History Hot 100 results: the historical figures who fascinated you most in 2017
We asked readers and historians to vote for the historical figures that most interest them at the moment. The results are in: this is the History Hot 100 for 2017
Welcome to this year’s BBC History Magazine Hot 100 list, featuring the historical figures that have been fascinating you in 2017. We asked you to each nominate up to three people, who could have lived in any historical period (but who died more than 30 years ago). The full list is presented here, along with comments on the results from historians. The characters and rankings are bound to provoke controversy…
(*denotes new entry in 2017)
100 Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806–59*
British civil and mechanical engineer
99 Francis Drake
c1540–1596*
English admiral and navigator
98 Christopher Columbus
c1451–1506*
Italian explorer and navigator
97 Catherine Howard
c1524–42*
Fifth wife of Henry VIII
96 Anne Neville
1456–85
Queen consort of Richard III
95 Simon de Montfort
c1208–65*
Rebel baron
94 Nikola Tesla
1856–1943*
Serbian-American inventor
93 Isabella of France
1295–1358*
Queen consort of Edward II
92 Margaret Tudor
1489–1541*
Daughter of Henry VII, sister of Henry VIII
91 King Arthur
possibly sixth century*
Legendary British warrior and king
90 Cecily Neville
1415–95*
Mother of Edward IV and Richard III
89 Richard I
1157–99
English king, known as ‘the Lionheart’
88 Thomas More
1478–1535
Tudor statesman and author
87 Thomas Jefferson
1743–1826
Founding Father and third US president
86 Marie Curie
1867–1934
*
Polish-French physicist and chemist
85 Hatshepsut
c1507 BC–c1458 BC*
One of only a few known ancient Egyptian female pharaohs, Hatshepsut reigned in her own right, from c1473–58 BC. However, Hatshepsut’s royal reign really began in c1479 BC when she acted as regent for her infant stepson, Thutmose III. By the end of his seventh regnal year, Hatshepsut had been crowned king and had adopted all pharaonic titles and regalia, co-ruling with her stepson. In images, she was depicted with a male body wearing the traditional pharaonic kilt, crown and false beard. New entry in 2017
84 Harold II
c1022–1066
England’s last Anglo-Saxon king
83 Catherine de Medici
1519–89*
Italian noblewoman and queen of France
82 Bess of Hardwick
1527–1608*
Elizabethan noblewoman
81 Anne Frank
1929–45*
German-born Jewish diarist
80 Muhammad
c570–632
Prophet and founder of Islam
79 John of Gaunt
1340–99*
Third surviving son of Edward III
78 Isabella I of Castile
1451–1504*
Queen of Castile and Aragon
77 George Washington
1732–99*
Founding father and first US president
76 Anne of Cleves
1515–57
German-born fourth wife of Henry VIII
75 Florence Nightingale
1820–1910
*
Founder of modern nursing
74 Owain Glyndwr
c1350–c1416*
Welsh ruler and rebel
73 Marie Antoinette
1755–93*
Austrian-born queen of France
72 Katherine Parr
1512–48
Sixth and last wife of Henry VIII
71 Vlad the Impaler
1431–76*
Prince of Wallachia, Romania
70 Leonardo da Vinci
1452–1519
Italian Renaissance polymath
69 Edward III
1312–77*
King of England
68 Charles I
1600–49
King of England, Scotland and Ireland
67 Charles Dickens
1812–70
*
British writer and social critic
66 Katherine Swynford
1350–1403
Third wife of John of Gaunt
65 Albert Einstein
1879–1955
German-born theoretical physicist
64 Cleopatra
69 BC–30 BC*
Last active pharaoh of ancient Egypt
63 Alan Turing
1912–54*
Computer scientist and cryptanalyst
62 Tsar Nicholas II
1868–1918
Last emperor of Russia
61 Lady Jane Grey
1537–54
Queen of England for nine days
60 Joseph Goebbels
1897–1945*
Propaganda minister for Nazi Germany
59 Franklin D Roosevelt
1882–1945
32nd US president
58 Charles Darwin
1809–82
British naturalist, geologist and biologist
57 King John
1166/67–1216
King of England who sealed Magna Carta
56 Clement Attlee
1883–1967
British prime minister
55 Alexander Hamilton
c1755/57–1804
Alexander Hamilton came to the attention of George Washington during the American Revolutionary War, becoming the general’s aide-de-camp. After training as a lawyer, he was elected to the lower house of the New York legislature and eventually earned himself a place at the Constitutional Convention as representative for New York. Hamilton was consequently one of the founding fathers of the US Constitution, and had a profound influence on its ratification. When Washington was elected to the presidency, he appointed Hamilton the country’s first secretary of the treasury.
Down 40 places from 2016
54 1st Duke of Wellington
1769–1852
British prime minister and military leader
53 Henry V
1387–1422
King of England and victor at Agincourt
52 Francisco Franco
1892–1975*
Military dictator of Spain
51 Æthelflæd
c870–918*
Anglo-Saxon ruler of Mercia
50 Mahatma Gandhi
1869–1948
Born to a wealthy Hindu family in north-west India, Gandhi’s first experiences of nonviolent civil disobedience came while he was practising law in South Africa, in response to the Indian community’s struggle for civil rights. In around 1921 he became leader of the Indian National Congress, leading campaigns for a number of social causes and to end British rule in India. One of his most famous protests was the 240-mile Dandi Salt March of 1930, challenging the British-imposed salt tax. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948.
Non-mover from 2016
49 Catherine the Great
1729–96
The daughter of a minor German prince, Catherine (born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst) became a member of Russian royalty following her marriage to Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne. Catherine overthrew her husband shortly after he became tsar in 1762, and was declared empress, a title she would hold for more than 30 years. Expanding the empire was her priority: territories gained during her reign include Crimea, Belarus and Lithuania. She was also a great patron of the arts and education.
Down 19 places from 2016
48 Charles II
1630–85
King of England, Scotland and Ireland
47 Louis XIV
1638–1715
French monarch, known as the Sun King
46 Karl Marx
1818–83
German philosopher and political theorist
45 Edward I
1239–1307*
King of England
44 Augustus
63 BC–14 AD*
Considered the first Roman emperor
43 Julius Caesar
100 BC–44 BC
Roman ruler, general and statesman
42 John F Kennedy
1917–63
35th US president
41 Genghis Khan
1162–1227*
Founder of the Mongol empire
40 Isaac Newton
1643–1727
Mathematician, astronomer and physicist
39 Henry II
1133–89
First Plantagenet king of England
38 Oswald Mosley
1896–1980*
Leader of the British Union of Fascists
37 Vladimir Lenin
1870–1924*
Russian communist revolutionary
36 Joan of Arc
1412–31
French martyr, saint and military leader
35 Martin Luther King
1929–68
Religious activist and civil rights leader
34 Jane Austen
1775–1817*
This year sees the 200th anniversary of both Jane Austen’s death and the publication of two of her novels: Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Austen’s first known writings date from c1787, with Sense and Sensibility the earliest of her novels to be published in her lifetime, in 1795. Austen, who never married, is celebrated as one of England’s favourite authors: her six novels – all published anonymously at first – are a window into the life of the landed gentry in the 18th and 19th centuries. She is believed to have died of Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder. New entry in 2017
33 Empress Matilda
1102–67
Claimant to the English throne
32 Catherine of Aragon
1485–1536
Spanish-born first wife of Henry VIII
31 William the Conqueror
c1028–87
First Norman king of England
30 Abraham Lincoln
1809–65
16th US president and opponent of slavery
29 Josef Stalin
1878–1953
Soviet revolutionary and dictator
28 Boudica
c30–60
Ancient British queen of the Iceni tribe
27 Alexander the Great
356 BC–323 BC
King of Macedonia
26 Mary I
1516–58
England’s first queen regnant
25 Horatio Nelson
1758–1805
British naval commander
24 Edward IV
1442–83
First Yorkist king of England
23 Emmeline Pankhurst
1858–1928
British suffragist and political activist
22 Thomas Cromwell
1485–1540
Born the son of a Putney brewer, Cromwell’s big break came when he landed a job working for Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII’s powerful first minister. When Wolsey fell from grace after failing to gain papal permission to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Cromwell advised Henry to break with Rome and make himself head of the Church of England, allowing the king to marry Anne Boleyn. Cromwell soon became Henry’s right-hand man but ended up on the scaffold having arranged the king’s disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves.
Down 14 places from 2016
21 Oliver Cromwell
1599–1658
English soldier and statesman
20 Napoleon Bonaparte
1769–1821
French military and political leader
19 Martin Luther
1483–1546
On 31 October 1517, after witnessing corruption in the Catholic church, German theologian Martin Luther supposedly nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. In them, he condemned the practice of selling ‘indulgences’ to absolve sin and stated that salvation could be reached by faith, not deeds. Luther was condemned by the Catholic church but his work sparked the Protestant Reformation.
Up 36 places from 2016
18 Margaret Beaufort
1443–1509
Mother of King Henry VII
17 Elizabeth of York
1466–1503
Queen consort of Henry VII
16 Elizabeth Woodville
1437–92
Queen consort of Edward IV
15 Jesus Christ
c6-4 BC–30 AD
Religious leader central to Christianity
14 William Marshal
c1146/47–1219
Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman
13 Benito Mussolini
1883–1945
Italian Fascist dictator
12 Henry VII
1457–1509
First Tudor king of England
11 Mary, Queen of Scots
1542–87
Scottish queen and French queen consort
10 Henry VIII
1491–1547
King of England
9 William Shakespeare
1564–1616
English poet, playwright and actor
8 Queen Victoria
1819–1901
British queen and empress of India
7 Adolf Hitler
1889–1945
Dictator of Nazi Germany
6 Winston Churchill
1874–1965
British wartime prime minister
5 Anne Boleyn
c1501–36
Anne spent much of her childhood at the French court, returning to England in 1522 where she proceeded to dazzle Henry VIII. By 1533, Anne was pregnant with the king’s child and the pair were secretly married. In 1534, Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was finally annulled and Anne was crowned queen. But a series of failed pregnancies combined with accusations of adultery saw Anne sent to the scaffold in 1536.
Down 1 place from 2016
4 Elizabeth I
1533–1603
Queen of England
3 Alfred the Great 849–899
King of Wessex
2 Eleanor of Aquitaine
c1122–1204
Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, became one of the most powerful women in Europe when she married Louis, heir
to Louis VI of France in late July 1137. The French king died the following month and Eleanor became queen of France, a title she would hold for 15 years. An unsuccessful crusade to the Holy Land in 1147–49, combined with Eleanor’s perceived failure to provide Louis with a son, soured the relationship and the couple divorced in 1152. Her second marriage to the future Henry II saw her become queen of England and, later, mother to the future Richard I.
Up 5 places from 2016
Holding on to the top spot…
1 Richard III
1452–85
Interest in the Yorkist king reached fever pitch in 2012 when his remains were found beneath a Leicester car park.
Mystery still surrounds Richard, not least whether he was responsible for the deaths of his nephews – Edward V and his younger brother, Richard – who mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of London in the summer of 1483.
Richard III’s death at the battle of Bosworth heralded the dawn of the Tudor dynasty as Henry Tudor took the throne of England, marrying Richard’s niece, Elizabeth of York. Five monarchs would sit on the throne for more than a century of Tudor rule. Richard III, meanwhile, still continues to divide opinion.
What did the experts say? Click here to read the verdict of 12 leading historians
Welcome to this year’s BBC History Magazine Hot 100 list, featuring the historical figures that have been fascinating you in 2017. We asked you to each nominate up to three people, who could have lived in any historical period (but who died more than 30 years ago). The full list is presented here, along with comments on the results from historians. The characters and rankings are bound to provoke controversy…
(*denotes new entry in 2017)
100 Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806–59*
British civil and mechanical engineer
99 Francis Drake
c1540–1596*
English admiral and navigator
98 Christopher Columbus
c1451–1506*
Italian explorer and navigator
97 Catherine Howard
c1524–42*
Fifth wife of Henry VIII
96 Anne Neville
1456–85
Queen consort of Richard III
95 Simon de Montfort
c1208–65*
Rebel baron
94 Nikola Tesla
1856–1943*
Serbian-American inventor
93 Isabella of France
1295–1358*
Queen consort of Edward II
92 Margaret Tudor
1489–1541*
Daughter of Henry VII, sister of Henry VIII
91 King Arthur
possibly sixth century*
Legendary British warrior and king
90 Cecily Neville
1415–95*
Mother of Edward IV and Richard III
89 Richard I
1157–99
English king, known as ‘the Lionheart’
88 Thomas More
1478–1535
Tudor statesman and author
87 Thomas Jefferson
1743–1826
Founding Father and third US president
86 Marie Curie
1867–1934
*
Polish-French physicist and chemist
85 Hatshepsut
c1507 BC–c1458 BC*
One of only a few known ancient Egyptian female pharaohs, Hatshepsut reigned in her own right, from c1473–58 BC. However, Hatshepsut’s royal reign really began in c1479 BC when she acted as regent for her infant stepson, Thutmose III. By the end of his seventh regnal year, Hatshepsut had been crowned king and had adopted all pharaonic titles and regalia, co-ruling with her stepson. In images, she was depicted with a male body wearing the traditional pharaonic kilt, crown and false beard. New entry in 2017
84 Harold II
c1022–1066
England’s last Anglo-Saxon king
83 Catherine de Medici
1519–89*
Italian noblewoman and queen of France
82 Bess of Hardwick
1527–1608*
Elizabethan noblewoman
81 Anne Frank
1929–45*
German-born Jewish diarist
80 Muhammad
c570–632
Prophet and founder of Islam
79 John of Gaunt
1340–99*
Third surviving son of Edward III
78 Isabella I of Castile
1451–1504*
Queen of Castile and Aragon
77 George Washington
1732–99*
Founding father and first US president
76 Anne of Cleves
1515–57
German-born fourth wife of Henry VIII
75 Florence Nightingale
1820–1910
*
Founder of modern nursing
74 Owain Glyndwr
c1350–c1416*
Welsh ruler and rebel
73 Marie Antoinette
1755–93*
Austrian-born queen of France
72 Katherine Parr
1512–48
Sixth and last wife of Henry VIII
71 Vlad the Impaler
1431–76*
Prince of Wallachia, Romania
70 Leonardo da Vinci
1452–1519
Italian Renaissance polymath
69 Edward III
1312–77*
King of England
68 Charles I
1600–49
King of England, Scotland and Ireland
67 Charles Dickens
1812–70
*
British writer and social critic
66 Katherine Swynford
1350–1403
Third wife of John of Gaunt
65 Albert Einstein
1879–1955
German-born theoretical physicist
64 Cleopatra
69 BC–30 BC*
Last active pharaoh of ancient Egypt
63 Alan Turing
1912–54*
Computer scientist and cryptanalyst
62 Tsar Nicholas II
1868–1918
Last emperor of Russia
61 Lady Jane Grey
1537–54
Queen of England for nine days
60 Joseph Goebbels
1897–1945*
Propaganda minister for Nazi Germany
59 Franklin D Roosevelt
1882–1945
32nd US president
58 Charles Darwin
1809–82
British naturalist, geologist and biologist
57 King John
1166/67–1216
King of England who sealed Magna Carta
56 Clement Attlee
1883–1967
British prime minister
55 Alexander Hamilton
c1755/57–1804
Alexander Hamilton came to the attention of George Washington during the American Revolutionary War, becoming the general’s aide-de-camp. After training as a lawyer, he was elected to the lower house of the New York legislature and eventually earned himself a place at the Constitutional Convention as representative for New York. Hamilton was consequently one of the founding fathers of the US Constitution, and had a profound influence on its ratification. When Washington was elected to the presidency, he appointed Hamilton the country’s first secretary of the treasury.
Down 40 places from 2016
54 1st Duke of Wellington
1769–1852
British prime minister and military leader
53 Henry V
1387–1422
King of England and victor at Agincourt
52 Francisco Franco
1892–1975*
Military dictator of Spain
51 Æthelflæd
c870–918*
Anglo-Saxon ruler of Mercia
50 Mahatma Gandhi
1869–1948
Born to a wealthy Hindu family in north-west India, Gandhi’s first experiences of nonviolent civil disobedience came while he was practising law in South Africa, in response to the Indian community’s struggle for civil rights. In around 1921 he became leader of the Indian National Congress, leading campaigns for a number of social causes and to end British rule in India. One of his most famous protests was the 240-mile Dandi Salt March of 1930, challenging the British-imposed salt tax. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948.
Non-mover from 2016
49 Catherine the Great
1729–96
The daughter of a minor German prince, Catherine (born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst) became a member of Russian royalty following her marriage to Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne. Catherine overthrew her husband shortly after he became tsar in 1762, and was declared empress, a title she would hold for more than 30 years. Expanding the empire was her priority: territories gained during her reign include Crimea, Belarus and Lithuania. She was also a great patron of the arts and education.
Down 19 places from 2016
48 Charles II
1630–85
King of England, Scotland and Ireland
47 Louis XIV
1638–1715
French monarch, known as the Sun King
46 Karl Marx
1818–83
German philosopher and political theorist
45 Edward I
1239–1307*
King of England
44 Augustus
63 BC–14 AD*
Considered the first Roman emperor
43 Julius Caesar
100 BC–44 BC
Roman ruler, general and statesman
42 John F Kennedy
1917–63
35th US president
41 Genghis Khan
1162–1227*
Founder of the Mongol empire
40 Isaac Newton
1643–1727
Mathematician, astronomer and physicist
39 Henry II
1133–89
First Plantagenet king of England
38 Oswald Mosley
1896–1980*
Leader of the British Union of Fascists
37 Vladimir Lenin
1870–1924*
Russian communist revolutionary
36 Joan of Arc
1412–31
French martyr, saint and military leader
35 Martin Luther King
1929–68
Religious activist and civil rights leader
34 Jane Austen
1775–1817*
This year sees the 200th anniversary of both Jane Austen’s death and the publication of two of her novels: Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Austen’s first known writings date from c1787, with Sense and Sensibility the earliest of her novels to be published in her lifetime, in 1795. Austen, who never married, is celebrated as one of England’s favourite authors: her six novels – all published anonymously at first – are a window into the life of the landed gentry in the 18th and 19th centuries. She is believed to have died of Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder. New entry in 2017
33 Empress Matilda
1102–67
Claimant to the English throne
32 Catherine of Aragon
1485–1536
Spanish-born first wife of Henry VIII
31 William the Conqueror
c1028–87
First Norman king of England
30 Abraham Lincoln
1809–65
16th US president and opponent of slavery
29 Josef Stalin
1878–1953
Soviet revolutionary and dictator
28 Boudica
c30–60
Ancient British queen of the Iceni tribe
27 Alexander the Great
356 BC–323 BC
King of Macedonia
26 Mary I
1516–58
England’s first queen regnant
25 Horatio Nelson
1758–1805
British naval commander
24 Edward IV
1442–83
First Yorkist king of England
23 Emmeline Pankhurst
1858–1928
British suffragist and political activist
22 Thomas Cromwell
1485–1540
Born the son of a Putney brewer, Cromwell’s big break came when he landed a job working for Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII’s powerful first minister. When Wolsey fell from grace after failing to gain papal permission to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Cromwell advised Henry to break with Rome and make himself head of the Church of England, allowing the king to marry Anne Boleyn. Cromwell soon became Henry’s right-hand man but ended up on the scaffold having arranged the king’s disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves.
Down 14 places from 2016
21 Oliver Cromwell
1599–1658
English soldier and statesman
20 Napoleon Bonaparte
1769–1821
French military and political leader
19 Martin Luther
1483–1546
On 31 October 1517, after witnessing corruption in the Catholic church, German theologian Martin Luther supposedly nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. In them, he condemned the practice of selling ‘indulgences’ to absolve sin and stated that salvation could be reached by faith, not deeds. Luther was condemned by the Catholic church but his work sparked the Protestant Reformation.
Up 36 places from 2016
18 Margaret Beaufort
1443–1509
Mother of King Henry VII
17 Elizabeth of York
1466–1503
Queen consort of Henry VII
16 Elizabeth Woodville
1437–92
Queen consort of Edward IV
15 Jesus Christ
c6-4 BC–30 AD
Religious leader central to Christianity
14 William Marshal
c1146/47–1219
Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman
13 Benito Mussolini
1883–1945
Italian Fascist dictator
12 Henry VII
1457–1509
First Tudor king of England
11 Mary, Queen of Scots
1542–87
Scottish queen and French queen consort
10 Henry VIII
1491–1547
King of England
9 William Shakespeare
1564–1616
English poet, playwright and actor
8 Queen Victoria
1819–1901
British queen and empress of India
7 Adolf Hitler
1889–1945
Dictator of Nazi Germany
6 Winston Churchill
1874–1965
British wartime prime minister
5 Anne Boleyn
c1501–36
Anne spent much of her childhood at the French court, returning to England in 1522 where she proceeded to dazzle Henry VIII. By 1533, Anne was pregnant with the king’s child and the pair were secretly married. In 1534, Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was finally annulled and Anne was crowned queen. But a series of failed pregnancies combined with accusations of adultery saw Anne sent to the scaffold in 1536.
Down 1 place from 2016
4 Elizabeth I
1533–1603
Queen of England
3 Alfred the Great 849–899
King of Wessex
2 Eleanor of Aquitaine
c1122–1204
Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, became one of the most powerful women in Europe when she married Louis, heir
to Louis VI of France in late July 1137. The French king died the following month and Eleanor became queen of France, a title she would hold for 15 years. An unsuccessful crusade to the Holy Land in 1147–49, combined with Eleanor’s perceived failure to provide Louis with a son, soured the relationship and the couple divorced in 1152. Her second marriage to the future Henry II saw her become queen of England and, later, mother to the future Richard I.
Up 5 places from 2016
Holding on to the top spot…
1 Richard III
1452–85
Interest in the Yorkist king reached fever pitch in 2012 when his remains were found beneath a Leicester car park.
Mystery still surrounds Richard, not least whether he was responsible for the deaths of his nephews – Edward V and his younger brother, Richard – who mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of London in the summer of 1483.
Richard III’s death at the battle of Bosworth heralded the dawn of the Tudor dynasty as Henry Tudor took the throne of England, marrying Richard’s niece, Elizabeth of York. Five monarchs would sit on the throne for more than a century of Tudor rule. Richard III, meanwhile, still continues to divide opinion.
What did the experts say? Click here to read the verdict of 12 leading historians
Want to find out how the list compares to 2016? Read more here…
