Who is the most famous person of all time?

[AMart]

It can be someone from the past, or someone current. Who is the most well known person in the time he or she was alive? It can be a president, or some other historical icon, anyone.

Elvis and The Beatles were before my time and I hear they were HUGE, which makes sense since they still are huge. In their hay day, The Beatles drew massive crowds in the US and England. Crowds formed at airports when they arrived, etc.

That said, the same shit happened with Michael Jackson in the US and England, and in Russia, and in Brazil, and in Spain, and in Nigeria, etc. Michael was beloved all across the world. Interviews with him were prime time watching. He was the grand finale of every award show he ever went to and the most famous man in every room he ever stepped in, including inside the Oval Office. He was a phenomenon unlike anything ive ever seen in my 49 years on Earth.

Can anyone name someone bigger than Michael Jackson was?

Jesus duh

 

[whitehall]

Years ago before pop culture and the internet, Americans would be asked which person was most influential in their lives. Today it's "stars" and the Beatles and Michael Jackson. WTF happened to America?

 

[Godboy]

Jesus.

Wasnt his fame local to just Israel and maybe some surrounding territories at that time?

 

[Godboy]

Jesus duh

In the OP i bolded the part that says "when he was alive".

 

[Godboy]

Years ago before pop culture and the internet, Americans would be asked which person was most influential in their lives. Today it's "stars" and the Beatles and Michael Jackson. WTF happened to America?

I think people ask that too, but they also ask other questions, like the one in the OP.

 

[Godboy]

Im starting to think that more humans knew about Hitler when he was alive than anyone else, even Michael Jackson.

 

[Lastamender]

Bigger than Michael Jackson?

The average 12 year old?

 

[DukeU]

Wasnt his fame local to just Israel and maybe some surrounding territories at that time?

In the beginning yes. But, his story/fame spread around the globe. I mean look at this, here we are talking about him how many years later?!? That's how famous he was and is.

 

[AMart]

In the OP i bolded the part that says "when he was alive".

Ok. By alive I would go with Genghis Khan or maybe a roman emperor.

 

[Godboy]

In the beginning yes. But, his story/fame spread around the globe. I mean look at this, here we are talking about him how many years later?!? That's how famous he was and is.

True, but that doesnt count. It has to be the most famous person when they were alive. I did make that part bold in the OP.

 

[AMart]

Im starting to think that more humans knew about Hitler when he was alive than anyone else, even Michael Jackson.

He got a bad rap. Stalin was worse.

 

[Godboy]

Ok. By alive I would go with Genghis Khan or maybe a roman emperor.

How many people do you think knew them? I now think Hitler is the most famous person globally in his time.

 

[Winco]

Confucius and Muhammad.

 

[Godboy]

He got a bad rap. Stalin was worse.

Probably true, but i think Hitler was more famous.

 

[Godboy]

Confucius and Muhammad.

How many people knew them when they were alive? Cant be that many. News didnt travel the globe in those days.

 

[DukeU]

True, but that doesnt count. It has to be the most famous person when they were alive. I did make that part bold in the OP.

Fair enough, but we will never know the answer to that. It's all speculation.

Mike Tyson???

 

[AMart]

Confucius and Muhammad.

Islam spread after his death.

 

[Godboy]

Fair enough, but we will never know the answer to that. It's all speculation.

Mike Tyson???

Ive never seen Tyson get mobbed like Michael Jackson. Its a good guess though. You would be hard pressed to find someone in a 3rd world country who doesnt know Tyson.

 

[Godboy]

Islam spread after his death.

That doesnt mean that billions knew who he was when he was alive. Any fame gained after his death doesnt count.

 

[Godboy]

Is it Obama? Everyone around the globe must know him, right? Cant the same be said about Trump too though?