Most controversial person in history

[Treciene]

Max Barry

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Donald Trump. He'll create 50 controversies a week even when there didn't need to be one.

[Ethel mermania]

Donald Trump. He'll create 50 controversies a week even when there didn't need to be one.

in history? In 50 years he will be as well known as grover Cleveland

[Diarcesia]

Ah, but what say you NSG? Which person had a huge impact on life on earth, but the end result being mixed? Gavrilo Prinzip? J. Robert Oppenheimer?

Jesus

[Free Las Pinas]

Left this thread to sleep, but it's totally Thomas Edison.

[Mathuvan Union]

5000 years of recorded history to choose from, and there's only 3 nominations so far (when I started writing this post) from before the 15th century AD (excluding God). That leaves you 3500 years of history to play with.

Octavian/Augustus, Mohammed, and Genghis Khan aren't bad as pre-modern nominations go, but you could do so much better if you tried.

Khufu, Sargon of Akkad, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Qin Shi Huang, Constantine the Great, Khusrau II, Wu Zetian ... there's so much material to work with here if you put just a bit of effort in.

Zheng He could count.

[Sicilian Imperial-Capitalist Empire]

God himself.

If you want to exclude him because he's not a person/doesn't exist, then fair enough. In that case, I'd choose Muhammad who, without a doubt, is probably the single most controversial figure in history.

[Bienenhalde]

Why, because you don't like having a black president? Give us all a break. He is an intelligent and upright man, and not a degerate like Bill Clinton or Trump.

Tell that to the Libyans who died in his intervention. Also remember Fast and Furious?

I mean, sure people can find things to criticize him for, particularly isolationists or anti-American leftists, but I don't see why he would be considered worse than other presidents.

[Sicilian Imperial-Capitalist Empire]

5000 years of recorded history to choose from, and there's only 3 nominations so far (when I started writing this post) from before the 15th century AD (excluding God). That leaves you 3500 years of history to play with.

Octavian/Augustus, Mohammed, and Genghis Khan aren't bad as pre-modern nominations go, but you could do so much better if you tried.

Khufu, Sargon of Akkad, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Qin Shi Huang, Constantine the Great, Khusrau II, Wu Zetian ... there's so much material to work with here if you put just a bit of effort in.

Well this is discussing who is the most controversial person in history, not exactly who is mildly controversial to a few people or ethnic groups.

[Resilient Acceleration]

5000 years of recorded history to choose from, and there's only 3 nominations so far (when I started writing this post) from before the 15th century AD (excluding God). That leaves you 3500 years of history to play with.

Octavian/Augustus, Mohammed, and Genghis Khan aren't bad as pre-modern nominations go, but you could do so much better if you tried.

Khufu, Sargon of Akkad, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Qin Shi Huang, Constantine the Great, Khusrau II, Wu Zetian ... there's so much material to work with here if you put just a bit of effort in.

Well this is discussing who is the most controversial person in history, not exactly who is mildly controversial to a few people or ethnic groups.

I think we should make "controversial" more defined. Is it talking about impact? Or things that trigger people? Many K-pop celebrities are easily far more controversial than Nazi leaders like Ernst Kaltenbrunner, as they are simply less known.

[Rusozak]

Donald Trump. He'll create 50 controversies a week even when there didn't need to be one.

I think it has to be someone you can actually make a case for having a positive impact on the world.

[Lanoraie II]

A good chunk of notable artists/inventors from the past 200 years were more than likely a little to a lot racist, but they still created very important and vital things.

If we wanna get peculiar, "King" Christina of Sweden was possibly(?) quite controversial for her time, but now it's just like "eh, whatever".

[Lanoraie II]

Donald Trump. He'll create 50 controversies a week even when there didn't need to be one.

I think it has to be someone you can actually make a case for having a positive impact on the world.

I hate the guy but he has done a few positive things, such as try to lower healthcare costs and reject the vote for removing coverage of pre-existing conditions. Those are quite important and impactful for people like me.

[Albrenia]

Controversial at the time, or controversial now?

Some people have sparked civil wars and the fall of nations with their antics, so even Trump would be small beans comparatively.

[Andsed]

Oh has Cromwell been mentioned? His action did help introduced popular sovereignty and the idea that you can try a monarch to England, which are pretty based. But he was a dictator and also committed plenty of atrocity's in Ireland.

[Cordel One]

I'm assuming Karl Marx, Marie Antoinette, or that guy who made that church to oppose the catholic church. Europe was the worst for controversies.

[Andsed]

I'm assuming Karl Marx, Marie Antoinette, or that guy who made that church to oppose the catholic church. Europe was the worst for controversies.

You mean Martin Luther?

[Geneviev]

I'm assuming Karl Marx, Marie Antoinette, or that guy who made that church to oppose the catholic church. Europe was the worst for controversies.

You mean Martin Luther?

I was thinking of King Henry VIII.

[Cordel One]

I'm assuming Karl Marx, Marie Antoinette, or that guy who made that church to oppose the catholic church. Europe was the worst for controversies.

You mean Martin Luther?

Yeah, him.

[Resilient Acceleration]

You mean Martin Luther?

Yeah, him.

Huh, good point. Then al-Ghazali would be a pretty strong candidate. I hate his impact (not necessarily the person itself) more than I dislike Muhammad, because he turned the relatively secular and pro-science ancient Islam into the jihadist menace we all know and 'love'. The reason behind the shift is long and involve multiple factors from droughts to Circassian slavery, and it's not entirely his fault, but ultimately the guy became the main agent of the pro-extremist shift.

Though blaming Ibn Hanbal would also be acceptable.

[The Blaatschapen]

So, regarding definition, the impact of their actions has to be huge and be positive and negative. Holding a racist view, while not good, is kind of meh if their actions did not really influence people's lives.

[The Archregimancy]

5000 years of recorded history to choose from, and there's only 3 nominations so far (when I started writing this post) from before the 15th century AD (excluding God). That leaves you 3500 years of history to play with.

Octavian/Augustus, Mohammed, and Genghis Khan aren't bad as pre-modern nominations go, but you could do so much better if you tried.

Khufu, Sargon of Akkad, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Qin Shi Huang, Constantine the Great, Khusrau II, Wu Zetian ... there's so much material to work with here if you put just a bit of effort in.

Well this is discussing who is the most controversial person in history, not exactly who is mildly controversial to a few people or ethnic groups.

Which is specifically why I offered a short list of some of the most controversial people in history pre-dating the 15th century rather than people who were mildly controversial to a few people or ethnic groups.

This may perhaps come as a surprise, but I do have a passing familiarity with historical topics.

[The Archregimancy]

5000 years of recorded history to choose from, and there's only 3 nominations so far (when I started writing this post) from before the 15th century AD (excluding God). That leaves you 3500 years of history to play with.

Octavian/Augustus, Mohammed, and Genghis Khan aren't bad as pre-modern nominations go, but you could do so much better if you tried.

Khufu, Sargon of Akkad, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Qin Shi Huang, Constantine the Great, Khusrau II, Wu Zetian ... there's so much material to work with here if you put just a bit of effort in.

Zheng He could count.

1) Zheng He's expeditions were in the 15th century.

2) In what way is Zheng He controversial? He sailed around the Indian Ocean, he waved the Ming banner around a bit, but from the 1430s the Ming stopped the treasure fleets - inadvertently leaving the Indian Ocean open to European expansion in the coming decades. From that point on, the imperial court deliberately suppressed the records of Zheng's voyages. For 30 years he was the greatest admiral the Chinese had ever seen, but be left very little in the sense of either long-term legacy or controversy.

[The Archregimancy]

5000 years of recorded history to choose from, and there's only 3 nominations so far (when I started writing this post) from before the 15th century AD (excluding God). That leaves you 3500 years of history to play with.

Octavian/Augustus, Mohammed, and Genghis Khan aren't bad as pre-modern nominations go, but you could do so much better if you tried.

Khufu, Sargon of Akkad, Akhenaten, Alexander the Great, Qin Shi Huang, Constantine the Great, Khusrau II, Wu Zetian ... there's so much material to work with here if you put just a bit of effort in.

Dr. Jones, excluding the lord? Who has had more influence on the human race, and his existence in modern times is quite the controversy

Ah, but YHWH is not a person; unless you count His son - which, since you're Jewish....

[Heloin]

Emperor Nero was a pretty controversial man. In his time he was a populist well liked by the lower classes of Rome who saw the Empire expand and oversaw the rebuilding of Rome after the great fire. But also absolutely hated by the wealthy and those who recorded history at the time, and accused of burning down Rome.

Well this is discussing who is the most controversial person in history, not exactly who is mildly controversial to a few people or ethnic groups.

Which is specifically why I offered a short list of some of the most controversial people in history pre-dating the 15th century rather than people who were mildly controversial to a few people or ethnic groups.

This may perhaps come as a surprise, but I do have a passing familiarity with historical topics.