from our time that is remembered.
Theodore Roosevelt was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the... read more Perhaps the single most influential president in American history. At a time when other nations turned away from freedom and democracy, he reformed the system in a way that saved it and directly led to U.S. superpower status.
The Newcomers
Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad... read more I really admire Harriet Tubman and her courage to free her people from the evils of slavery. I also admire her bravery for conducting the Underground Railroad! I also admire her determination, just like Moses.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29th, 1917 - November 22, 1963) commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination. The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Nuclear Test Ban... read more
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined... read more Not only significant for the USA but also significant for the world. He was the first real teen idol who exported rock and roll and a unique style outside the USA. Without him, all other "fathers of rock and roll" would have never sold records beyond their own countries.
Elvis opened the doors for Black music to white audiences. B.B. King, Rufus Thomas (who was the first DJ to play his records on a Black radio station), James Brown, Little Richard, and others all acknowledged this. He made Black music popular at a time when it was largely segregated in the 1950s. In popular culture, he moved things forward, inspiring new haircuts, clothing styles, and more. The start of modern teen music begins with him.
His first gold record, "Heartbreak Hotel," was written in collaboration with Mae Axton (for those who claim he never wrote anything, he did write a few other songs as well). He never "stole" any songs - covering existing songs was a common practice back then. He even financed Arthur Crudup's recording sessions with Fire Records (Crudup was the writer of "That's All Right," "My Baby Left Me," "So Glad You're Mine"). Black songwriters and singers like Otis Blackwell (who wrote "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up") wrote songs specifically for Elvis. Although Elvis received 50% of the royalties, they were happy to work with him because they knew a million-seller would benefit them as well.
There is too much misinformation about "Elvis stealing from..." so I wanted to clarify these points. He was the most significant singer who changed the world of music and pop culture. Without Elvis, there might not have been the Beatles, Michael Jackson, or many others who followed in his footsteps.
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. He was an amazing person. He helped America get some money, which is probably why he is on the ten-dollar bill. He had two guardians. His mom, who had smallpox or something, didn't live to see him grow up. Alex had smallpox too but survived. His second guardian was his cousin, who committed suicide. He fought in the war, made lines for the Declaration of Independence, and basically helped find America.
He died because of a duel with Aaron Burr. But don't hate on him too much. He said the moment that bullet came out, he regretted it. He deserves to be in the top 5 or 10.
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He was the first African-American president of the United States... read more I think history will be very kind to this man. We're already starting to appreciate how good he was, and he's only been gone two months.
Amazing guy. If you were able to be president for as long as you like, Barack Obama would be president until the day he died.
He is the first African-American president of the United States.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era.
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication, which was ruled a homicide. Jackson is widely regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures... read more
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.
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". I definitely admire Rosa Parks. She started the civil rights movement from the back of a bus, and it made history. My father and I used to play the bus boycott of Rosa Parks. It was so much fun playing with my father.
Never thought someone could help change the minds of others by sitting on the bus.
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman, who has been described as America's greatest inventor. The greatest inventor, truly "a man who created the 20th century." It is a pity that modern youth is so greedy for the cheap mystic images of different Teslas and does not respect the real knowledge and the real heroes of science and industrialization.
He may not have completely invented the light bulb, but he did have a total of 1,092 other inventions. That's definitely saying something.
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Introduced the automobile and the assembly line. A true revolutionary titan of his time.
Sitting Bull, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotȟake in Standard Lakota Orthography, also nicknamed Húŋkešni or "Slow" (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people during years of resistance to United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the... read more
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... read more Tesla, the greatest genius of all time.