What does it mean to be famous? For example, Chesley Sullenberger got into second position in the ranking of the Top 100 most influential people of 2009 just for a successful emergency landing of a plane, as a result of which no one was injured. But time passes, and all these rating names are erased and dissolved behind millions of the same rating names. But there are ten people who are known in every part of the globe. They knew about them, they know about them and will continue to know about them. And we invite you to remember these ten people in the Top Greatest People of All Time. The names on the list are arranged in ascending order, from tenth to the most important, first place.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Sir Isaac Newton
If you were to rank people for a query on Google, then Albert Einstein would be in tenth place; in one month, the query “Albert Einstein” gets up to 6.1 million search queries. But much more books have been written about Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein is unlikely to ever be able to defeat him in this sense. Sir Isaac Newton discovered the Law of Attraction, coined the term “gravity,” invented the reflecting telescope, defeated the Roman Catholic Church with the rationale for geocentrism, and determined that every object in the Universe, even the smallest one, moves. In his spare time, Newton studied the principles of optics. He lived a long life and died at the age of 84.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Leonardo da Vinci
In the case of one of history's greatest men, Leonardo da Vinci, a Google search can be quite inaccurate. And if you enter only the name “Leonardo,” Google will return a bunch of links to Ninja Turtles and people who drowned on the Titanic. But if you type the full name of Leonardo da Vinci, you will immediately discover that he is known throughout the world. A man who could do anything. And all the books about him and his inventions are perhaps the largest and most interesting summary in the world. He was an engineer, inventor, anatomist, architect, mathematician, geologist, musician, cartographer, botanist, writer and sculptor. He invented a rifle, even if it didn’t immediately look like what we used to call a rifle, but Leonardo’s rifle could shoot at a distance of 1000 yards. He invented the parachute, 300 years before it was officially invented. He invented the hang glider, 400 years before its official invention. Leonardo's hang glider was based on the work of bird wings. He could imagine what a helicopter should be like, but he could not understand what kind of force it would have to be to lift such a structure into the air. He invented a tank, which was a structure driven by a crankshaft. The structure could move and shoot simultaneously and in different directions. He invented scissors by connecting two knives with a bolt.
Along with incredible inventions for his time, Leonardo was a magnificent artist and sculptor. The work “Mona Lisa” is a masterpiece of world portraiture, around which controversy continues to this day.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is a man whom we repeat every day, quoting and not even suspecting that it was he who came up with this phrase or expression. This is amazing, remember how often you say something like this: “all that glitters is not gold”, “a pitiful sight”, “food of the gods”, “all’s well that ends well”. It's all Shakespeare. And of course, the maestro’s most famous phrase: “to be or not to be.” Egil Aarvik, a spokesman for the Nobel Prize Committee, once said that Shakespeare would be the only person who could qualify for the Nobel Prize more than once.
Speaking about Shakespeare's work, we can say almost nothing unambiguously about him himself. About his life, about him as a person. We only know that he was a simple actor, and then suddenly he suddenly became the greatest playwright. This gives rise to an incredible amount of rumors about whether Shakespeare was Shakespeare.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Adolf Gitler
Everyone knows who Adolf Hitler is. We all know that this man is the root cause of World War II. He provoked the war for two main reasons, so to speak. First: become the most powerful man on Earth and in history, and rule the world. The second reason: to create as much pain as possible against all those whom he personally considered responsible for putting Germany in an insulting and humiliating position after the First World War.
Hitler was an excellent speaker, and he knew what his compatriots wanted to hear and knew that they felt the same feelings towards the offenders of Germany as he did himself. Consequently, it was not difficult at all to raise people to “great” achievements and conquests.
The Second World War was the hardest, bloodiest war in human history. It led to the greatest human losses. The estimated number of victims of World War II is 71 million. And Hitler is to blame for this. And during the war, he knew about it. He knew that all these victims were his victims, and he was glad about it. He was proud of it. Today, Hitler is on the same list as the “Devil” and “Satan” in the hearts and minds of people.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Apostle Paul of Tarsus
In sixth place in our ranking are the Greatest People of All Time. The top 10 is the Apostle Paul of Tarsus. The Apostle Paul is considered the most important person in the matter of spreading Christianity, its ideology and principles. The Apostle Paul is considered the most important Christian apologist.
The Apostle Paul is the most famous and revered apostle of all the disciples of Christ.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
It may surprise you, but most people who Google Buddha's name are not Buddhists. In the Western Hemisphere and throughout Europe, Buddhism is not as widespread as in the Eastern part - Nepal and India. It is known that Buddha was a mortal man who achieved nirvana and spiritual awakening at the age of 35. To achieve nirvana and spiritual knowledge, the Buddha sat in meditation for 49 days under a tree until he achieved knowledge of what needed to be done in order to end human suffering. Having learned the truth, the Buddha carried his teachings to people so that all those who do could be freed from torment in their lives. This path is called the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of: right view, right intention, right concentration, right speech, right action, right lifestyle, right effort and right mindfulness. According to the teachings of Buddha, if you adhere to these simple rules, you can become a truly happy person, not dependent on anything.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Moses
Moses is revered by all the major modern religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He is the greatest prophet of the Supreme Testament, the liberator of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. Moses was a legislator, a judge, a man through whom the Lord conveyed his main 10 commandments.
According to legend, Moses was found as a baby in a basket floating on the Nile and was raised as the son of Pharaoh. There is no generally accurate information about Moses, except that he grew up in a noble Egyptian family, and one fine day he saw an Egyptian mocking his Jewish slave, killed the Egyptian and fled into the desert. Here, in the desert, God first appeared to Moses as a burning bush. This turning point inspired Moses, and he, inspired, went to Pharaoh to ask him to release all the Jews, otherwise the Lord would send such torment to the Egyptians that they would not be able to stand it. And so it happened. Pharaoh resisted, but the Lord showed his strength and sent unimaginable torment to the Egyptian people. Ultimately, Pharaoh was forced to release Moses along with all the Jews.
Moses led the Jews through the deserts for 40 years so that they would all be reborn from slavery, and here the Lord passed on his basic laws through Moses.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Abraham
Bronze in our ranking of The Greatest People of All Time. The top 10 is occupied by the Biblical Abraham. And this is no coincidence. Abraham is considered one of the first prophets of the Middle East, the first to preach one God. According to legend, God makes a covenant with Abraham because he was very pious and unshakable in his faith in God. This covenant is marked by circumcision. Before this, the Lord tested Abraham's faith, demanding that he kill his son Isaac, and Abraham had already raised a knife over his son when the Lord said that this was a test.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Mahomet
For non-Muslims, Mohammed founded Islam. For Muslims, Islam already existed, but Mohammed revived it in the hearts of people. Muslims believe that God transmitted through Mohammed the basic philosophical principles and revelations, which he wrote down in the main religious book of Muslims - the Koran.
Mohammed was born in Saudi Arabia and had 13 wives. Not a single accurate image of Mohammed has survived because he is considered the last prophet sent by Allah to teach people the basic path of peace and righteousness, and that he is too holy for all of us to see his face. During his life, Mohammed managed to unite the entire Middle East under the name of one God - Allah.
The greatest people of all time. Top 10. Jesus of Nazareth
It would be incomprehensible if the first place in the Greatest People of All Time Top 10 were taken by some other person. Naturally, this is Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ.
We all know the life story of Jesus, who was born to a virgin, died at the age of 33, that he was crucified on the cross, that he died and three days later was resurrected, ascended into heaven, into the abode of His Father, and now sits at the right hand of God.
Jesus Christ is accepted by all religions of the world; both believers and atheists know about him and his life. Perhaps some of the most primitive peoples and tribes living in the Amazon delta or in the impenetrable forests of Brazil do not know the name of Christ. The main book telling about the life and deeds of Christ is the Bible, the New Testament; we note that 25 million copies of the Bible are sold annually around the world.
So, even if you are not a believer, you will have to accept the fact that the most famous person around the world is Jesus of Nazareth.
Many great reformer rulers, generals, scientists and even philosophers can lay claim to being called the greatest people in human history. But it is difficult to consider a person’s achievements in isolation from the era. The Renaissance and Enlightenment eras, as well as the scientific revolution of the 20th century, changed the face of the world, but these breakthroughs in human history were associated with the activities of many outstanding people.
The achievements of some talented people do not survive them. Many reached heights in conjunction with others, and their merits are not shared. Let's try to highlight several personalities in world history whose actions and ideas influenced the further course of the historical process. The consequences of their actions are being felt even now.
At the origins of European science: Aristotle
Aristotle is a rare example of a student who surpassed his brilliant mentor. He did not hesitate to criticize the teacher’s views, and his saying dedicated to this went down in history. Plato was a brilliant philosopher, but his views concerned issues of philosophy, ethics and political science. Aristotle went further.
A native of the insignificant town of Stagira, he came to Athens, where he created his own philosophical school. Its students included many philosophers and even famous politicians, but none of them made a contribution to history comparable to the founder.
Aristotle created the doctrine of the first principles of existence. He introduced the principle of development into world philosophy and created a system of philosophical categories and levels of existence. Stagirite was the founder of logic as a science. He studied ethics and developed the doctrine of virtues. In the field of cosmology, he defended the idea of a spherical Earth.
In his essay “The State,” Aristotle studied the strengths and weaknesses of different forms of government and put forward his own realistic idea of the state. His work on the history of the Athenian government is an example of historical writing.
In addition, the scientist from Athens wrote works on all areas of knowledge available at that time - biology, zoology, poetics (where he studied theater arts). The works of Aristotle were studied by philosophers of the Middle Ages in Europe and the Muslim world. He can rightfully be placed at the origins of modern science.
Alexander the Great: Creation of a New World
In world history there have been many commanders whose victories numbered in the dozens. Alexander defeated the army of the largest empire in several battles, took the most fortified cities of that time and reached Punjab. The empire he created collapsed a few decades after his death, but new states emerged from its fragments.
The King of Macedonia was obsessed with the idea of uniting the West and the East under his rule. The idea was partly a success. After his campaigns, the Mediterranean became a different world. The Greeks had served eastern rulers before. But now the heart of Greek civilization began to beat in Asia and Egypt. The Alexandria Museum became the greatest center of intellectual life - philosophers, scientists and poets from all over the Mediterranean lived here. The library contained the most important scientific works. Here the Old Testament was translated into Greek. Pergamon, whose library also became a scientific center, did not lag behind him.
Hellenism brought about revitalization and changes in Hellenic literature, sculpture and architecture. New traditions and ideas associated with Eastern influence appeared. Later, the Roman Republic would join this world, whose culture would be formed under the influence of the Hellenistic one.
Alexander was not directly involved in most of the processes. But it was his conquests that created a world in which the appearance of the Alexandrian Museum and the Pergamon Library was possible.
Prophet Muhammad: the creation of a new religion
Mohammed and the religion of Islam can be viewed in different ways. For many centuries, Arab tribes roamed the vast expanses of Arabia. They were vassals or allies of powerful empires. The nomads staged bloody wars among themselves, composed original and complex poems, and worshiped many gods.
In the first half of the 7th century, Muhammad began preaching in Mecca. He managed to overcome the enmity of his fellow tribesmen and gather a group of supporters. He went with them to Medina, but after a series of battles he defeated the enemies and achieved the unification of the two cities under his authority.
Muhammad's enemies accepted his religious teachings and became his companions. The creed of Islam assumed expansion - after the death of the Prophet, the Arab armies left Arabia. Led by the teachings of Muhammad, the Arabs destroyed the Sasanian Empire and conquered vast territories of the Byzantine Empire. They did not stop there and subjugated the territories of Spain, Central Asia and the Mediterranean islands.
Now Islam is professed by about 1.5 billion people on the planet. It is the state religion of 28 countries, and communities of followers of the Prophet are located in 122 states. This is proof of the influence of the Prophet Muhammad on history, whose actions changed the lives of not only his fellow tribesmen, but also many distant peoples.
Charlemagne: at the origins of modern Europe
After the slow decline of the Roman Empire in the west, Europe plunged into the darkness of the Early Middle Ages. The population has decreased: some regions have become depopulated. Several epidemics and destructive wars swept across Europe.
Even under these conditions, the heritage of Roman civilization and science was not forgotten. But the eras of the 5th - 8th centuries stand out as difficult and dark times. In 768, Charles, who went down in history under the nickname the Great, became king of the Frankish kingdom. He was a decisive sovereign who fought a lot with his neighbors and expanded the borders of the Frankish kingdom, and in 800 he was crowned emperor.
His empire included parts of eastern Spain, Italy to Rome, and the territory of modern Germany. Avars and numerous Slavic peoples were dependent on him: Moravians, Czechs, Obodrites, Serbs.
The emperor became famous not only for his victorious wars. He attracted educated people to his court and built schools. An Academy was organized, whose members were the smartest people of his era - the monk Alcuin, the historian Paul the Deacon, the biographer Einhard. Alcuin's student was the author of one of the medieval encyclopedias, Rabanus the Maurus.
Children of nobles and clergy studied in schools organized in the empire of Charlemagne. They studied the seven liberal arts, the canon of which had been formed earlier. "Carolingian minuscule", a method of writing letters that became the basis of the modern alphabet of most Western countries. At Charles's court there was an admiration for Roman literature, and copies of works in Latin were made.
The death of Charlemagne was followed by the collapse of his empire. The division of the empire into three states, formalized in 843, laid the foundations of modern Italy, Germany and France.
The Ideology That Changed History: Karl Marx
One of the greatest (according to many) thinkers of the 19th century is Karl Marx. He was born in Prussia, but spent most of his life in Great Britain and died in London. The ideas and works he developed determined the course of history of the next century.
The formation of Marx as a thinker was influenced by the philosophy of Hegel. Marx criticized his predecessor, but, relying on his dialectical method, formed his concept of dialectical materialism. He introduced his own materialistic understanding of the course of the historical process, which continues to be used in modern science.
Finally, Marx created the work “Capital”, in which he examined the contradictions of his contemporary capitalist society. He showed the essence of conflicts between capitalists and workers, as well as within these classes. He substantiated the inevitability of the replacement of capitalism by socialism.
Marx's ideas influenced all left-wing thinkers of the 20th century. The practical application of these ideas was made by the builders of the USSR and other socialist states. In the 21st century, socialist states continue to exist, and supporters of this ideology believe in the final victory of socialism. At the basis of this historical process were the ideas of Karl Marx.
The greatest people in human history are individuals who, alone or with the participation of fellow performers, changed the course of history or directed it in the right direction. This influence was manifested in various ways - the development of science, the creation of a new religion or ideology, changes in the political map of the world, which created new conditions for the development of civilization. The results of the activities of these individuals were able to fully manifest themselves years and decades after their death.
Russian history is rich in mysterious personalities. Their life gave rise to rumors; popular rumor supplemented the images with unique features. After death, their names became surrounded by new myths and legends, excluding any hope of a solution.
False Dmitry I (?-1606)
The prerequisites for the appearance of False Dmitry I in Russia are associated with the mysterious death under unclear circumstances of the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry. The impostor, who pretended to be the heir who miraculously escaped death, chose a good time: taking advantage of the unrest in the country, False Dmitry took possession of the Moscow throne for almost a year.
The most popular version of the origin of False Dmitry I, which is still supported by many historians, was put forward by the government of Boris Godunov. In correspondence with the Polish king Sigismund, Godunov identified the impostor with the fugitive monk of the Chudov Monastery, Grigory Otrepyev.
However, historian Nikolai Kostomarov suggested that False Dmitry could have come from Western Rus', being the son of a nobleman or boyar. Some researchers put forward the version that the impostor’s courage can be explained by a sincere belief in his royal origin. He turned out to be a blind tool in the hands of the boyars, who, having overthrown Godunov, destroyed him.
Jacob Bruce (1669-1735)
One of the associates of Peter I, a native of a noble Scottish family, Jacob Bruce, was a very extraordinary person. A statesman, diplomat, military man, scientist and engineer - he left behind a bright mark. But he also gained a reputation as a warlock, “the sorcerer from the Sukharev Tower” and the first Russian Freemason.
Russian romantic literature contributed greatly to the creation of the magical image of Jacob Bruce. Candidate of Philological Sciences Irina Gracheva writes that “judging by some data, Yakov Vilimovich had a skeptical rather than a mystical mindset.”
Contemporaries noted that Bruce did not believe in anything supernatural. When Tsar Peter showed the relics of the holy saints to the Scotsman, he “attributed this to the climate, to the properties of the land in which they were previously buried, to the embalming of bodies and to abstinent life.”
Yakov Bruce should go down in the history of Russia primarily as a talented military engineer who was involved in improving artillery guns and a scientist who contributed to the development of Russian science.
Monk Abel (1757-1841)
No official documents about the life of monk Abel (in the world of Vasily Vasiliev) have survived. The only exception is the Case of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Empire in 1796, in which a monk was accused of distributing a book of his prophecies.
Historians do not question the identity of Abel, but the authenticity of the prophecies attributed to him is not recognized by most of them. In particular, the Orthodox interpreter Nikolai Kaverin notes that many of Abel’s predictions were constantly updated, and this indicates the formation of the “heresy of Tsardom”, the main sin of which is the equation of Nicholas II and Christ.
Abel's prophecies, in the form in which they exist now, predict with amazing accuracy the fate of Russian emperors from Paul I to Nicholas II. In addition, the prophecies predict the end of the monarchy in Russia, the civil war and two world wars, the appearance of aircraft and underwater vehicles, as well as the use of asphyxiating gases.
Princess Tarakanova (1745?-1775)
Princess Tarakanova is one of the most famous adventurers in Europe. According to Vice-Chancellor Alexander Golitsyn, “her resourceful soul is capable of great lies and deception.” Like gloves, she changed lovers, names, places of residence, each time inventing a new story of her origin.
The princess claimed the Russian throne under the name of Elizaveta Vladimirskaya, posing as the daughter of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna and Alexei Razumovsky.
According to historians, the decision to impersonate a grand ducal person is largely connected with the sensational story in Europe of the impostor of Emelyan Pugachev.
Princess Tarakanova refused to recognize herself as an “ordinary woman” until the very end. According to one version, the impostor died of tuberculosis in the Peter and Paul Fortress, according to another, she died there during the flood of 1777.
Count Palen (1745-1826)
Count Peter Palen entered Russian history primarily not as an excellent officer who advanced highly in military service, but as a cunning diplomat and intriguer who played a major role in the overthrow of Paul I.
For some, he is a hero who saved the Fatherland from a tyrant tsar, for others he is Judas, who betrayed the sovereign who trusted him infinitely. But for most historians, Palen is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the Russian nobility, who wanted to quickly get rid of the unpopular courtier.
Some researchers are convinced that Masonic roots should be sought in the conspiracy against the Tsar organized by Palen. However, recently, in the motives of Palen’s actions, an “English trace” has increasingly been seen: perhaps British diplomacy, through the count, took revenge on Paul for his alliance with Napoleon and for colonial interests in India.
Alexander I (1777-1825)
The reign of Alexander I can be called one of the most mysterious in Russian history: he scandalously ascended to the Russian throne and mysteriously left it. Publicly declaring his reluctance to reign, Alexander I was the Russian autocrat for a quarter of a century.
In 1825, when the health of the wife of Alexander I worsened, the imperial couple left for the south. After visiting Crimea, the tsar himself fell ill, which led to his sudden death. That's what the official version says.
But there are also legends, one of which says that the emperor did not die, but faked his death in order to retire from worldly affairs. According to the most common version, he went to Siberia, where, under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich, he spent the rest of his days.
Of course, this version has no documentary evidence. A story appeared in the Russian emigrant press that after the opening of the empty coffin of Alexander I in the presence of Alexander II, the body of a long-bearded old man was placed there. However, the mystery of the victorious tsar could be clarified by genetic examination, which specialists from the Russian Forensic Science Center do not exclude.
Grigory Rasputin (1869-1916)
The personality of Grigory Rasputin is shrouded in so many myths and legends that it is not easy to discern a real historical character in him. In revolutionary and Soviet propaganda, the image of the “old man” was so demonized that it acquired caricature features.
Many of the accusations brought against Rasputin - of sectarianism, debauchery, behind-the-scenes influence on politics - were never brought to completion due to the fact that they did not receive proper confirmation. For example, the alleged closeness of Rasputin to the royal family was refuted by many courtiers.
In the 1990s, the time came for another extreme. Religious veneration of Grigory Rasputin gave rise to the idea of canonizing the “elder” as a holy martyr. Such an initiative was categorically rejected by Alexy II, drawing attention to the “dubious morality” of Rasputin, who cast a shadow on the August Family.
We all know about some of the scariest people who ever lived, from Adolf Hitler to Charles Manson, but there are countless other scary figures from history that get very little mention in textbooks. The ten people featured on this list were brutal human monsters, notorious for things like bathing in blood, killing scores of defenseless children, or committing heinous and unforgivable crimes against humanity during times of war. In this article, you will learn about ten terrifying but little-known historical figures whose terrible lifestyles still remain a dark stain on the entire history of mankind.
1. Gilles de Rais (1404-1440), Serial Child Killer
Gilles de Rais was an honored Breton knight who fought in the French army side by side with Joan of Arc herself. However, he did not go down in history for his valor on the battlefield. His life came to an end after he confessed to the murder of at least eighty to two hundred children of peasants and servants. The true number of his victims will never be established, but some scholars believe that over a seven-year period, up to six hundred children died at the hands of de Rais.
After de Rais retired, he admitted that he became involved in the occult and tried to summon demons, offering them parts of the children he killed as victims. Finding children to kill was not difficult, as peasant children often approached his castle asking for food. Since he targeted children from very poor families, no one had enough influence to accuse him of crimes when their children went missing.
Once de Rais kidnapped children, he took great pleasure in torturing, raping, and killing them. His favorite method of killing was beheading, but he also slit their throats, dismembered them, or broke their necks. He admitted that his habit included sexual self-gratification among the bloody remains of his victims.
In 1440, de Rais made the fatal mistake of kidnapping an influential cleric, which led to an official investigation and trial. Finally, De Rais, who was about to be tortured to extract a confession from him, confessed to the murder of hundreds of children. He and several of his accomplices who assisted him in his terrible mission were executed by hanging and burning in 1440.
2. Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614), “Bloody Countess” 
Elisabeth Bathory was a countess from a prestigious noble family in Hungary. Bathory was well educated and able to read and write in four languages, and her social status made her an important person well known in and around Vienna. It was thanks to her noble blood and powerful husband that her heinous crimes went unpunished for so long.
When Bathory's husband died in 1604, the authorities could not ignore the murmurs of the local residents. There were rumors that many young women and girls disappeared in and around the Countess's many castles. Most of the victims were peasant women and servants, whom Bathory assumed would not be missed, but towards the end of her reign of terror she made the mistake of kidnapping the daughters of the minor nobility, which led to her being eventually caught and convicted of murder.
Bathory's trial lasted for several weeks, and hundreds of witnesses testified against her. Most of the witnesses were family members of the missing girls, but among them were women who managed to escape Bathory's clutches. They told terrible stories about what they had to endure. In the end, Bathory confessed and she and four of her accomplices were convicted of torturing and killing hundreds of girls. One of the witnesses claimed that Bathory and her accomplices killed more than six hundred and fifty young girls, but they were able to prove that she only killed eighty.
Bathory is called the "Bloody Countess" because she was rumored to bathe in the blood of her virgin victims, believing it would help her maintain her youth. After Bathory was convicted of her crimes, she was sentenced to life under house arrest. She was walled up in several small rooms in her castle, in which there were only small windows for the transfer of food and the passage of oxygen. There she remained until her death in 1614.
3. Maximilien de Robespierre (1758-1794), Obsessed with the Guillotine 
Maximilien Robespierre was a French lawyer and politician who was also one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre was a skilled orator, and captivated audiences with his speeches about virtue, patriotism and morality. He sincerely desired freedom and civil rights for the people of France. Unfortunately, once he came to power, he became a tyrant who believed that the only way to achieve his democratic goals was to terrorize people with death threats.
Maximilian Robespierre became obsessed with the French method of execution, the guillotine. During the ten months of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre carried out mass executions of people who, in his opinion, did not support the French Revolution. Robespierre executed hundreds of people by guillotine without trial, including some of his friends and family. Even minor crimes such as hoarding, desertion, or rebellion were grounds for execution during Robespierre's reign. French political cartoons of the era depict Robespierre killing the executioner by guillotine, after everyone else had already been killed.
An estimated forty thousand people were either executed or sentenced to life imprisonment, including such notables as King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Robespierre also ordered hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight in notoriously disastrous battles, including the Vendée Mutiny, in which more than one hundred thousand men, women and children were killed. Ultimately, Robespierre suffered the same fate as his victims when he was summarily executed by guillotine in 1794.
4. Timur (1336-1405), Ruthless conqueror and mass murderer 
While Tamerlane (also known as Timur) is celebrated as the epic Asian conqueror who founded the Timurid empires and dynasties, he is also remembered as a brutal ruler and bloodthirsty barbarian who left a trail of blood in his wake during his reign. Tamerlane's methods of conquest were ruthless and brutal, bringing destruction and devastation to millions of people throughout his life.
Timur loved to force soldiers and civilians to commit suicide by jumping from great heights. In India, Tamerlane ordered more than two hundred thousand captured soldiers to jump from a cliff to their death. He also ordered his henchmen to behead tens of thousands of residents and soldiers in Aleppo, Ifshan, Tikrit, Baghdad, and many other cities.
For his amusement, Tamerlane ordered the construction of towers from human skeletons, and during his life and reign, it is estimated that twenty million people died.
5. Ilse Koch (1906-1967), “The Witch of Buchenwald”
The story of Ilse Koch is just one of the stories about the horrors of the Holocaust. Ilse Koch was married to Karl Koch, one of Adolf Hitler's commandants at the Buchenwald concentration camp. Ilse Koch lived with her husband in Buchenwald, but instead of living the normal life of a typical commandant's wife, she wholeheartedly joined the Nazi movement, becoming a camp matron (Aufseherin SS).
Ilsa carried out her job with the zeal of a true sadist, often riding her horse around the camp and brutally beating prisoners (sometimes to death) for no reason. She liked to randomly select prisoners whose skin interested her. She would then order the chosen prisoners to be killed, and she would tan their skins to make disgusting items such as leather lampshades, book bindings, and clothing. She was especially proud of the bag she often carried, which was made of human flesh.
Koch was eventually arrested for her war crimes and her husband was executed in 1945 in Munich. Koch was later sentenced to life in prison. After the war, the only son of Ilse and Karl Koch committed suicide, apparently unable to come to terms with learning of his parents' involvement in the Holocaust. While in prison, Koch became pregnant with an unknown man, and nineteen years later, her son became a frequent visitor to her prison cell. After twenty years in prison, Koch suddenly committed suicide the night before her son was due to arrive.
6. Ranavalona I (1778-1861), Mad Queen of Madagascar
Ranavaluna I was queen of the kingdom of Madagascar for thirty-three years. During this time, Ranavaluna worked tirelessly to reduce Madagascar's dependence on Europe, fend off French attacks, and cultivate a formidable army. Ranavaluna's favorite method of assembling the army of thirty thousand was to force peasants who could not pay their taxes on time to take up arms, participate in public works, and work without wages to pay off their debts. During her reign, millions of people died due to constant war, disease, hunger, harsh punishments for petty crimes, and forced labor.
Throughout her life, Ranavaluna was viewed as a tyrant who was quite likely insane. Her frequent use of excessive force, both against her own people and against Europeans (especially the French), led many Europeans to refer to her with nicknames such as "The Crazy Queen of Madagascar", "Ranavalona the Cruel" Cruel), The Bloody Mary of Madagascar, Most Mad Queen of History, Wicked Queen Ranavalona, and Caligula in a Skirt Caligula).
7. Liu Pengli (date of birth unknown, date of death - approximately 144 BC), One of the first serial killers in history 
*Note: The picture is not of Liu Penggli, as there are no officially documented images of him.
Liu Pengli was the Prince of Jidong, China and the emperor's cousin. Pengley was equal parts arrogant and cruel. He loved to take groups of his equally corrupt relatives and slaves on sieges of local villages, where they raped, robbed, killed, and took slaves as souvenirs. Pengli terrorized people for fun, stealing from them, killing their loved ones, and leaving them to die. The people of Jidong lived in fear of their prince, people hid in their homes and avoided going out at night. Pengley was responsible for at least one hundred confirmed deaths, but there were likely many more who remained unaccounted for.
Pengli's crimes were eventually discovered by the emperor, but he refused to execute his cousin, so he stripped Pengli of his royal titles, took his land and fortune, reduced him to a commoner, and banished him to a distant corner of the country.
8. Belle Gunness (1859 - year of death unknown), "Hell Belle" 
Belle Gunness was born in Norway, and by some accounts led a relatively normal life until a man kicked her in the stomach as a teenager, causing her to lose her first child. After this, Gunness's character changed radically. Also, perhaps coincidentally, the person who hit her died shortly after of “stomach cancer.”
In 1881, Gunness immigrated to the United States, where she worked as a maid, married, and had children. Gunness learned to navigate the insurance system by taking out large amounts of insurance on her family members and their businesses. Soon after she received the insurance policies, her children began dying of stomach problems and their business burned to the ground. Gunness's husband also later died from bowel problems, reportedly on the exact day of the year when two of his life insurance policies expired. Gunness collected all the insurance benefits and then remarried.
Within a week of her second marriage, her husband's child from his previous marriage died while under Belle's care. Within a year, her second husband died of a mysterious head wound. Gunness collected the insurance money again and moved on.
In the end, Gunness's crimes were brought to light by a handyman whose advances she rejected. It was determined that she killed most of her suitors and friends, as well as her two daughters, and she most likely killed both of her husbands and all of their children (approximately twenty to forty people) over a period of about twenty years. She became quite wealthy by collecting insurance proceeds, cash, and valuables from her victims. Gunness was never jailed for her crimes; she emptied her bank accounts and disappeared around the early 1900s.
9. Empress Wu Zetian (625-705), “Charming” Empress 
*The photograph is an image of Wu Zetian created by the artist.
Wu Zetian was the only female empress in Chinese history, and she is known as a fearsome and ruthless person who never hesitated to resort to murder for the good of herself and her country. Empress Zetian led China into a period of political and military leadership and was responsible for the significant expansion of the Chinese empire. However, she was a heartless, cruel, sexually depraved and cruel leader. She even ordered the murder of her own young daughter to further her political career.
Every day of her reign, Wu Zetian resorted to torture, execution, and forced people to commit suicide. She organized the murder of her rivals, their families, clergy, and many other people. Empress Zetian also ordered the killing of tens of thousands of her people with poison, she ordered them to be boiled alive, or sometimes simply mutilated. She ruled China until her death, from natural causes, at the age of eighty-one.
10. Thug Behram (1765-1840), The world's most prolific serial killer 
Between 1790 and 1840, an Indian cult leader named Tagh Behram killed nine hundred and thirty-one people in the Avadh region of India. The English word "thug" (which means "thug") comes from Behram's name, and his gang was called "Thuggee". Using a ceremonial cloth called Rumal, similar to a handkerchief or belt, Behram strangled his victims in a ritual killing style that was attended by many members of his cult. In 1840, Behram was executed by hanging for his crimes.