Several people influenced and changed the world significantly through different ways in scientific disciplines, economically, and politically. The influence of these figures expanded beyond the limits enforced by the individuals by the current society. Majority of the people who exerted great influence upon the world lived a long time ago, although there were others from the 18th century that had a great impact in shaping the word. Their achievements are very notable and amazing that within the period that they implemented them, the influence is felt to date and continues to be significant. The discussion below identifies a few examples of such individuals whose work played a huge role in changing the world. The list entails those that made a remarkable difference positively and made the world better.
Abraham Lincoln is an icon of change in the world as he conquered many challenges to become the influential president of America. His leadership during the civil war era achieved the unity of the United States, which emerged to be stronger than joined independent nations. He also changed the perception of people about the conflict of the states and portrayed it as a human freedom and equality battle (Ward 27). Additionally, Lincoln inspired people with his renowned Gettysburg speech and bought slave trade to an end, placing the nation on a new course of race relations.
Albert Einstein through his relativity theories highly contributed to the breakthrough of scientific inventions such as nuclear energy, television, and nuclear weapons. His revolutionary reworking of scientific understanding of matter and energy influenced most of the technological advances. Einstein also enhanced the understanding of humankind about the functionality of the universe, particularly gravity and time. Moreover, he campaigned for peace and was a human right champion.
Mikhail Gorbachev is arguably the most important political figure due to his courage, insistence, and strength character. His respect for democracy and human rights led him to give up the dominance of the Soviet Union communism among other countries as well as putting an end the cold war. He played a major role in eradicating nuclear war threat that had engulfed the world for a long period (Ward 67). Gorbachev allowed many countries in the eastern and central Europe a sense of self-determination by destroying the Berlin wall.
Martin Luther king is also another person who was envisioned to change the world. The vision of martin Luther king was that of a society that was that of a society in which race was not an issue. He motivated many people both blacks and whites to hope for an equal society by making people realize that despite the color of their skin, they deserved to be treated equally and have the same opportunities. Lincoln led non-violent civil rights movements, and he changed the world because he inspired other countries to adopt his vision. After his death, many people realized the importance of his belief and worked hard to achieve live his vision (Marsalis 45).
Leonardo da Vinci is recognized greatest minds in the history of humankind and highly contributed in changing the world. He was a polymath from Italy and is regarded as the Renaissance man due to his diversity in many fields of study. Through his physical manifestations, he studied the world around him such as the human body, arts and science. He linked all his studies into a single work and became renaissance humanism representative. He is the one who painted The Mona Lisa, the most renowned picture in history.
These figures played a big part in establishing change in many aspects of the world, which makes their legacy to live in every generation. Apart from the above-mentioned people there are other figures that significantly contributed to the changes. They include nelson Mandela, Charles Darwin, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, William Shakespeare, Jesus Christ, among others.
Works Cited
Marsalis, W. Hurricane Katrina: The storm that changed America. New York: Time Books, 2005. Print.
Ward, Kyle R. History in the Making: An Absorbing Look at How American History Has Changed in the Telling Over the Last 200 Years. New York: New Press, 2006. Print.
