Top 10 People of Social History 1450-2000
1. Sigmund Freud
2. Friedrich Nietzsche
3. Sans-Culottes
4. Maximilien Robespierre
5. Thomas Malthus
6. Bourgeoisie
7. Adolf Hitler
8. Simone De Beauvoir
9. Aleksander Dubcek
10. Joseph Stalin
- Sigmund Freud was a Viennese psychoanalyst famous for the development of psychoanalysis.
- 1856-1939
- Freud discovered the three parts of the human conscious (Id, Ego, Superego), and studied psychosexual stages in human development.
2. Friedrich Nietzsche
- Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who believed that Enlightenment ideals were worn out and that people should accept their meaningless importance in life to find success.
- 1844-1900
- Friedrich Nietzsche’s beliefs and work such as Untimely Meditations (1873) and On the Genealogy of Morals (1877) helped contribute to the rise of existentialism.
3. Sans-Culottes
- The Sans-Culottes were the laboring poor and petty traders that were distinguished by wearing long breeches versus the standard knickers.
- 18th and 19th centuries
- The Sans-Culottes wanted radical governing so that they would have a daily ration of bread and assisted the Mountain in gaining legislative power by taking down the Girondists.
4. Maximilien Robespierre
- Maximilien Robespierre was a French lawyer and delegate that had a great influence on leading the second revolution in France.
- 1758-1794
- Robespierre was a leader in the Mountain, the National Convention, the Committee of Public Safety, and led the highly criticized Reign of Terror.
5. Thomas Malthus
- Thomas Malthus was an economist or observer who wrote Essay on the Principle of Population.
- 1766-1834
- His work warned stated England that it needed to use population control to prevent disease, famine, and war.
6. Bourgeoisie
- The Bourgeoisie was the upper middle class in France and included factory owners and high businessmen.
- 19th and 20th centuries
- The Bourgeoisie were the higher classes that would take advantage of the proletariats for being easy money makers; Karl Marx predicted that the proletariats would make a massive overthrow of them.
7. Adolf Hitler
- Adolf Hitler was the German leader of National Socialism, and was an extreme racist anti-Semitist.
- 1889-1945
- Adolf Hitler’s work Mein Kampf, was propaganda to influence the development and spread of the idea of “space and race,” led to the holocaust, and also led to the Second World War.
8. Simone De Beauvoir
- Simone De Beauvoir is a French Feminist and wrote novels and biographies.
- 1908-1986
- Simone De Beauvoir is most famous for her metaphysical pieces, especially The Second Sex.
9. Aleksander Dubcek
- Aleksander Dubcek was the president of the Czechoslovakian government and was Communist.
- 1921-1992
- Dubcek released a series of liberating reforms such as Prague Spring, and was know for “socialism with a human face.”
10. Joseph Stalin
- Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Russian Communist Party and was talented at consolidating his power.
- 1879-1953
- Stalin released the five-year plan that stopped the NEP, cleverly overtook Trotsky in the elections, and was responsible for the collectivization of agriculture which drastically boosted Russian industrialization.