Your favorite people and what they made.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

So people can be pretty awesome. I think most of us tend to forget that or maybe some choose to ignore it because cynicism and misanthropy are "safer" for some reason. However, people have done great things, towering things, things that never had been done before. From the forums of Plato, to Michealangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, to Darwin studying on the Galapagos Island, to Armstrong landing on the moon. Speaking of which, here's a quote I sometimes turn to:

 

"The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were."

~President John F. Kennedy

 

So in honor of such men, or women, who dreamt of things that never were until they made them, who are some of your favorite people, their accomplishment(s) you like, and why?

Edited February 23, 2016 by Steel Accord

[Zeal Crown 196]

He's not a very well known guy at all (though he definitely deserves the recognition) Admiral Yi from Korea was super amazing! He kept being demoted to such low ranks, but kept trying super hard to rise the ranks the best he could. He then kept building up the old posts that he kept being posted at so they would be ready for an attack. He commissioned Korea for the famous Turtle Ships, which were an absolute beast! Unboardable, unflankable, these ships could shoot cannons along with toxic gases. They were such a legendary of the sea! Along with all of these plus his determination, he literally stopped Japan from taking over their country just by stopping them at sea! Even when he died in battle, his son and nephew kept commanding for him and making sure no one knew until after the battle! He's incredible!!!

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Zeal Crown,

 

Yeah I know who he was. I wasn't looking specifically for military leaders as that sort of baits the "humanity has war" strawman but I do agree that he was an incredible leader and a good soldier. It was one of those times where the success of an entire war could be laid at the feet of one man and Yi was one such man.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Steel Accord

[Celestial Sloth 369]

Bowie. I never realized how much of a staple he was in my playlists until he died. And especially in regards to art, I find there's this sort of godly aura that emanates from his infinite fashions and styles of music, the uniqueness of his lyrics and his ability to change himself so completely and easily. 

 

He might not have directly saved any lives or anything like that, but he made being different the sexiest thing in the world. I'm positive he inspired many.

 

 

 

 

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL MAN

 

 

TIME TO BE SAD AGAIN

 

 

 

[Steel Accord 6,660]

He might not have directly saved any lives or anything like that, but he made being different the sexiest thing in the world. I'm positive he inspired many.

 

Hey that doesn't mean someone's not important or didn't improve the world. As you said, he was an artist. Art and culture are not vital to human life but without them, some lives would be starved of passion and joy.

 

Just saying you don't need to qualify someone to be on this thread. The question is "favorite people, what they created, and why you like them or think them worthy of praise." As long as what they did was inspiring and noble, they qualify.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Steel Accord

[Dark Horse 12,961]

This may be a bit of an odd one, since he's often better known for his eccentric later life, but I feel like I have to mention Howard Hughes, pretty much the definition of a Renaissance Man for the 20th century. Primarily known as an Aviator, he's still notable for pioneering many of the advances we nowadays take for granted, especially in the area of modern medicine, and his legacy lives on through the Hughes Medical Institute, today one of the leading medical research foundations in the world. He was also an avid filmmaker, and was known for producing some highly controversial films for his time.

 

To me personally though, Hughes is inspirational because he was a man who never put any limits to himself. While most tycoon's of today play it safe and stick to what they know is making profit, Hughes wasn't afraid to innovate and experiment in all kinds of fields, even if the results didn't always turn out favorable. When he was nearly killed in a plane crash in one of his own inventions, he was simply glad that his mind was still functioning properly, and it was during his time recovering in a hospital (with severe injuries no less) that he pioneered a specially designed bed to help alleviate his pain. That bed became the prototype for the modern hospital bed we use today.

 

It's a shame he eventually succumbed to a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder and all but disappeared from public life, but even today, whenever a character in fiction is portrayed as an eccentric, rich tycoon, they're nearly always based around Hughes personality and lifestyle. I really wish there were more people like him who had that kind of drive to succeed and push the boundaries to new places. Not that there aren't great innovators of every field of course, but how many others had as wide a range of expertise as Hughes?

[Ponies4Bronies 394]

John Browning, who invented some of the most innovative guns of the time including the M1911, BAR, M2 machine gun, and especially the Browning Auto-5 which was the first successful semi-auto shotgun and was in production for about a century afterward.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Dark Horse,

 

Yay another Hughes admirer! I'm a sucker for any eccentric character that seems like he could have been a real life superhero or super villain.   

Edited February 23, 2016 by Steel Accord

[Dark Horse 12,961]

I'm a sucker for any eccentric character that seems like he could have been a real life superhero or super villain.

 

 

Ha! Yeah, he could've easily fit the bill for a Tony Stark or Lex Luther type character. Heck Tony Stark's father, Howard, was clearly inspired from him right down to appearances.

 

My favorite parody of him thus far though has to be that of Mr. House from Fallout: New Vegas. It makes me wonder, did Hughes himself exist in the Fallout universe? Maybe Mr. House just modeled himself off of him. He even got his famous portrait just right:

 

 

 

[Zeal Crown 196]

@@Zeal Crown,

 

Yeah I know who he was. I wasn't looking specifically for military leaders as that sort of baits the "humanity has war" strawman but I do agree that he was an incredible leader and a good soldier. It was one of those times where the success of an entire war could be laid at the feet of one man and Yi was one such man.

I can see what you mean by the whole "humanity has war" meaning. It's always hard to pick a military leader to be an important figure for history as they are always going to be an enemy of another country. My thinking though was that, if it wasn't for him, Korea might not have been a country anymore. Of course, that would mean no North Korea, but I'm a bit of a fan of South Korea. It's a shame they aren't one good country.

[Anneal 2,197]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He's one of the most effective nation leaders of all time. You thought Emperor Meiji did a lot? Atatürk did that in 16 years. Basically, he was the George Washington of Turkey; before he turned Turkey into a respectable country he was a colonel for the Ottomans in WWI and lead the revolution against them (and the Greeks, and the British, and the French...). His name is even respected and reserved, so his honored surname "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks) is exclusive.

 

Jumping to WWI. When the Ottomans were getting beat at Gallipoli, Kemal distinguished himself as a badass colonel war hero by doing a suicide counter-attack and succeeding it. Oh, and he never lost a battle, or at the least lost few of them in WWI.

 

The Treaty of Versailles hit, which is the treaty that pleased virtually no one. And due to Versailles, the Ottoman Empire was going to lose a lot of land and suffer the same fate as the German Weimar Republic, and while the Sultan was going to agree, Kemal refused to give up, moved to Ankara, and started a war with the British, French, Greeks, Ottomans, and Armenians. And he wins!

 

Afterwards the Republic of Turkey was established, and Kemal was pretty liberal with his ideas (which unfortunately distanced himself away from the U.S. and Europe because of the USSR). Within that 16 years he turned Turkey from the sick man of Europe to a secular, modernized nation, reforming education, the economy, and the military, gave women equal rights, removed old Muslim laws, and developed the modern Turkish language.

 

Kind of sad that Turkey had once again stagnated, though. Since the 1980 military coup, Turkey has been going steadily downhill, especially with its chaotic neighbors. On another note, Atatürk inspired Mossadegh, who was for a short time the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran until the U.S. and UK came and turned Iran into the crapsack it is today.

 

Sun Yat-sen is a close second, the man who could have turned China into something better if it weren't for the warlords, and after his death more corrupt generals and leaders. At least the ROC still exists in Taiwan where his influence is not completely lost.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,302]

Shigeru Miyamoto

First and foremost: Super Mario (despite Miyamoto's hand in other beloved franchises).  That world was one of the first that I really fell in love with.  Miyamoto, Nintendo, and Super Mario are the reasons I started playing video games, and they're usually the reasons I keep playing them.

 

Hayao Miyazaki

I was first exposed to Japanese animation by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (though the VHS dub was titled "Warriors of the Wind"); I don't believe I'd even started kindergarten.  I've seen plenty of anime since then, and Miyazaki was behind several of my favorites.  Quality animation and quality storytelling.  Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" is my second favorite film of all time.

 

Howard Philips Lovecraft (Steel's greatest enemy)

After high school, I kind of got away from both reading and writing.  Lovecraft didn't simply get me reading again; he made me want to write.  That's a very valuable thing to me.  Several of his works, such as "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Call of Cthulhu," and "The Whisperer in Darkness," rank among my favorite pieces of literature.

 

Johann Sebastian Bach

I don't think I've ever been outright opposed to anything resembling classical music, but it wasn't until I really got into the baroque period composer Bach that I began to appreciate it to the degree that I now do.  "Music for the sake of music."  His music is...  Clean: Much of the emotion seemingly comes from the listener.  But it's intricate and intriguing at the same time.  The fugue from his Prelude and Fugue in A minor (BWV 543) is my favorite piece of music.  Period.

[luftschloss 831]

It has to be all of the people working on the LHC (Large Hadron Collider). I can't possibly list all of them in one post, but I respect all of them immensely.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,302]

My mom; she made me.  Granted, I'm not always that fond of that particular creation.  I don't always know just what's up with that guy.  But she followed me up with my brother, and he's one of my favorite people on the planet.

[Megas 27,630]

Since video games is my thing, Shigeru Miyamoto(Mario, Zelda, Starfox, Pikmin), Hideo Kojima(Metal Gear, Zone of the Enders, Snatcher), and Hideki Kamiya(Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta) are my Triforce of Gaming. 

 

 

They're the biggest reasons why I'm still invested in the gaming world, I loved just about everything they put out, and they convinced me to go out and expand my horizons(considering all 3's styles are wildly different), not just for Video games, but for anything

 

And then there's Teddy Roosevelt

 

 

Aside from being the manliest motherfucker to ever live, he made the highest standard Presidency that every president after now needs to live up to now, whom I've felt only FDR has been able to live up too

[Anneal 2,197]

Aside from being the manliest motherfucker to ever live, he made the highest standard Presidency that every president after now needs to live up to now, whom I've felt only FDR has been able to live up too

 

LBJ and JFK live up to his presidential standards, if not very close to it. Depending on your perspective, Carter can come close too (too bad Three Mile Island and Iran Hostage Crisis hit him pretty hard).