Top 10 Smartest People of All Time

Good old Albert Einstein, I had to cast a vote here. It's very difficult to think he is overrated. He basically revolutionized physics and in more ways than one. There hasn't been any field of modern science I have researched without a touch of Einstein's work somewhere in it. Him, along with a few other great scientists, basically revitalized a field that many thought was coming to a close and showed that things went much deeper than previously thought. Truly an inspiration!

He came up with Avogadro's Number, Quantum Theory of Light, General Theory of Relativity, Special Theory of Relativity, The Photoelectric Effect, Wave-Particle Duality, Brownian movement, the relationship between mass and energy, Bose-Einstein Condensate. Who else could he proved scientists wrong at 12 12!

Behind Tesla on the list, but equally intelligent in his own right. Nicola Tesla had inexplicably innovative and radical ideas, but most importantly his ideas were ideas which could be three dimensionally rendered. Albert Einstein, on the other hand, brought forth ideas that were not experimentally verifiable in all circumstances. The two were in separate domains. When Einstein did bring a conceptual idea to a 3D implement with the introduction of the atomic bomb, it created as significant of an impact as have any of Tesla's invention, arguably more. Years from now, both will be regarded very high as many of their contributions are yet to be fully realized.

Look, according to historical academia Jesus was just a person who yes was important to religion but was just a man of normal biological reproduction. He did suffer at the hands of the Romans and he could easily be of exceptionally high morals, but to say that he knows all and is so superior to scientific geniuses like Einstein, Darwin and Hawking is an insult to the human race. These scientists were real and came up with ground breaking theories. We know they were real and not just a myth. That's what bugs me about religion, we are so arrogant to say that Jesus was real and the smartest person when there is no proof that he was more real then Zeus, Jupiter or Odin. Religion should not be in this competition because you cannot prove it. I am Agnostic about the whole thing, so I am not saying that Jesus is wrong, I'm just saying that lets keep it to quantifiable people; hence Einstein is the man

Knowledge is man's greatest treasure, and this man greatly expanded human knowledge and has paved the way for so many others, including so many side disciplines. Other geniuses such as Planck, Einstein and Bohr have built their theories upon the foundation that Newton laid in centuries ago. It is unimaginable to think how much he's accomplished in the first quarter-century of his life. Leonardo the Vinci is his close second.

By the way, people who vote for Hitler should have their priorities sorted out. If conquest, manipulation and ability to govern large empires should be valued above all others (such as thirst for knowledge and the desire to share it with others) in measuring intelligence, why don't you mention Alexander The Great, or Nebuchadnezzar, or Genghis Khan, or Peter The Great, or Ivan The Terrible, or Napoleon? All of them have "accomplished" much more, and shaped the human history in a much greater way than 'ol Adolf. Or, are people unable to recall history that ...more

He is a pioneer of multiple fields that are used everywhere and perhaps form the basis for science and mathematics nowadays. His work in Calculus was groundbreaking(Don't forget about Leibniz though, I had to cast a vote for him too) and truly useful. And his discoveries in physics, even if some were later shown to be incorrect, are truly the foundation for lots of science. It's amazing!

There's no debate when it comes to Isaac Newton. Try to visualize and comprehend the achievements of this man, even if a fictional writer was trying to create a fictional genius in his writing, he would not use the achievements of Newton because it's too ridiculously impressive and unimaginable. Bear in mind the time and era from which newton was, he had to conceive everything from scratch. The man spent a significant amount of his time writing about alchemy and religion, this is to show how little people at that time knew, and how limited he himself was. Imagine what newton would be able to do today. No one has made such big leaps of understanding in the history of mankind.

Sir Isaac Newton had a curious mind all his life, but, as the legend goes, it wasn't until an apple fell on his head that he was truly struck with inspiration. However, he quickly determined that the level of mathematic that existed at the time was not sufficient for him to work out the nature of gravity, so he invented the calculus. As a result, he quickly derived the law of universal gravitation, the law of cooling, and many more, most famously the laws of motion. His book, "Principia Mathematica", still remains one of the most influential texts in recorded history. This was all completed before his 26th birthday.
So, an apple falls on the head Isaac Newton, so what does he do? He scratches his head, invents the most advanced form of math that exists today, solves the mystery of gravity, creates the laws of motion, which had been previously debated over thousands of years, writes one of the most influential books in history, and then celebrates his 26th birthday. Personally, my ...more

Nikola Tesla is an under-rated and forgotten genius. Einstein was amazingly intelligent but he was assisted by his very intelligent wife and and an assistant. Nikola Tesla was a complete lone wolf. He had a great memory, amazing visualization, and was years ahead of his time. He invented the modern world as we know it with an amazing 700 patents. He was an amazingly open-minded mind. He in my opinion is the greatest genius ever. He probably could have single handily destroyed the world. Amazing man!

I think he made discoveries more shocking than any other inventor such as 369 theory and I tested it out and it's shocking. Here is a short example 1 day is 86400 seconds remove the zeros 8+6+4 is also 3+6+9 Because their sum is the same. That is just an example there are more to it if you try studying it. There is more if you learn about him it is impressive. He invented wireless smartphones and devices, He also invented the radio, Induction motor, Alternating current. He also created so much more. His discoveries are amazing. As an 8th grader my mind is blown by him. I have studied about Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein and I just started studying about Nikola Tesla I think he was the smartest of all time.

The greatest mind the world has ever seen, was able to conduct electrical experiments nearly two centuries ago that scientists still have difficulty replicating today, and some of which have not been duplicated since his lifetime. Even more admirable than tesla's unparalleled genius, however was his empathy and concern for the betterment of human society as a whole. Illustrated in his desire to give the world an unlimited supply of free electrical energy. Tesla was not seeking to make a profit off of his genius, but instead wanted to improve upon the living conditions of not only his contemporaries, but also for their descendants and the future generations that would follow. An exemplary individual in every sense of the word, and if his name were to be fully claimed by the annals of history, and his memory completely forgotten, it would be a great tragedy to the many that would be deprived of the knowledge of his character and contributions.

With out Tesla, Einstein would not have had his Break through discovery to take him out of the Pattern office. Even to this day Tesla's work has not been explained or even understood by Einstein, Steven Hawkins, or anyone else to date. He worked toward humanitarian needs, and did not promote himself. The reason others are put ahead of Nikola Tesla is, because they others were promoted and are know more commonly than Mr. Tesla. If he was a self promoter like Edison ; He would have be the most famous person in the world. 90% of the would probably have no idea who discovered Alternating Current. I have heard some attributing it to Edison, But Edison was only working on Direct Current, He also try to discourage everyone away from AC, Because it detracted form his fame, money and Power. Edison used money and others people's money to push Tesla into the darkness. Still today, half of Tesla patterns and idea are stow away some where, because of fear of the inventions or greed.

He was centuries ahead of his time. CENTURIES. Not decades. He is the first to research the mechanics of human anatomy. And the way he presented his knowledge of it wasn't possible for us until we got the technology several decades ago. He correctly theorized geographic time while everyone else still believed in the Great Flood. And not only was he a genius in science but also in engineering and art. He is the definition of genius. Yes Einstein was amazing. But remember the Vinci had none of the technology or schooling of modern times. All he had, was an unquenchable curiosity for EVERYTHING.

Da Vinci was centuries ahead of his time; he designed a tank, a diving suit, a machine gun, a few flying machines, and many other things that wouldn't be realized until hundreds of years later. His 4000 pages of detailed notes about various previously unexplored ideas and concepts is baffling and is a true mark of his genius. He was the Renaissance Man of the Renaissance, a true polymath who wouldn't realize his potential even if he were to live to be 500 years old, which, if he were still alive today, he would be a billionaire simply from licensing fees from all of his reproduced works. Oh yes, and of course he is arguably the best painter to have ever lived, as his Last Supper and Mona Lisa, two of about 17 examples, prove to be true. His lifetime achievements therefore provide an astonishing collection of pedigree to his name and brilliance. He is the smartest person to have ever lived.

It's a toss up between Leo and Tesla. I'm a great fan of both, for they both had great ingenuity and both are true artist in which their art still stands till this day. It's crazy how both of em created weapons for destruction, but I believe they regretted it. Leo built the catapult for some rich dude then he soon left that department and painted the Mona Lisa or the Last Dinner. Tesla was all bout free energy, he wanted to see the world light up, and he close to it. But the powers that were would of loss a lot $$. He is linked to the dreaded HARRP machine. I think that's how it spelt. Anyways it's crazy after he died how the Feds raided his place taking all his paperwork and ideas. I didn't choose Jesus for the fact that he ain't people. He even states so himself, when asked, "who are you then? " He replies, "truly truly, before Abraham was; I am." Knowing that they knew Exodus 3:14 when God tells Moses of his identity he says of the same, I Am. So as they were thinking, "so this ...more

He is the most well-rounded renaissance man that we know of. He is absolutely brilliant. He was great in many different fields, but he wasn't just great he was arguably one of the best in each field. No one else has been able to do that, before or since. He is #1. Albert Einstein learned from Johann Goethe, who was his tutor (indirectly). Einstein had all of Goethe's books. Nikola Tesla is under-rated, and he changed the world which is truly unbelievable. He was well-rounded, but I'd say the Vinci was more well-rounded (when you look at what they studied) than Tesla. the Vinci is the best guys, no offense.

Do not get me wrong, Galileo was one of the most intelligent humans of all time, but many mistake him for inventing the telescope. Galileo only made improvements to the spyglass/telescope. He was basically the founder of modern day science, and astronomy, which is why he should be higher on the list. Without him IMPROVING the telescope we would only be able to see 2x to 5x times further.

The commonly "first law of newton", or law of inertia, was discovered by that guy about 100 years after sir Isaac... and the second one too!
he is also the creator of the standard scientific method we use nowadays!
and what about his discoveries in the optic field, he invented not only the telescope: he discovered the laws beyond the lens!
he was the first people that, in life, fought against the church and tried to show the evidence to the scientific society.

This guy had a brain for astronomy, I'm a major astronomy fan, and every night when I go outside with my telescope, I thank him for inventing the telescope. Galileo is my major idol, and I believe he should have a way better position on this list

In 1989, NASA launched a spacecraft into outer space to study the planet Jupiter. The spacecraft's name? The Galileo orbiter!

The smartest person on Earth, Stephen Hawking has made so many great discoveries no one, and by this, I mean no one can ever match. I don't underestimate Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein but after such a hard life Stephen Hawking has been the greatest scientist in the world, no matter what you say.

I do not dispute that Newton and Einstein are undoubtedly the science giants and Shakespeare the art giant. But I have to vote for Hawking, and let me explain why.

Stephen Hawking is admired by many, but not necessarily for the same reasons. Let's start off with what he was originally known for: his research in relativity in the late 1970's. Using the results of Einstein, he used sophisticated mathematical methods with Penrose to show that singularities are not mathematical artifacts, but in fact are real and generic. That is, black holes are real, and he concluded this well before the identification of Cygnus X-1.

In 1974, Hawking sent shock waves throughout the physics world with his achievement that black holes radiate. The result provided mankind's first glimpse ever of uniting quantum theory with general relativity, which before this time seemed irreconcilable; it has also set the direction for theoretical physics ever since.

If you read Kip Thorne's account ...more

Stephen Hawking is probably the smartest person ever known. Jesus is the most powerful person ever. (I believe he really is true, 1000s of years ago, that is. ) Albert Einstein had to have most of his theories backed up by Stephen Hawking, right? Ok, so maybe Albert discovered the theory of relativity, and Jesus saved us all from death, but come on, Stephen Hawking has much knowledge of the universe and is currently helping us, in 2012, a lot. (ever seen science channel on DirectTV? ) (channel 284) There's a show called "Stephen Hawking's brave new world. " And that's all I have to say about this. But, I'm only 9 years old. So I can be disproven. And to show you how smart I am, I once gave a star/black hole/wormhole lecture to 5th grade. (skipped a grade. ) And I'm sorry for punctuation because I'm running out of battery. So that's my conclusion.

Concisely and precisely speaking Stephen Hawking is better than Einstein and as such holds himself as the number 1 in this list. It is because he is not only the most intelligent but also the most brave. Despite his physical disability and a prospect of an early death he managed to further up and validate einstein's progress on our understanding of the universe. Einstein was seemingly gifted owing to his thicker corpus callosum which might have been present since his birth. Moreover much of his theories turn out to be a mystery to most of the people. On the other hand Hawking seems to be more comprehensible who not only first understood the former's work but also took it to the next higher level. Well we must appreciate this living Legend, there is no doubt that none can equal Einstein but if Einstein is at the first position then this man deserves nothing less than being at par and preferably must occupy the zeroth rank...

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, the picture of Einstein's personal library must be worth at least 10,000 words, because among his books, the name GOETHE was the most representative author. The day that Willard Gibbs becomes synonymous with Johann If a picture is worth a 1000 words, the picture of Einstein's personal library must be worth at least 10,000 words, because among his books, the name GOETHE was the most representative author (52 books in total). The day that Willard Gibbs becomes synonymous with Johann Goethe, will be the day that everyone understands why Goethe is #1 beyond anyone the future has yet to produce. Goethe, will be the day that everyone understands why Goethe is #1 beyond anyone the future has yet to produce.

He had a used vocabulary of about 50,000 words! Twice Shakespeare! He was claimed to know all the knowledge availible in his life time! He was Poet, he wrote simple love poems, Profound Philosophical Poems and Scientific Theories. He was Poet, Lawyer, Botanist, Politician and Civil Servant Servant, Physicist, Zoologist, Landscape Painter and Theatre Manager. In addition Philosopher, whose perception was unbelievabley sharp!

He has been claimed to be the Greatest German Mind that has Ever Lived!

I saw him on the list and I was too curious to avoid looking him up and seeing his descriptions and works and such. I am absolutely convinced that he should be quite a lot higher up on the list than this.

Among us smart folk, Einstein is considered "a little slow", and Hawking "means well", but you have to be a little clever just to appreciate the accomplishments of Goethe.

Ben Franklin was a genius in many area not just one or two. Science, literature, politics, invention, people skills and leadership are all areas in which he was the authority. He was not a genius for hire, He had principals and worked to change the things he deemed important. He changed the world.

A genius. He invented the glass armonica, a better postal system, the lightening rod, he helped create the U. S, and he was morally wise also! In his later life he campaigned to abolish slavery! Next to George Washington he may have been the greatest American of all time!

Benjamin Franklin was one of America's founding Fathers. He help during War for Liberty by traveling to France to get money for the Army and created my things for the War and for people. All I can say is he is kindest, sweetest, smartest person I know!

Benjamin Franklin is brilliant and is the greatest American of all time. He invented the lightning rod, better postal system, and the library system. He was a writer, a philosopher, an inventor, and one of the founding fathers.

Only gross ignorance of the achievements of Aristotle would place him anywhere but at the top o the list. In fact, he is so far beyond anyone else there is literally no comparison, except for Plato, his teacher.
Western civilization is based upon Aristotle.
Biology, ethics, physics, animal science, philosophy, rhetoric, drama, politics including the structures of the USA and of constitutional republics- these and more were started by or had their foundation set by Aristotle.

Aristotle was an acknowledged genius in a variety of fields. He wrote some 200 treatises dealing with philosophy, logic, many categories of science and human relationships. His general philosophy relating to ethics and natural law formed the basis of much of what is now know as Western Civilization. His teaching methods are still followed in many respects. He was the third in a line of 3 of the 4 most brilliant philosophers ever known---Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. (Aquinas being the 4th)

The father of many mathematics equations this guy was able to conclude his theories before anyone even know what Science and Math is, he often spends his life wandering and learning new things and when not he is often sleeping. This guy deserve to be above Jesus as apparently what he does is above Jesus.

It is intelligent to study the galaxies and create a math based on that. It is intelligent to put the gravity in numbers. It is intelligent to be one of the world's greatest writers. But I think none could be more intelligent than the one who discovered all the first subjects that matter for the studies of post scientists

William Shakespeare was a genius. How does an uneducated man write millions of plays, poems, books, sonnets, and make millions? Shakespeare knows the answer to that one. If you are looking for genius, look at him. And also he lived in a time when there was a great risk of being killed if he ever slightly offended the king. He was able to be funny and he knew which people to pick on to please the king. That takes genius.

Understood human nature better than anyone. Could summarise a thought, and a whole range of emotions in a single sentence. And has influenced the English language more than anyone. We quote Shakespeare every hour of every day, and don't even realise it. He's wired into our psyche. A true genius!

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. "
Literally every piece of modern literature (since the Elizabethan age) can be traced back to Shakespeare. His words are embedded inside each of our subconsciouses. He is the epitome of greatness.

He is the greatest man. As I have read Julius Caesar, the famous play by him... No words for this drama. He had explained each and every expression of the situation. Not just this he had written so many influencing (attractive) poems. Really he was the greatest and smartest one...

Set the stage for Western metaphysics for the next 2500 years or so. Only Kant comes close to Plato's significance.

Founded modern theories and common ideas as we know it. And this was also when technology was young,

Platonic love is not yet dead.

Though his motivation was evil, he was indeed brilliantly manipulative, and because of this combination of both brilliance and world impact, he deserves to be on this list.

This famous man is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, planners and executors of ideas in all of humanity. His speaking capabilities were moving, inspiring, and outstanding, and partly resulted in the mindset shift that was part of the creation of an economic and geopolitical world power in an extremely short timespan. The other factor in creating this unimaginably strong and productive empire came from his abilities of organizing and creating industries and ideas that were absolutely ingenious and successful to his nation. These factors resulted in an influence and change in the world that had never been unmatched, and to this day has not been unmatched in any way. No one in the history of the world has been effective in producing such a strong, patriotic, and energetic country as him; his ability to make all who listened to him rise up to the benefit of their homeland is truly unique. Additionally, he was a brilliant painter and architect, whose creativity is admirable and ...more

Hitler was an Aries/Taurus, which are very passionate about being number 1 in everything they do! He was rejected as a painter or artist because his works were too vibrant and was Post Modern Impressionism. Had he been born during the hippy eras, where they were into that vibrant technique, he would have been looked up to but people were just not into that at that time frame yet. After he was rejected in school, he put his passion into another possibility and became the most ruthless leader in history! Yes, the way he did things was wrong. Yes, how he killed many innocent people was wrong but this was not his objective. Many people don't understand that an Aries passion goes beyond the approval of others. They have to be #1 at all costs. I, myself, am only an Aries. I have such passion in everything I do. I, however, do not have a Taurus which helped him finish what he started. Many of my passions die out eventually and I lose interest before completion. He didn't!

Hitler united a country wallowing in economic depression, hopelessness, and a sense of utter defeat at the Allies defeated their kingdom in World War 1. From the ashes of complete desperation, he rose to create the most mighty military machine in history. The forces of Nazi Germany saw combat with the whole world, fighting the hordes of men thrown at them by the USSR, the tactical machinations of Britain and United States, and the subterfuge of the French. All by Hitler's creation.

It is indeed a tragedy that one of the most skilled orator and politician in history, next to Augustus of Rome himself, built his legacy on the atrocities his regime committed. One can only imagine with awe what wonders his country could of made under him, were he to of committed to other political agendas. None other moved humanity into such a vast knife of progress, but none other moved it into a quagmire of hate and violence.

Only Hitler could of held the hilt of that knife.

Edison did a lot for America and should not be in the lower half of this list. He invented many things and might have been a president of the United States of America. I am nit 100% sure because I am only in seventh grade, but still I do not know anything about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe or Peter Higgs and I completely disagree that Michael Jackson would be 22 places higher on this chart than Thomas Edison. And I think Abe Lincoln, one of my favorite presidents, should be so low on the list either! And this is all coming from a 13yr old girl.

He improved a lot of inventions: telephone, microphone, telegraph, proyector, phonograph, photography... Without his work those things wouldn't be as useful as we know. His developments were pretty important for Technology, even without the idea of the electric light bulb. I strongly believe his achievements show much optimism and perseverance. You only have to read his quotes to notice that. For instance, he tried more than a thousand of times how to make a light bulb and he hadn't ever given up.

What the heck is this! Edison on 19, you are gotta be kidding me. He is the only person who changed the world with phonograph, telegraph and the light bulb. He is the only ones who did 100 inventions which failed. He is the king of inventors, he should be after Jesus.

He did invent one thing (Light Bulb) that inevitably led to some of the most inportant things in todays Society.. Computers, then came more advanced computers, then phones, eventually the Internet and eventually, arguably the most important thing in everyone's life, the smartphone.

I had to vote for some mathematicians and of course Gauss is at the top of my list(with Euler of course). Reading stories about him is fascinating and inspiring and his work formed the foundation for much further work in mathematics.

Greatest mathematician of all time. He had to spend a lot of his valuable time into land measuring and astronomy (boring repetitive jobs with lots of numerical data analysis), but in his free time he saw so much further than all other mathematician, that his notes were a valuable source of mathematical discoveries for centuries. At his 18th birthday, he thought up a geomertical construction for dividing a circle in 17 equal parts (unsolved at the time). Oh and he invented the telegraph (basis of all modern communication), but just on the side.

His proof of Euclid's Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (Unique Prime Factorization) is considered the first rigorous proof; he extended this Theorem to the Gaussian (complex) integers.

Gauss could have advanced mathematics and science by 100 years or more had he published his results as he discovered them. It took more than a century to understand his notes after his death.

When Jacobi visited him and proudly presented the discovery of Jacobians, Gauss pulled some old dusty notes out of his
Drawer and showed Jacobi that he had already solved the problem like 30 years ago much more rigorously, but thought about it as a trivial matter not worth of much effort. Jacobi returned home deeply impressed and wrote to his diary to have met a genius of gigantic proportions.

Jesus Christ is essentially God in human form sent down to save us from... Ourselves. Yes, Einstein and Da Vinci were smart, but Jesus was not only god, he was also filled with the holy spirit, and the knowledge of the universe, technically. God is within him and therefore he knows everything that there is to know, just as God does. Seriously, he's only this low because of anti religious bias

Is hands-down, SMARTER than anyone in this list by miles. You people say Einstein was smart, but he's obviously overrated. And before you bash my opinions like a regular Historical simp (Jesus is a BIBLICAL human), Jesus died because of our ignorance and jealousy. But I guess some idiots will take this the wrong way and will try to cancel me any way possible, but to be honest, cancelling me only makes me stronger.

Whether you believe that he was a deity, a divinely-inspired prophet, or merely a rebellious philosopher that challeneged the status quo, one thing is undeniable - the influence that Yeshua of Nazareth had on the entire world. Allegories of his life are recorded all throughout literature, and he inspired a religious revolution from a sect of Jews (Proto-Christians) who influenced religious jurisprudence for nearly 2,000 years. Clearly, he is of grand influence and that takes clear intelligence.

Jesus Christ taught people to love one another. He confounded the Philistines with his parables. Gave people the path to happiness in life. Setup his church where people could go to find guidance and inner peace. Performed what to us are miracles.( walk on water, feed a multitude, water to wine, 40 days in desert w/o food or water) Ascended into heaven after rising from the dead. Overcoming death should get him number 1. Open the door to eternal life for all of us.

23?! I'm surprised. She is one of the most intelligent, and clever person in all of history! She discovered 2 elements, Polonium and Radium, plus, she invented the X-ray, without her, many people could have had broken bones and we would have never known! So if you have broken a bone, and appreciate it being fixed, vote for Marie Curie! Not to mention that Marie Curie also faced hardships too, such as a scientist go against her. So because of these reasons, Marie Curie is one of the most intelligent person in history!

I see she is the only women on the list, but what more could I have expected from this century. Marie Curie won a Nobel Prize twice. She was also the first woman to earn a doctorate in Europe. Her investigations led to the discovery of radioactivity as well as the element radium. Did I mention the fact that she also had to overcome pig-headed sexists all the while?

Pains me that there are so few women on this list. Zero in the top ten of course. But it's hardly surprising - women have never really been allowed to be smart. Or at least famous for being smart. That would be too threatening. Hopefully that will change in the coming generations, though. Amazing this woman was as accomplished as she was for her time.

Maria Salomea Sklodowska was a famous chemist and a physicist. She was known for discovering Radium and Polonium. She was truly an amazing woman. She is my idol. How is she not at least number 2 on this list? She is very smart, logical, and amazing. Marie Curie is truly awesome.

It took genius just to decipher his work. He worked out the math that Faraday could not. The works of Tesla, Einstein and those to follow, all stem from his formulas.

Guys, he was on Einstein's wall. He deserves to be in the top 10 just for that!

Modern Civilization and technology became possible because of him

As Leo Valdez himself said (I always make sure I have a credible Rick Riordan character as my source) "He was like the Albert Einstein of Ancient Greece." Given that statement coming from a fictional character, I could argue that half the people on this list would be nothing without him and maybe Copernicus. (With the exception of like Hitler sadly, yes, inspite the fact that it was a terrible person, and he had a bad motive. He was a smart person.

He was probably the first physicist in the history and one of the greatest mathematians of all times. He pioniered the method of infinitesimals which eventually led to the invention of calculus around 1800 years later by Leibniz and Newton. He approximated the value of Pi. He formulated probably the oldest physical principle "Archimedes' principle". He invented many tools like Archimedes' screw. He was centuries ahead of his time.

Archimedes invented so much in maths and physics, without him, Albert Einstein wouldn't have created his theories. He's the smartest man that ever lived for sure, born into a poor family, and made such good use of his recources, I'd say he was the biggest genius, just forgotten because he was from the greek era.

Anyone who has done their reasearch would agree that archimedes is at the very least in the top five. He is Said to have created the first computer (backed up by the Discovery of the antikythera mekanism). Keep in mind this is over 2000 years Agro. He also found pi and the volume of a sphere, both using integral calculus. Yes calculus was supposidly first invented 2000 years later by Newton. This is merely the tip of the iceberg that is the inventions and discoveries of archimedes.

Solomon asked God for wisdom over anything else... Not just wisdom but wisdom to lead the people that God put him in charge over as King. He was given wisdom above and beyond any man past present or future. Read it in 2 Chronicles 1:8-13 Also realize that WISDOM is not what you might think it is completely there is wisdom from the world and from GOD... Read James 3:17 THANKS and God Bless!

Jesus Christ should be the first, then following would be Solomon since god gave him the intelligence and wisdom to rule a country fairly, Solomon was the wisest man (remember man)on earth. Following I believe would be King David

There is no doubt that in the rankings that matter, Solomon is ranked in second place regarding the wisest men to have ever lived.

The leader who could speak with not only human being but also animals, jins, birds. And any other living things. He asked his Lord Wisdom and Allah granted him a fntabolous one.

Probably the smartest man who ever lived. Just not well known. He accomplished more before his teen years than most do in a lifetime. Not necessarily into language as an adult, he could still put anyone to shame in the number of languages he mastered. This guy wrote so many books, it's said that there could be at least 50 that have never even been read by anyone. Most likely wouldn't understand them anyway. His theories on space and time were right up there with Tesla and he even invented a perpetual motion clock. The issue with him is he dropped out of society for most of his adult life. Frankly, I don't see anyone on this list coming close to him in intelligence. When you know the answers before you even open the book, you are in a class by yourself. Yet, he's way down the list because the average person is going to pick names they know. Many of whom don't have that natural intelligence, they just happen to learn a lot and apply it..

William James Sidis wrote countless books under pseudonym names; for instance, the Animate and Inanimate is present with concepts that are far ahead of his time. They are uncannily reminiscent of Christopher Langan's profound remarks, but I can assert that this fellow had profound gift from such young an age. It is a pity that the public gave him for what he believed to be excessive attention, with which he could not abide with the burden. It is a story that can readily foment melancholy.

Born in Boston in 1898, William James Sidis made the headlines in the early 20th century as a child prodigy with an amazing intellect.

His IQ was estimated to be 50 to 100 points higher than Albert Einstein's. He could read the New York Times before he was 2. At age 6, his language repertoire included English, Latin, French, German, Russian, Hebrew, Turkish and Armenian. At age 11, he entered Harvard University as one of the youngest students in the school's history.

Well I think that the top ten of this list is right if you are talking about acheivement and knowledge rather than raw intelligence. The ability to learn quick and process very fast is raw intelligence. James sidis did not accomplish as much as the top ten of this list but he was the more intelligent, his IQ was estimated to be around 250 to 350 and h could learn an entire language in one day. When you talk about intellignce it is the potential that someone has. When you say someone has the potential to do something it means that he has the abiity to do it but it does not mean that he is going to do it. William James Sidis does not have more acheivements than the top ten of this list but he has more potential than them. And I think Goethe should be second.

He was a great musical composer. If you think about by the time he was 20 he wrote enough symphonies to last a lifetime. Not only was he great he was a great prodigy. He taught himself to play violin at 7! How could you do this when you're angry at your father and your mother dies. He was in grief! Yet he could do this magnificent things. Without Mozart Beethoven couldn't do anything.

Although Albert Einstein was a smart mathematician and physicist of his century, Mozart in my opinion, is the Einstein of music. Even people usually call him "musical genius". Not to mention, although Einstein love music, he started felling in love with Mozart's music the most.

Listening to Mozart is like witnessing some kind of divine revelation... But I voted without really stopping to think and if I had that vote again I would vote for Rothko. In the work of Rothko I see myself, I see Rothko and I come to know that communication with another human being is not just possible but also a truly sublime experience.

He revolutionized music in a way no one else could of. He wrote over 40 symphonies by the time he was 35. Plus, if you listen to his music, people say you will get smarter. Some of his most famous works are Requiem, Rondo Alla Turca, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and much more.

The guy structured math, and it influenced the entire scientific and mathematical body of knowledge ever since. He's clearly a genius. I won't pretend that I fully understand his stuff though, so I'll just stop talking now.

I fear he is at this position because people are ignorant of his achievements, which required both calm persistent logic, and free flowing unstoppable creativity.

Hitler was a dysfunctional loser but Pythagoras and others here were major contributors to humanity. Hitler killed millions

He found one of the most astounding mathemathical thing in the world it was so ahead of its time it had to be covered up.