TS: Great Britain vs Germany vs South Africa vs Canada vs Holland vs Finland vs France vs USA vs Czech Republic vs New Zealand vs Belgium vs Romania vs Portugal vs Bulgaria

1. Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany 1949-1963 (1876-1967)
2. Martin Luther, leader of the reformation, father of Protestantism (1483-1546)
3. Karl Marx, political economist, philosopher (1818-1883)
4. Sophie and Hans Scholl, White Rose young anti-Nazi students (1921/1918-1943)
5. Willy Brandt, West German chancellor from 1969-1974, implemented the Ostpolitik (1913-1992)
6. Johann Sebastian Bach, composer (1685-1750)
7. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writer (1749-1832)
8. Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of movable type printing in Europe(1400-1468)
9. Otto von Bismarck, politician responsible for creation of German Empire in 1871, and hence its first chancellor (1815-1898)
10. Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist who came up with the general theory of relativity (1879-1955)

1. Nelson Mandela, first president of democratic South Africa and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1918 - )
2. Christiaan Barnard, pioneering heart surgeon (1922 - 2001)
3. F.W. de Klerk, former president and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936 - )
4. Mahatma Gandhi, political activist (1869 - 1948)
5. Nkosi Johnson, child who died of AIDS (1989 - 2001)
6. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, politician and 2nd wife of Nelson Mandela (1936 - )
7. Thabo Mbeki, current president (1942 - )
8. Gary Player, golfer (1936 - )
9. Jan Smuts, statesman (1870 - 1950)
10. Desmond Tutu, cleric and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1931 - )

1. Tommy Douglas (father of Canadian Medicare, Premier of Saskatchewan)
2. Terry Fox (athlete, activist)
3. Pierre Trudeau (Prime Minister)
4. Sir Frederick Banting (medical scientist, co-discoverer of insulin)
5. David Suzuki (geneticist, environmentalist, broadcaster, activist)
6. Lester Bowles Pearson (Prime Minister, former United Nations General Assembly President, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
7. Don Cherry (hockey coach, commentator)
8. Sir John A. Macdonald (First post-Confederation Prime Minister)
9. Alexander Graham Bell (Scottish-born scientist, inventor, founder of the Bell Telephone Company, which later became the American Telephone and Telegraph Company)
10. Wayne Gretzky (professional hockey player)

1. Pim Fortuyn (Politician, murdered/First during live broadcast)
2. Willem van Oranje (Father of the Nation/First by total votes)
3. Willem Drees (Politician, social reformer in particular)
4. Antony van Leeuwenhoek (Scientist)
5. Desiderius Erasmus (Philosopher)
6. Johan Cruijff (Footballer)
7. Michiel de Ruyter (Naval hero, national hero)
8. Anne Frank (Writer, murdered)
9. Rembrandt van Rijn (Painter)
10. Vincent van Gogh (Painter)

1. C.G.E. Mannerheim (President of Finland, 1944-1946, and Marshal of Finland)
2. Risto Ryti (President of Finland, 1940-1944)
3. Urho Kekkonen (President of Finland, 1956-1981)
4. Adolf Ehrnrooth (infantry general, a figurehead for the Finnish veteran community)
5. Tarja Halonen (current President of Finland, 2000- )
6. Arvo Ylppö (famed paediatrician)
7. Mikael Agricola (Protestant reformer and creator of the written Finnish language)
8. Jean Sibelius (world-famous composer)
9. Aleksis Kivi (author of the first significant Finnish novel, Seitsemän veljestä / Seven Brothers)
10. Elias Lönnrot (collator of the Finnish national epic Kalevala)

1. Charles de Gaulle – Political leader and statesman
2. Louis Pasteur – Scientist
3. Abbé Pierre – Priest
4. Marie Curie – Scientist
5. Coluche – Comedian
6. Victor Hugo – Author
7. Bourvil - Actor
8. Molière – Playwright
9. Jacques-Yves Cousteau – Oceanologist
10. Édith Piaf - Singer

1. Ronald Reagan - 75% - named "Greatest American".
2. Abraham Lincoln - 8.5%
3. Martin Luther King, Jr. - 4% - named "Greatest African American"
4. George Washington - 6.7%
5. Benjamin Franklin - 5.9%
6. George W. Bush - named "Greatest Living American"
7. Bill Clinton
8. Elvis Presley - named "America's Greatest Entertainer"
9. Oprah Winfrey - named "Greatest Woman in American history"
10. Franklin D. Roosevelt

1. King Charles IV, Bohemian king (1346 - 1378) and Emperor (1355 - 1378), founder of Charles Bridge and Charles University - 68,713 votes
2. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk - first Czechoslovak president (1918 - 1935) - 55,040 votes
3. Václav Havel - last Czechoslovak (1989 - 1992) and first Czech president (1993 - 2003) - 52,233 votes
4. Jan Amos Komenský - "Teacher of nations"
5. Jan Žižka - Hussite general
6. Jan Werich - actor, playwright and writer
7. Jan Hus - religious reformer
8. Antonín Dvořák - composer
9. Karel Čapek - writer, in his work R.U.R. has popularized the word "robot" (invented by his brother Josef Čapek)
10. Božena Němcová - writer (wrote highlight piece of Czech literature "Babička ("Grandmother"))

1. Ernest Rutherford - physicist
2. Kate Sheppard - Suffragette
3. Sir Edmund Hillary - mountaineer and explorer
4. Sir George Grey - Governor and Premier
5. Michael Joseph Savage - politician
6. Sir Apirana Ngata - Māori politician
7. Hone Heke - Māori chief
8. Dr Frederick Truby King - founder of Plunket Society
9. William Hobson - co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi
10. Jean Batten - aviator

1. Father Damien (1840-1889)
2. Paul Janssen (1926-2003)
3. Eddy Merckx (1945-)
4. Ambiorix (1st century BC)
5. Adolf Daens (1839-1907)
6. Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
7. Jacques Brel (1929-1978)
8. Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594)
9. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
10. Hendrik Conscience (1812-1883)

1. Ştefan cel Mare (1433 – 1504) - Prince of Moldavia (1457-1504), he turned Moldavia into a strong state and maintained its independence; as a defender of Christianity, he was sanctified by the Romanian Orthodox Church
2. Carol I (1839 – 1914) - the first Romanian ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty (1866 - 1914), the first King of Romania (since 1881) after the country acquired full independence under his leadership
3. Matei Corvin (1443 (?) – 1490) - King of Hungary
4. Mircea cel Bătrân (1355 – 1418) - Prince of Wallachia
5. Mihai Viteazul (1558 – 1601) - Prince of Wallachia, he achieved the first union of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia (the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians)
6. Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1820 – 1873) - the first ruler of the United Principalities of Romania after the union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859; his reforms started the modernization of Romania
7. Mihai Eminescu (1850 – 1889) - late Romantic poet, widely considered to be the most influential Romanian poet
8. Mircea Eliade (1907 – 1986) - researcher and professor of the history of religions, Orientalist and novelist
9. Richard Wurmbrand (1909 – 2001) - evangelical Christian minister, author and educator who spent a total of fourteen years in communist prison
10. Ion Antonescu (1882 – 1946) - the prime minister and leader of Romania during World War II

1. António de Oliveira Salazar – Political leader and statesman (41.0%)
2. Álvaro Cunhal – Politician (19.1%)
3. Aristides de Sousa Mendes – Diplomat (13.0%)
4. D. Afonso Henriques – King (12.4%)
5. Luís Vaz de Camões – Poet (4.0%)
6. John II – King (3%)
7. Henry the Navigator - Prince (2.7%)
8. Fernando Pessoa – Poet (2.4%)
9. Marquês de Pombal – Politician (1.7%)
10. Vasco da Gama - Explorer (0.7%)

1. Vasil Levski (1837–1873), revolutionary and national hero
2.
3. Peter Deunov (1864–1944), spiritual master of a school of Esoteric Christianity
4. Khan Asparukh of Bulgaria (d. 695), founder of the First Bulgarian Empire
5. Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria (c. 866–927), ruled during the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture and military power
6. Hristo Botev (1848–1876), national poet and revolutionary
7. Knyaz Boris I of Bulgaria (d. 907), ruled during the Christianization of Bulgaria
8. Sts Cyril and Methodius (9th century), devised and spread the Glagolitic
9. Stefan Stambolov (1854–1895), successful Prime Minister
10. Ivan Vazov (1850–1921), national writer
11. St Paisius of Hilendar (1722–1773), wrote Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya

I think I gotta give this one to France.

What happened to Bulgaria's No.2?

And why have Portugal's people got percentages?

itisamystery.jpg

So wait, Passantino's autistic now?

Apparently Wikipedia can be used to derive information and facts from, as well as writing "gleen roeder is a homo".

If anyone wants some Cliff's Notes:

1. António de Oliveira Salazar – Political leader and statesman (41.0%)

Fascist dictator, ruled Portugal from the 30's up to the revolution in 1974. Him winning was rather the scandal, as you might imagine - it can partly be explained by the fact that clearly the voting was mostly done by old people, and there's still quite a lot of nostalgia for "the good old days" amongst the older generations, family values and respect for religion and blah blah blah. Slightly more sophisticated defenses point out that he managed to get our economy running after decades of chaos, and that he kept us out of WWII (personally I don't think neutrality in WWII is really something to be PROUD of.) Anyway, him winning was still pretty wtf and scary.

2. Álvaro Cunhal – Politician (19.1%)

Founder and longtime leader of the portuguese communist party, recently deceased. Did some very laudable work in the resistance during Salazar's rule, but his track record after the revolution is pretty deplorable. Very pally with the soviet union, truly wanted to turn Portugal into a communist country. His party today is extremley conservative when it comes to social issues (pro-bullfighting, some prominent members are openly homophobic.) A heroic figure, but he screwed things up pretty badly.

3. Aristides de Sousa Mendes – Diplomat (13.0%)

Helped jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany. Commonly refered to as "our Schindler". Pretty untouchable, unless you think that serving as a diplomat in a dictatorship in the 30's is by itself enough reason to damn someone.

4. D. Afonso Henriques – King (12.4%)

First portuguese king. Fought the spaniards a bit, the moors a bit, killed and maimed. His mother was the daughter of the king of Castela (one of the kingdoms that would eventually form Spain), he had her locked up cause she was against the whole "founding a new country" thing. By all acoounts a very violent and tempestous man, even for his time.

5. Luís Vaz de Camões – Poet (4.0%)

Our national poet, of a neo classical bent. Wrote some very lovely, funny sonnets, and also "The Lusiadas", a fictionalized account of how the portuguese found out how to get to India by sea, done up as a sort of "Odyssey" tribute. It's mostly unreadable, very rah rah and there aren't really any decent monsters. Died in poverty. Missing one eye, which is why Momus made a comment about being a reincarnation of him when he played here. Ezra Pound made a hatchet job on the guy (Camões, not Momus), in the odd belief that anyone cares. Also appears in a Stephin Merrit song, but he spells him wrong.

6. John II – King (3%)
7. Henry the Navigator - Prince (2.7%)

Kings. Big on sailing.

8. Fernando Pessoa – Poet (2.4%)

Modernist poet. You probably know about this guy, he's in Penguin Classics and everything. Can be pretty rad and everything, but his omnipresence on portuguese myspace profiles makes him a tough act to swallow.

9. Marquês de Pombal – Politician (1.7%)

Politician, basically ruled Portugal for a few decades while the king went hunting. A total despot, but not too bad as far as despots go. Notable contribuitons include rebuilding Lisbon after the big earthquake in 1755 and kicking the jesuits out.

10. Vasco da Gama - Explorer (0.7%)

He was on Eurovision.

It's a pretty dismal list, all told. Could've used worthier opponents of the fascist regime, some more writers (Eca de Queiros!) and giving props to some of the people involved in the creation of the first republic would've been nice, too, despite the nightmare that it ended up as.

The german list is pretty fab, Marx in at #3! Can't really argue with the Scholls, Brandt, Bach, Gutenberg and Einstein. Goethe should be disqualified because of his early emo work, Bismarck can fuck off of course. Adenauer, eeeh.

French list is ok, much props to Victor Hugo and Piaf and Pasteur an' all, but that #1 is a bit debatable, to say the least.

Hm, no Napolean in French list? Hmmmm....
or Louis XIV, for that matter.

The British list is conspicuous in containing the most asinine entry in any of the lists.

American one is horrific. GWB and FDR. Wai you make me cry America :(

"The British list is conspicuous in containing the most asinine entry in any of the lists."

oh i don't know, pim fortuyn at #1?

my point about the french by the way is expressing disbelief that hasn't been some rigging going on to keep boney and louis out of the top 10.

oh i don't know, pim fortuyn at #1?

Pim Fortuyn was an extremely popular politician on his way to being prime minister who was murdered for saying things that a lot of Dutch people supported.

Diana Princess of Wales was a posho-neurotic who occasionally hugged babies with aids in Africa.

on his way to being prime minister
Oh yeah, scrap that.

that US list is fucking horrifying

MAJOR FUCKING OVERSIGHT ON THE NZ LIST! 1) Lurex (fabulous)<p>actually half of that nz list could easily go down the toilet. how about a dame sylvia cartwright or a georgina beyer?? could easily replace that patriarchal ass truby king and edmund claiming-all-the-everest-glory-for-himself hillary.

Where's Napoleon? He won the French poll by a million miles.

"Diana extremely popular public figure on her way to being queen of hearts who was [possibly] murdered for saying things that a lot of people supported."

Diana was an....

Also: i) Fortuyn wasn't a "posho"?
ii) No Great Men/Women are ever neurotic, oh no, least of all far-right populists. I hear Anne Frank wound up rather neurotic tho, because of the policies of a far-right populist tho. Clearly she's not more important than Pim Fortuyn, as a result.
iii)I'm no fan of Diana, but i'm tempted to think hugging babies with aids in africa was a whole lot better accomplishment than anything Fortuyn ever did or was ever likely to do.

strike out that seond "tho". fuck. anyway you get the point.

Would love to see this done in Russia...

The American list is insane

Wayne Gretzky lol

Di over Shakespeare-what a fantastic list