in 500 years who will be remembered from the 20th

[cdif911]

DaVinci, Napoleon, Walter McCarty, Eistein, Lenin, Galileo, Hitler, Churchill...in no particular order.

umm last I checked not all of those guys are from the 20th century...

interesting side note, very few women mentioned overall in this thread..

My bad, I thought it was of the last 500 years.

no problem, I still enjoy your Guy Fawkes mask, reminds me of V for Vendetta and anonymous at the same time...

[BigAlTheFuture]

I don't think anybody in music will be remembered 500 years from now.

[Rondo_is_better]

I'm hoping someone digging through the internet archives finds this blog and considers us all gods...that'd be cool

I'm posting in this thread just on the off chance that that actually happens. I totally want to be a god.

[budMovin]

As far as 20th century, I would say...
Adolph Hitler
Joseph Stalin
Sigmund Freud
Albert Einstein
Vladamir Lenin
Pablo Picasso
Marylin Monroe
Malcolm Gladwell
Stephen Hawking

With Hitler being the most famous due to the monster that is he was, and the undeniable ambition/charisma that came with it (read Mein Kampf).

...This is a very hard topic in the sense that eras become grouped into shorter and shorter units as the world evolves at an exponentially quicker pace. The first era of man (Paleolithic) dated from 2.5million-10k years ago, which is 99% of our total existence. The only "named" hominid from that era I can think of is Lucy, the first Australopithecus found. Eras transitioned into multi-thousand year denominations (Bronze, Iron age). Then the age of empires and dynasties which were pretty much all under 1,000 years. Post Renaissance, we look at individual centuries, as in 14th, 15th, 16th, ect. In the 20th century (when the known world came into fruition) We cut up each era into decades. Now it seems we are using presidential terms as the new era benchmark.
      Though the famous people today (and in the 20th century) have record amounts of exposure to the media and the masses, I feel that their impact (since they are representatives of decades vs empires) becomes ever more saturated. This is only more evident by the growing number of people that are classified as being famous and influential, whether that be a world leader or a pop star.


Another interesting question would be: Up until 2009, who in history will be the most famous in 500 years?
My guess would be Charles Darwin, since the idea of Evolution was such an enlightening and revolutionary idea. We use evolution to describe how man came to be, how viruses and organisms adapt to what is thrown at them, how business models change, how championship teams react and rise above their peers, ect.

OK, rant over... Back to my paper.

[MaxwellSmart86]

The Biggest Solo Celebrity of all time is Elvis Presley...600,000 people visit his home every year--and he's been dead for 32 years...This is unheard of for ANY other Star...If they open Neverland--it will be closed within 5 years due to lack of interest(and family members squabbling over money)....in 500 years--my guess is that Elvis, The Beatles,Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson will be remembered---if ANYONE in the Entertainment world IS remembered.

Non-Entertainers:
Einstein
Hitler
Gahndi
MLK
Jackie Robinson
Babe Ruth
JFK
FDR
Churchill
Stalin
Wright Bros.
...........................or maybe Nobody will care about anything that old---the way our youth is NOW---I cannot imagine it getting any better.

[MaxwellSmart86]

just a follow-up...in 1999, A&E released their list of Most Influential People for the last 1,000 years(With voters A LOT more impressive that me or you)...Elvis Presley was no.57---the FIRST Entertainer to be listed(from the 20th Century)---the Beatles were no.76......Here's the list:

http://www.economicexpert.com/a/A:E:s:Biography:of:the:Millennium.htm

[budMovin]

I never understood people's fascination with Elvis.

[rondohondo]

ummm how has Dylan not been mentioned yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUvQzgxTxmE

[Edgar]

Edgar because his innovative use of color and scroll

[Rondo2287]

Michael Jackson

[budMovin]

I forgot to add Robert Oppenheimer. Leading the Manhattan project (nuclear bomb), which has effected world politics in a far greater way than anything in history. I see the 20th century as being defined as the dawn of the nuclear and internet eras.

[Edgar]

and and

because latin peoeple never forgot their heroes.

[TheLegendaryClub]

The people likely to be remembered are going to be the people who contributed most to the things that will define the 20th century in history books.

communism, nuclear power, the computer, the internet, the space race, the relative end of imperialism (although it does still exist), the fight for gender, religious, and racial equality.

This leads to: Hitler, Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Ghandi, Castro, Steve Jobs/Bill Gates, Armstrong, Oppenheimer, Che Guevara, Mandala, etc.


But really, the question is subjective according to world region or country. Let's face it, the US is more concerned with entertainers than leaders of other countries. It wouldn't shock me in the least if Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna, and Michael Jackson are remembered more than than people like Che and Ghandi, because of of our fixation with pop culture. We'll remember Hilter, Mao, Lenin and Stalin because of the communist paranoia. 

[perks-a-beast]

Two Words: John Locke.

[EJPLAYA]

I find it quite amusing that with all these big names you have in all these categories you included Jay-Z. If you ask people from around the world who Michael Jackson is or the Beatles a big portion of people will know from all age groups. If you ask a bunch of Americans only a small section of the population would have any clue who he is. In the rest of the world it would be a rare person indeed who knew. I'm not sure Jay Z will even be recognizable to almost anyone in 50 years let alone 500.

well, i guess it comes down to whether or not you think rap music will be remembered 500 years from now. If so, I think he's the guy whose name will last.

I don't think it will be remembered really 100 years from now even ( I grew up in the 80's listening to and loving rap so that isn't based on any hatred of it) , however when I think of the biggest people in rap Jay-Z is not the name that comes to mind. So much of his work is behind the scenes that he doesn't spring to mind. I like Jay Z and all, however throwing him in there with the Beatles, Michael, and all those other names seemed funny to me.