Who was the most important figure in the 20th Century?

[GODSPEED]

In your opinion, who would you say was one of the most important figures in the 20th Century. There is no wrong, or right answers, just who your person is, and a brief description of why.

Mine would probably be Winston Churchill. His attitude on how to get Britain to strengthen itself was impressive. Also, his thoughts on Fascists and Nazis were bold, and he played a key role in preventing them from moving forward in conquering the world.

 

[Pandora]

In your opinion, who would you say was one of the most important figures in the 20th Century. There is no wrong, or right answers, just who your person is, and a brief description of why.

Mine would probably be Winston Churchill. His attitude on how to get Britain to strengthen itself was impressive. Also, his thoughts on Fascists and Nazis were bold, and he played a key role in preventing them from moving forward in conquering the world.

Well I say Ronald Reagan. It’s so funny because growing up I was a liberal and I hated him with all I had to hate with. When I grew up I learned a few things and after that I really appreciated him.

I especially like him this week because I have been in this debate with my boss about taxes and what is fair. Today he told me that he wanted to go back to the pre-Reagan tax system. After looking at how unfair the pre Reagan tax system was, ours looked pretty dang good, and what we have now is so terribly unfair.

Under Jimmy Freaking Carter (my x hero) the rich paid 70% of the their earnings to taxes. That is horrid, and I thought 35% was bad.

SO......under taxes alone Reagan was important for us as a Nation and as for the world, It was he who kept peace through strength. He also brought in a great space program and was a genuine decent human being.

 

[Bunz]

I would agree with the sentiments of Churchill being an important figure at least in the first half of the century. He also set the tone of what world relations would be for the second half.
I think the Reagan statements are interesting. Especially given the context of the reasoning. Reaganomics sucked really bad for a lot of people. It was on his watch that the slippery slope started with outsourcing millions of jobs. The rich got richer though.

As for me, I have a few I will throw out there. Ghandi is certainly worth mentioning. Mao would be another. Mentioning Mao would cause me to throw out other names like Lenin, David Ben-Gurion, Martin Luther King. Then also depending on the context one wants to argue, something could be said for Niel Armstrong, Henry Ford, and whoever invented the internet...

Personally, I am going to lean in a direction that looks at how the 20th century will be viewed in 500 years. Humanity made some very signifigant changes in the time period from 1900-2000. So I am going to nominate a set of brothers from Ohio who by trade were bicycle mechanics. In 1903 with little fan fair they developed the first viable way to simply control a heavier than air machine in flight. So I nominate the Wright Brothers.

The opening of the airways to travel has changed human life like no invention since the wheel.

As a side note, there are quite a few worthy of mentioning in terms of scientific/medical advances, Fleming would be one, and so would the folks who figured out small pox.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

Stalin, his fight against the Nazis most likely saved the UK from being destroyed before the US ever got in. And Set up the Cold war that took up the better part of the rest of the 20th Century,

Reagan? really? he was just there for the end, what did he really do? not much.

 

[Libsmasher]

In your opinion, who would you say was one of the most important figures in the 20th Century. There is no wrong, or right answers, just who your person is, and a brief description of why.

Mine would probably be Winston Churchill. His attitude on how to get Britain to strengthen itself was impressive. Also, his thoughts on Fascists and Nazis were bold, and he played a key role in preventing them from moving forward in conquering the world.

That is certainly correct. Churchill literally saved western civilization - he provided the temporary bulwark that was joined by the anglosphere countries, push backed the nazis, and stopped any possibility of a takeover of western civilization by the onrushing soviet army. The preservation of half of europe and the rest of the free world provided the basis for the later collapse of the soviet union and eastern european regimes. Churchill was the foundation of all. I've always thought it pathetic that Churchill isn't commemorated in one of the cities he saved - Washington DC. I recommended ten years ago that Pennsylvania Avenue be renamed Winston Churchill Boulevard.

 

[Cookie Parker]

Well I say Ronald Reagan. It’s so funny because growing up I was a liberal and I hated him with all I had to hate with. When I grew up I learned a few things and after that I really appreciated him.

I especially like him this week because I have been in this debate with my boss about taxes and what is fair. Today he told me that he wanted to go back to the pre-Reagan tax system. After looking at how unfair the pre Reagan tax system was, ours looked pretty dang good, and what we have now is so terribly unfair.

Under Jimmy Freaking Carter (my x hero) the rich paid 70% of the their earnings to taxes. That is horrid, and I thought 35% was bad.

SO......under taxes alone Reagan was important for us as a Nation and as for the world, It was he who kept peace through strength. He also brought in a great space program and was a genuine decent human being.

Well...that makes you a fascist then.

 

[Cookie Parker]

Stalin, his fight against the Nazis most likely saved the UK from being destroyed before the US ever got in. And Set up the Cold war that took up the better part of the rest of the 20th Century,

Reagan? really? he was just there for the end, what did he really do? not much.

He did nothing. bin Laden bankrupted the Russian government from Afghanistan war where Daddy Bush was having the CIA supply his good friend's son with weapons to use against the Russians. How many of you here saw the factual account of Charlie Wilson?

 

[Federal Farmer]

He did nothing. bin Laden bankrupted the Russian government from Afghanistan war where Daddy Bush was having the CIA supply his good friend's son with weapons to use against the Russians. How many of you here saw the factual account of Charlie Wilson?

Your "hero" UBL was a low ranking nobody during the Afghan fight against the Soviets. Today, he's a low ranking nobody, living in a cave and hiding out from us.

I take it by "factual account" you mean the movie with Tom Hanks? Yeah, THERE'S some "factual" and "historically accurate" information for you. NOT. I bet you think Oliver Stones JFK was "factual" and "historically accurate" too.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

He did nothing. bin Laden bankrupted the Russian government from Afghanistan war where Daddy Bush was having the CIA supply his good friend's son with weapons to use against the Russians. How many of you here saw the factual account of Charlie Wilson?

1, Bin Laden was not that big of a player in Afganistan, you give him to much credit.

2. Reagan did very little , and yes it was mostly Afghanistan that finally killed the USSR...And the first starts of helping them was actually under Carter I believe.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

Your "hero" UBL was a low ranking nobody during the Afghan fight against the Soviets. Today, he's a low ranking nobody, living in a cave and hiding out from us.

I take it by "factual account" you mean the movie with Tom Hanks? Yeah, THERE'S some "factual" and "historically accurate" information for you. NOT. I bet you think Oliver Stones JFK was "factual" and "historically accurate" too.

umm he would be high ranking, and still a very powerful insperational leader, even if his logistics is not where it was before...But then again you said he was dead anyway ...but not you say he is just low ranking...he come back to life?

 

[GenSeneca]

As it turns out,

Kookie is a cheerleader for Bin Laden and accuses everyone else of being Fascists...

So Kookie, which one is you?

 

[foggedinn]

This is an odd way of looking at it I realize, but a couple of candidates should be Lee Harvey Oswald, and whoever was the assasin that killed the Austrian Arch-duke that started wwI.

You did ask about important figures, not great figures.

 

[Federal Farmer]

In your opinion, who would you say was one of the most important figures in the 20th Century. There is no wrong, or right answers, just who your person is, and a brief description of why.

Mine would probably be Winston Churchill. His attitude on how to get Britain to strengthen itself was impressive. Also, his thoughts on Fascists and Nazis were bold, and he played a key role in preventing them from moving forward in conquering the world.

The MOST important figure? For me it's a toss-up between Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

 

[PLC1]

I would agree with the sentiments of Churchill being an important figure at least in the first half of the century. He also set the tone of what world relations would be for the second half.
I think the Reagan statements are interesting. Especially given the context of the reasoning. Reaganomics sucked really bad for a lot of people. It was on his watch that the slippery slope started with outsourcing millions of jobs. The rich got richer though.

As for me, I have a few I will throw out there. Ghandi is certainly worth mentioning. Mao would be another. Mentioning Mao would cause me to throw out other names like Lenin, David Ben-Gurion, Martin Luther King. Then also depending on the context one wants to argue, something could be said for Niel Armstrong, Henry Ford, and whoever invented the internet...

Personally, I am going to lean in a direction that looks at how the 20th century will be viewed in 500 years. Humanity made some very signifigant changes in the time period from 1900-2000. So I am going to nominate a set of brothers from Ohio who by trade were bicycle mechanics. In 1903 with little fan fair they developed the first viable way to simply control a heavier than air machine in flight. So I nominate the Wright Brothers.

The opening of the airways to travel has changed human life like no invention since the wheel.

As a side note, there are quite a few worthy of mentioning in terms of scientific/medical advances, Fleming would be one, and so would the folks who figured out small pox.

You have mentioned some good choices there. It's hard to pick out just one as the most important of all, though.

We need to list Jonas Salk to the list, along with the Curies, and don't forget the authors who made millions think: George Orwell, Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, and others. Back in the realm of politics, there's Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King. John Kennedy inspired a generation, and would have done a whole lot more if it hadn't been for Lee Oswald.

Speaking of villains, if you want to list one who had probably more of an impact on the modern world than any one single person: Adolph Hitler.

 

[Stalin]

The most important were the scientists - the 20th Century was a golden age for science.

Roughly in my order of estimation of innovation, intelligence and insight.

Roger Penrose, Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Stephen Hawking, Werner Heisenburg, Paul Dirac and if best mind is considered, Alan Turing. Apologies to the hundreds of other worthy contenders.

For politicians, Josef Goebbels, who refined propaganda into the standard model that is now used by almost every government in the world.