Who is/was the most important person ever?

[waltzingparrot]

Just listened to an interview and a 'name' was suggested as being the most important person ever in our planet's history.

If you had to name one person as being the most important, who would it be?

Presumably without what they invented/did/said, our life today would be unrecognisable.

I immediately have a list of a dozen or so really important people throughout history, but I don't know how to rank them and come up with a no 1.

Florence Nightingale
She recognised the need for hygienic and sanitary conditions to be improved within hospitals to reduce infections and mortality rates.
She encouraged women to learn with the chance to enhance their knowledge and gain a profession in nursing.

That nameless individual who can be classified as the first homo sapiens.

Julius Caesar

I wouldn't go for any scientist or inventor because in almost all cases if they hadn't discovered/invented it then someone else would have done so very soon.

I think either Julius or Augustus Caesar are huge figures, but it's difficult to imagine what Rome would have done differently if it had carried on as a republic.

Karl Marx probably influenced things that would have never happened without him.

But tbh the only two realistic choices are Jesus and Mohammed.

Freddie Mercury

You beat me to it.

Me

Jesus was my first thought also.

Hippocrates - the medical professionals still swear the Hippocratic Oath.

Jesus.

Otherwise, Mitochondrial Eve.

Jesus Christ. Our world would look very different without his existence

Alexander Fleming. Life on earth would probably be well on the way to being wiped out by now if he hadn't discovered penicillin. There's still a bit of time though if we don't find some other way to do it first.

Alexander Fleming. Life on earth would probably be well on the way to being wiped out by now if he hadn't discovered penicillin. There's still a bit of time though if we don't find some other way to do it first.

Eve, however you want to interpret that.

I’d agree with Jesus tbh although Freddie’s a close second.

Jesus

I don't think there is any "one" most important person.

*Her, not that

Jesus was a fictional character.

Mitochondrial Eve.

No he wasn’t. He existed. It’s just whether he was the son of god or not but whether you believe that or not, his influence has been arguably without parallel.

My first thought was Jesus.

But I'm not sure there is any one person.

A man called Jesus existed.

He was very much a philosopher. Tales of his miracles should be aligned with the thoughts of other great philosophers.

The Lady of The Lamp herself. True existing, practical and strong.

Map makers changed the world significantly.

I don't have a number 1.

The problem with all inventors is that however important the invention, they rarely worked in a vacuum so if they hadn’t done it, someone else probably would have in most cases and probably within a time scale that wouldn’t have made a huge difference to the path of humanity.

There is zero evidence. Writings are not evidence.

Jesus was the first one to come to mind but in reality that's only probably an important person to part of the western world. Any other religion apart from Judaism and Christianity wouldn't consider Jesus at all.