Most controversial person in history

[Lancaster of Wessex]

Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

[Mathuvan Union]

I dunno, because I don't really like explorers raiding helpless beings.
that is basically the only bad side of him and even then, it didn't happen much.

That doesn't make him controversial though. Whether he was bad or not doesn't necessarily spur controversy. I don't think Zheng He is particularly bad, so this example is unrelated, but like, Hitler is really evil, but that's not really a controversial opinion about Hitler. It's not like people preface "Hitler was evil" with "I don't want to get political or anything." Controversy would mean there are people who both revile and celebrate the person, in relatively equal measure.

true, I just find some things about him controversial.

[The New California Republic]

Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

There is something that might need pointing out here: how much of the controversy of certain people is actually due to the words and actions of the person, and how much of it is due to those words and actions being twisted and misinterpreted over the course of centuries?

[Mathuvan Union]

Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

There is something that might need pointing out here: how much of the controversy of certain people is actually due to the words and actions of the person, and how much of it is due to those words and actions being twisted and misinterpreted over the course of centuries?

Maybe hitler was a good painter but everyone hated him.

[The New California Republic]

There is something that might need pointing out here: how much of the controversy of certain people is actually due to the words and actions of the person, and how much of it is due to those words and actions being twisted and misinterpreted over the course of centuries?

Maybe hitler was a good painter but everyone hated him.

Well I wouldn't go that far, as that falsehood is pretty clear-cut.

[Hypersensible Crybabies]

Roman emperor Theodosius I. He made Christianity the official religion of Roman Empire. Enough said...

[Lancaster of Wessex]

Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

There is something that might need pointing out here: how much of the controversy of certain people is actually due to the words and actions of the person, and how much of it is due to those words and actions being twisted and misinterpreted over the course of centuries?

Well, although what He actually said in terms of what the Gospels relay is debatable, for someone to be claiming to be the Son of Man with the power of forgiveness over sin and the sabbath and being the Messiah, i.e. God incarnate, is pretty controversial unto itself. Nobody ever claimed what He did at that time period apparently.

[Mathuvan Union]

Maybe hitler was a good painter but everyone hated him.

Well I wouldn't go that far, as that falsehood is pretty clear-cut.

I was thinking of adding Not Trolling pre emptively.

[Resilient Acceleration]

There is something that might need pointing out here: how much of the controversy of certain people is actually due to the words and actions of the person, and how much of it is due to those words and actions being twisted and misinterpreted over the course of centuries?

Maybe hitler was a good painter but everyone hated him.

IIRC, one of the selector's biggest criticism against Hitler's artworks is that they're too organized, orderly, and don't really show expression. After rejecting him, they even advised Hitler that he'll be more suitable in architecture. Considering that art is highly influenced by one's self, this felt like a bad premonition...

[Mathuvan Union]

Maybe hitler was a good painter but everyone hated him.

IIRC, one of the selector's biggest criticism against Hitler's artworks is that they're too organized, orderly, and don't really show expression. After rejecting him, they even advised Hitler that he'll be more suitable in architecture. Considering that art is highly influenced by one's self, this felt like a bad premonition...

maybe he should have followed that advice, who knows what have happened.
I still think he would have been a nazi.

[West Bromwich Holme]

Elon Musk - no doubt about it. From that infamous getting high on air moment, to ditching Tesla's PR department (emulating Trump strategy of "by tweet for developments?", and Tesla being controversial as it is).

The Tesla Model 3 doesn't look too bad, and the Model S is quite good, but I'm put off them, not to mention how expensive they are here.

[West Leas Oros 2]

This sounds like an alternate timeline, but it isn't. the world is strange.

The real alternate timeline is the fact that nationalist leader Gustav Kasserstrand posted a Reddit meme on his Twitter

Okay, I'll admit, that's a little funny. I'm a sucker for political compass memes. The only problem is he's missing the point.

[The New California Republic]

Maybe hitler was a good painter but everyone hated him.

IIRC, one of the selector's biggest criticism against Hitler's artworks is that they're too organized, orderly, and don't really show expression. After rejecting him, they even advised Hitler that he'll be more suitable in architecture. Considering that art is highly influenced by one's self, this felt like a bad premonition...

I'm sure everyone would much rather he'd designed some pretty mediocre and uninspired houses in comparison to what he did.

[Ethel mermania]

IIRC, one of the selector's biggest criticism against Hitler's artworks is that they're too organized, orderly, and don't really show expression. After rejecting him, they even advised Hitler that he'll be more suitable in architecture. Considering that art is highly influenced by one's self, this felt like a bad premonition...

I'm sure everyone would much rather he'd designed some pretty mediocre and uninspired houses in comparison to what he did.

In the question of "if you could change history in only one way, what would you do?". My answer is to bribe the judges to let hitler into art school.

[The Blaatschapen]

IIRC, one of the selector's biggest criticism against Hitler's artworks is that they're too organized, orderly, and don't really show expression. After rejecting him, they even advised Hitler that he'll be more suitable in architecture. Considering that art is highly influenced by one's self, this felt like a bad premonition...

I'm sure everyone would much rather he'd designed some pretty mediocre and uninspired houses in comparison to what he did.

Albert Speer is not afraid of the competition

[United Hemand Insia]

What? When? How?

Well Trump's fever came back and he sort of launched the US arsenal at Russia. So shortly is the answer. By the way I am safely in the Southern hemisphere.

I was literally scrolling down for the first mention of Trump.

[Sicilian Imperial-Capitalist Empire]

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.

Your list isn't that controversial. In fact, I'm going to take a moment to analyze all of these rulers.

Khufu: Poorly documented Egyptian pharaoh who is only known as that guy who built the pyramids. Not controversial

Sargon of Akkad: Conqueror who some claim to be responsible for building the very first empire. He's actually only known for his conquests as far as I know. Mildly controversial (is he good or bad? not a very controversial question, but might generate intrigue)

Akhenaten: Interesting pharaoh for abandoning traditional Egyptian religion and creating Atenism. It's still debated whether this was a power grab or legitimate attempt at stopping the clergy. Mildly controversial (he's not that evil regardless)

Alexander the Great: Great conqueror who introduced Greek culture to his empire who had some 20 cities named after himself and 1 after his horse. He was a military innovator and, despite the civil wars, his legacy would be one of peace and stability in the Middle East, a feat rarely achieved by any other nation in history. Currently, Macedonians and Greeks feud over exactly which nation Alexander belongs to. Not historically controversial Very controversial now

Qin Shi Huang: Founder of the Qin Dynasty and Chinese Imperial System, Huang is the only person on this list to be unanimously controversial. He cemented the Chinese state and grew it's borders, but also executed many scholars and intellectuals. He built many Chinese cultural wonders (most notably the Terracotta Army), but was simultaneously one of the single most authoritarian Chinese rulers in history. Very controversial

Constantine the Great: While still remaining a controversial figure among historians, I'm actually unsure of what to rank him. While he is potentially a controversial character, the fact that historians are still trying to take anti-Constantinian documents into account leaves me wondering if I should use them too (given how he's seemingly done such good if you exclude Christianity). Regardless, he has the potential to be highly controversial. Very controversial religiously Possibly controversial historically and now

Khusrau II: Persian shah who was constantly at war with either usurpers or Rome. That doesn't make him bad, really. It's just like most other ancient or medieval rulers. Not controversial

Wu Zetian: De facto Chinese empress who oversaw a period of prosperity and military expansion within China. One of her descendants was also a great emperor. Not controversial

Overall, apart from Qin Shi Huang, nobody else on the list is too controversial. You could argue that Alexander the Great is controversial as well, but not really since it's just a controversy over who Alexander belongs to.

There is one historical figure I will say could be potentially very controversial: Julius Caesar.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Christian Weston Chandler. He is also the most documented person in history.

[Ottoman Syldavia]

I believe it is Richard Nixon. He helped the US in many ideals, but... I mean... Water gate duh.

[United Hemand Insia]

I believe it is Richard Nixon. He helped the US in many ideals, but... I mean... Water gate duh.

That's a very good suggestion. I agree.

[Somerania]

Good point. I stand corrected. Though I still don't see how von Braun specifically can be blamed for it. Operation Paperclip and introducing a bunch of nasty fellows into the intelligence apparatus? Yeah, but I don't think von Braun ever had connections to that apparatus.

there was another one who certainly did because he was executed for war crimes.
Von Braun helped with the design of space suits, but likely only because of horrific tests performed on enslaved jews that involved oxygen deprivation.

Von Braun's and Kurt Tank's work did advance technology by a lot
We can thank the world wars for jet engines, spacecraft, guided missiles, automatic weapons, penicillin and several other modern medicines, instant ramen, computers and M&Ms

[Destyntine]

Christian Weston Chandler. He is also the most documented person in history.

I believe Christian is only the way he is because of the lack of proper guidance through his teens & twenties. If his parents got him a proper therapist to help with his disorder, it would have changed his entire history. Chris could have gotten into a small company with his coding skills and worked his way up from there. His parents were hoarders, they neglected him for the most part. When Bob died, Chris had lost the little guidance to stop him from becoming what he is today. The only people Chris had interaction with were destroying his life with misinformation that he actually believed due to his high functioning autism.

[The Blaatschapen]

Christian Weston Chandler. He is also the most documented person in history.

Their impact is minimal. I had to look them up, and for a modern day person, that is not a good sign.

And the wiki page was not from wikipedia, another bad sign that the person is not really impactful.

Which is fully okay, I also am not on wikipedia, but I'd also not put myself down as controversial. My impact on the world is about median average. Like most people, limited to my friends, family colleagues and the stranger on the bus.

[The New California Republic]

I believe it is Richard Nixon. He helped the US in many ideals, but... I mean... Water gate duh.

I mean...I guess...? Granted as far as presidencies go, his was a weird one. Obviously he eventually resigned but it's a bit of a mixed bag in terms of what he did overall.

[The Blaatschapen]

In a specifically American context, I'd say Robert E. Lee, given the ongoing debate about Confederate History contrasted with his generally well regarded moderate nature and battlefield success. Overall, however? Adolf Hitler, without question as we all live in the shadow of the Second World War.

How is Hitler positive?