1. Confucius (551-479 BC)
Confucius was a Chinese social philosopher and thinker whose teachings have influenced Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean life to a great extent. Through his deep philosophies, he was a huge advocator of governmental and personal morality, and many of his teachings eventually ended up being developed into a philosophical system known as Confucianism.
2. Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Aristotle was one of the greatest ancient Greek philosophers, who was originally a student of Plato himself. He then went on to teach Alexander the Great on the ways of the world, and throughout his life he made monumental contributions to a whole variety of subjects including poetry, physics, metaphysics, biology, zoology, politics, rhetoric, logic, music, and theater. In fact, there was very little that Aristotle didn't involve himself with.
3. John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)
Comenius was a Moravian teacher, educator, writer, and scientist. He was also a highly religious individual, and throughout his life, he was both a Moravian Protestant bishop, as well as a religious refugee. Comenius' greatest contribution to learning came from his book, Didactica Magna, in which he championed the concept of universal education.
4. John Locke (1632-1704)
John Locke was an English physician and philosopher, who strongly believed that it is necessary to teach character before academia. Through his writings, he demonstrates how having a good character greatly surpasses the value of numeracy and literacy, but that both are ultimately required for the positive advancement of society.
5. Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)
Froebel was a German pedagogue and was once a student of Pestalozzi, who developed the foundation for modern education on the basis of research, since he believed that each student has their own particular capabilities and needs for learning. He also greatly believed in the importance of early years education and developed the modern concept of what a kindergarten should be.
6. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Thoreau was an American author, poet, historian, philosopher, surveyor, and prominent transcendentalist. He is best-known for his book, Walden, in which he praises the virtues of living a simple life in natural surroundings. His essays, articles, poetry, and journals consist of over 20 enormous volumes and have been highly influential across the globe.
7. Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Washington was a renowned and noted American educator, political leader, author, and orator, and was a highly influential individual within the United States' African-American community from 1890 to 1915. He came from the final generation of black leaders who were born as slaves, and who went on to fight for the civil rights of people of color.
8. Noah Webster (1758-1843)
Webster was an American textbook author, lexicographer, word enthusiast, spelling reformer, and editor, and is considered to be the Father of the American Scholarship and Education. In fact, his 'Blue-Backed Speller' textbooks have been used for around five generations of American children in order to teach them English.
9. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein was primarily a theoretical physicist and is famous for coming up with a whole range of intriguing theories including the general and special theories of relativity, the first post-Newtonian expansion, and the founding of relativistic cosmology, among many others. In 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the photoelectric effect law, as well as for his many services to theoretical physics.
10. Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
Ayn Rand was a renowned Russian-American philosopher, novelist, and playwright. Rand is best-known for her two bestselling books, 'The Fountainhead' and 'Atlas Shrugged,' as well as for founding an entire philosophical system which came to be known as Objectivism, and which is still widely influential today.
