Doing good (better) is obviously a big topic here, and I've seen online discussions about various individuals as well as e.g. awards like Future of Life; Berggruen; Right Livelihood; some categories of the Kyoto Prize. Will's book What We Owe the Future also includes some interesting historical narrative. What I haven't seen (maybe I missed it somewhere?) is an attempt at a rigorous assessment of which people have actually made the biggest (counterfactual) positive difference to the world.
This post is not a rigorous assessment! But I did spend some time with Google and Gemini to start down that path, eventually arriving at a provisional list of 30 (mostly individuals; a couple of pairs). If an invention would have come along two years later anyway from someone else, that's out. If a person was amazing and altruistic and courageous but 'only' saved 1000 lives (looking at you, Schindler), that's not enough to make the final cut - the focus here is ultimate impact, not individual moral value.
Curious to hear thoughts, suggestions for additions and deletions, etc! (or pointers to previous efforts along these lines...)
I. The Ancient & Moral Foundations
1. Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC) | The First Humanist Conquered Babylon and freed the slaves, proving an empire could be built on tolerance.
2. Themistocles (480 BC) | The Defender Tricked the Persian Empire into the Battle of Salamis, saving the nascent democracy of Athens. Without him, Western Civilization (Socrates, Democracy) is extinguished in the crib.
3. Jesus of Nazareth (c. 30 AD) | The Moral Source Inverted the ancient value system of "Strength," introducing the concept of universal charity. The "Source Code" for Human Rights and hospitals.
4. Johannes Gutenberg (1450) | The Democratizer Synthesized the printing press, dropping the cost of knowledge by 99% and enabling the Scientific Revolution.
5. John Locke (1689) | The Architect Wrote the operating system for modern democracy ("Consent of the governed").
6. Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) | The Equalizer Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, arguing that rights apply to both sexes. She launched the movement that eventually doubled the human workforce and intellect pool.
7. George Washington (1796) | The Cincinnatus Established the peaceful transfer of power by voluntarily stepping down, preventing the US from becoming a dictatorship.
8. Edward Jenner (1796) | The Virus Hunter Invented Vaccination, paving the way to eradicate Smallpox.
9. William Wilberforce (1807) | The Conscience Turned the Royal Navy into a global anti-slavery force, ending the trans-Atlantic trade.
II. The Industrial & Scientific Revolution
10. James Watt (1776) | The Unblocker Invented the separate condenser steam engine, creating the first sustained economic growth in history.
11. William T.G. Morton (1846) | The Anesthesiologist Demonstrated ether anesthesia, decoupling physical agony from medical treatment.
12. Florence Nightingale (1850s) | The System Builder Professionalized nursing and sanitation, building the infrastructure of modern healthcare.
13. Abraham Lincoln (1865) | The Preserver Preserved the Union, ensuring North America remained an industrial giant capable of intervening in the World Wars.
14. Louis Pasteur (1860s) | The Scientist Proved Germ Theory, enabling sterilization, antibiotics, and modern hygiene.
15. Willis Carrier (1902) | The Climate Control Invented air conditioning. Enabled the industrialization of the Global South and the survival of the digital age.
16. John L. Leal (1908) | The Purifier Secretly installed the first chlorine disinfection system, virtually ending waterborne death in the West.
17. Fritz Haber & Carl Bosch (1909) | The Alchemists Invented nitrogen fixation. Their fertilizer feeds 4 billion people today.
III. The Modern Saviors (Crisis, Health & Economy)
18. Mohandas Gandhi (1930s) | The Soul Force Invented Satyagraha (weaponized non-violence). Proved moral force could defeat an empire.
19. Winston Churchill (1940) | The Bulwark The sole barrier between a Nazi monopoly on Europe and a negotiated peace.
20. Malcom McLean (1956) | The Logistics Pivot Invented the shipping container. Slashed shipping costs by 90% and enabled the global economy.
21. Zhdanov & Foege (1958/1970s) | The Eradicators The bureaucrat and strategist who forced and executed the eradication of Smallpox.
22. Vasili Arkhipov (1962) | The Savior Refused to fire a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis, preventing WW3.
23. Norman Borlaug (1960s) | The Feeder His Green Revolution (High-Yield Wheat) saved 1 billion people from starvation.
24. Maurice Hilleman (1960s) | The Shield Developed 8 of the 14 standard childhood vaccines, saving millions of children annually.
25. Dilip Mahalanabis (1971) | The Simple Savior Proved that Salt/Sugar/Water (ORS) could save cholera victims. Saved ~70 million lives.
26. Tu Youyou (1972) | The Malaria Hunter Discovered Artemisinin in ancient texts, saving millions from drug-resistant malaria.
27. Yuan Longping (1970s) | The Rice Father His hybrid rice feeds an extra 70 million people per year in Asia.
28. Deng Xiaoping (1978) | The Reformer Opened China's markets, lifting 800 million people out of poverty.
29. Stanislav Petrov (1983) | The Watchman Refused to report a computer error as a nuclear attack, preventing accidental war.
30. Tim Berners-Lee (1989) | The Connector Released the Web for free, preventing a paid internet and enabling the "Universal Library."
I wrote a couple of related blog posts recently here: