The Lesser Famous

[The Troquelet]

In our society we usually have 1 or 2 big Superstars for each category of society, while the lesser famous seem to slip under the carpet: like Isaac Newton for physics, Michael Jordan for basketball, etc.

How many of the following list of not-so-famous, but still very influential, people can you identify, and extra bonus if you can name their achievements. People of the same category are generally grouped together, for example the first few people made their names in government. In some places last names may be clues: if you remember basic chemistry, Joule's significance should be obvious.

Haile Selassie
Anwar el-Sadat
El Cid
Guiseppe Garibaldi
Ibn Battuta
Jacques Cartier
Mungo Park
John Cabot
Arthur Brown and John Alcock
Valentina Tereshkova
Timothy Berners-Lee
Werner Heisenberg
James Joule
William Thomson
Wilhelm Rontgen
Enrico Fermi
Joseph Priestley
Fritz Haber
Carolus Linnaeus
Rosalind Franklin
Mary Anning
Vilhelm Bjerknes
Isambard Brunel
George Goethals
Guglielmo Marconi
Robert Watson-Watt
Eli Whitney
Cyrus McCormick
Elisha Otis
Frank Whittle
Karl Benz
John Holland
Joseph Montgolfier
Igor Sikorsky
Thomas Sopwith
Gunpei Yokoi
George de Mestral
Clarence Birdseye
Emily Bronte
Jules Verne
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Louisa May Alcott
La Fontaine
George Orwell/Eric Blair
Dante Alighieri
Jean Baptiste Pocquelin/Moliere
Edmond Rostand
Anton Chekhov
Thomas Paine

Total is 50 names. If you can believe it, somewhere on the above list are the inventors of safe elevators, the helicopter, radar, the Internet, frozen food, the jet engine, and Velcro... see how many of those oft-used inventions you can match with their creator.

 

[amadeus]

Anwar el-Sadat
Timothy Berners-Lee
James Joule
Guglielmo Marconi
Robert Watson-Watt
Eli Whitney
Eric Blair
Thomas Paine

8. I guess my ignorance will live in "infamy" [insert trumpets playing wah-wah sound]

 

[Switch625]

Originally posted by The Troquelet

Haile Selassie
Anwar el-Sadat
Jacques Cartier
John Cabot
Timothy Berners-Lee
Werner Heisenberg
James Joule
William Thomson
Wilhelm Rontgen
Enrico Fermi
Joseph Priestley
Guglielmo Marconi
Robert Watson-Watt
Eli Whitney
Cyrus McCormick
Elisha Otis
Karl Benz
Joseph Montgolfier
Igor Sikorsky
Thomas Sopwith
Clarence Birdseye
Emily Bronte
Jules Verne
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Louisa May Alcott
George Orwell/Eric Blair
Dante Alighieri
Anton Chekhov
Thomas Paine

These are the names on this list I recognized. 29. A little over half.

 

[sysyphus]

Jacques Cartier: Famous French explorer, essentialy the father of Québec

John Cabot: The first Newfie.

 

[amadeus]

I do remember Cartier from somewhere before, but I had only matched the names that I had known what the people did. I've seen all of the names, I just don't remember their accomplishments.

 

[Kevinicus]

El Cid was a Spanish fighter in the 11 century.
I use his name for various other games.

 

[Greadius]

I can identify 21, and recognized 28. After starting a mini-bio for the ones I recognized, I realize its way too time consuming, so I leave that to someone else


Still, most inventors/scientist/engineer types aren't those destined for stardom. It is usually their inventions which gain notariety. I'm sure most people will recognize the authors and political figures who always have their names plastered with their accomplishments. But, for example, where in the dawn of the radio would Marconi's name become significant but for the most avid or observant. It just goes to show you: if you ever invent anything, name it after yourself. Nobody ever wonders what Richard J. Gatling's contribution was.

 

[Perfection]

Carolus Linnaeus: Botanist, Biologist
Werner Heisenberg: Quantum Physicist
Eli Whitney: Cotton Gin
James Joule: Chemist, specialized in thermodynamics
Igor Sikorsky: Heliocopter
Jules Verne: 19 century Sci-fi writer
George Orwell/Eric Blair: My hero! 1984 rules!
Anwar el-Sadat: Math dude
Karl Benz: Invented the Gasoline powered engine

Thats all I can think of offhandedly

 

[amadeus]

Perfection - Anwar el-Sadat was the President of Egypt during the 1970's.

 

[newfangle]

14, all the science related ones mostly.

 

[Sanaz]

I only recognized eleven, but I'm not positive what each one has done (some scientists, some authors, and I believe one explorer and one politicain). I have no idea who the other 39 are, but my memory may jog with some of the posts...

Here's my eleven : Werner Heisenberg, James Joule, Enrico Fermi, Eli Whitney, Emily Bronte, Jules Verne, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Louisa May Alcott, La Fontaine, George Orwell, Thomas Paine

 

[Smaasnekje]

Haile Selassie
El Cid
John Cabot
Karl Benz
Jules Verne
George Orwell/Eric Blair
Dante Alighieri

I only got 7

 

[Perfection]

Originally posted by rmsharpe
Perfection - Anwar el-Sadat was the President of Egypt during the 1970's.

Really, I'd swear he was a mathematician. HMMMMMMMMMMMM

I'll have to consult my texts

 

[The Troquelet]

Yep, I believe he was the first Arab leader to officially recognize Israel. I'm surprised nobody recognized Valentina, she was the first woman in space [I'm assuming people are reading the thread AFTER voting in the poll]. Rontgen's rays which he discovered, were later renamed X-rays.

 

[Archer 007]

I knew 11. Heard of a few others.

 

[amadeus]

Originally posted by The Troquelet
Yep, I believe he was the first Arab leader to officially recognize Israel. I'm surprised nobody recognized Valentina, she was the first woman in space [I'm assuming people are reading the thread AFTER voting in the poll]. Rontgen's rays which he discovered, were later renamed X-rays.

Geez! I read through your post three times and I missed that one every time. I knew who Valentina was, d'oh!

 

[Jeratain]

Anwar el-Sadat
Ibn Battuta
Eli Whitney
Emily Bronte
Jules Verne
George Orwell/Eric Blair
Jean Baptiste Pocquelin/Moliere
Thomas Paine

 

[ejday]

27 sounded familiar; of those I could identify 19 (some better than others).

 

[Panda]

28 sounded familiar, 20 I could (or thought I could) identify.

 

[jpowers]

Originally posted by The Troquelet

Haile Selassie - leader of Ethiopia, prophet of Rastafarianism
Anwar el-Sadat - leader of Egypt during Israeli war
El Cid - Spanish guy
Guiseppe Garibaldi - Founder of Monaco?
John Cabot - English explorer
Timothy Berners-Lee - Heard of him, but why?
Werner Heisenberg - Uncertainty principle
James Joule - Electrician (I know, just kidding)
Wilhelm Rontgen - X-Ray guy
Enrico Fermi - Nobel winner, wasn't he?
Carolus Linnaeus - biologist
George Goethals - know the name, not the reason
Guglielmo Marconi - Radio
Eli Whitney - Cotton gin - is this a cocktail?
Cyrus McCormick - More farming equipment
Karl Benz - Automobiles
Joseph Montgolfier - Balloons
Igor Sikorsky - Helicopter
Thomas Sopwith - Aviation
George de Mestral - Poet
Emily Bronte - Author/Poet (Wuthering Heights)
Jules Verne - Sci-Fi Author (Around the World in 80 Days)
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Author (Crime and Punishment?)
Louisa May Alcott - Author (Little Women)
George Orwell/Eric Blair - Author (1984)
Dante Alighieri - Author (Inferno)
Jean Baptiste Pocquelin/Moliere - Playwrite (Scapin)
Anton Chekhov - Playwrite (Cherry Tree)
Thomas Paine - Author/Philosopher (Common Sense)

High School was a long time ago...