Great Thinkers

Meet the great minds whose ideas have shaped the world — philosophers, scientists, artists, leaders, and revolutionaries whose thinking still matters today.

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Biology 5 Chemistry 6 Physics 5 Mathematics 14 Medicine & Health 7 Technology & Engineering 7 Psychology 2

Philosophy 46 History 11 Literature 37 Language & Linguistics 5 Arts 11

Anthropology & Culture 7 Sociology 7 Religion 11 Education 8 Politics 19

Law 10 Economics 8 Business & Management 7

Era: Contemporary × Citizenship ×

1913-2008 · Martinique, Caribbean

Aimé Césaire (1913-2008) was a poet, playwright, and political thinker from Martinique, an island in the Caribbean that was, and still is, a French territory.…

Cultural heritage and identity Critical literacy Citizenship Ethical thinking +1

"A civilisation that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilisation."

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1913-1960 · Algeria / France

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French-Algerian novelist, playwright, and philosopher. He was born in Mondovi in French colonial Algeria into a poor working-class family: his…

Ethical thinking Critical thinking Resilience Storytelling and narrative +1

"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."

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1891-1956 · India, South Asia

B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer, and philosopher. His full name was Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. He was born into a Dalit…

Citizenship Ethical thinking Critical thinking Systems thinking +1

"I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved."

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1924-1993 · England, United Kingdom

E.P. Thompson (1924-1993) was a British historian, socialist activist, and peace campaigner. His full name was Edward Palmer Thompson. He was born in Oxford into…

Research skills Critical thinking Citizenship Cultural heritage and identity +1

"I am seeking to rescue the poor stockinger, the Luddite cropper, the obsolete hand-loom weaver, the utopian artisan and even…"

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1933-2012 · United States

Elinor Ostrom (1933-2012) was an American political economist. She was born in Los Angeles and grew up during the Great Depression, a period of severe…

Environmental thinking Citizenship Systems thinking Financial literacy +1

"A lot of models in economics assume that human beings are fundamentally selfish. But the evidence shows that many people…"

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Anthropology & Culture

Gloria Anzaldúa

1942-2004 · Texas, United States / Mexico border

Gloria Anzaldúa (1942-2004) was a Chicana cultural theorist, poet, and writer. She was born in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas into a family…

Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking Creative thinking Ethical thinking +1

"The US-Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the First and bleeds."

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1906-1975 · Germany / United States

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a German-American political philosopher. She was born into a Jewish family in Hanover, Germany, and studied philosophy under Martin Heidegger and…

Citizenship Ethical thinking Civic media and democracy Critical thinking +1

"The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good…"

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1922-2010 · United States

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was an American historian, playwright, and activist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents who worked in factories,…

Critical thinking Citizenship Research skills Critical literacy +1

"I thought it important to put back in the historical record the countless struggles of ordinary people who fought against…"

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1924-1987 · United States

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, and activist. He was born in Harlem, New York, the eldest of nine children. His mother's…

Critical literacy Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Storytelling and narrative +1

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

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1921-2002 · United States

John Rawls (1921-2002) was an American political philosopher, widely regarded as the most important political philosopher of the twentieth century. He was born in Baltimore,…

Ethical thinking Citizenship Critical thinking Systems thinking +1

"Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought."

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1939-2019 · Ghana, West Africa

Kwame Gyekye (1939-2019) was a Ghanaian philosopher. He was born in Kumasi, Ghana, and studied philosophy at the University of Ghana and Harvard University. He…

Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Citizenship Relationships and communication +1

"The communal life is not an optional extra for the human individual. It is the context in which the individual…"

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1909-1972 · Ghana, West Africa

Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) was the first president of independent Ghana and one of the most important political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century. He…

Citizenship Systems thinking Civic media and democracy Financial literacy +1

"The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent."

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1944-2020 · Argentina / United States

María Lugones (1944-2020) was an Argentine-American philosopher. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved to the United States as a young woman, where…

Cultural heritage and identity Relationships and communication Ethical thinking Citizenship +1

"I am a being in multiple worlds and I travel among them, feeling at ease in some of them, not…"

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Medicine & Health

1959-2022 · United States / Haiti / Rwanda

Paul Farmer (1959-2022) was an American physician, anthropologist, and global health activist. He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, and grew up in modest and…

Health literacy Citizenship Ethical thinking Systems thinking +1

"The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world."

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1907-1964 · United States

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist. She was born in rural Pennsylvania and developed a love of the natural world…

Environmental thinking Scientific thinking Critical literacy Citizenship +1

"In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is a story of the earth."

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Rigoberta Menchú

born 1959 · Guatemala, Central America

Rigoberta Menchú Tum (born 1959) is an indigenous Maya K'iche' woman from Guatemala and one of the most important human rights activists of the twentieth…

Citizenship Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1

"I am still keeping secret what I think no-one should know. Not even anthropologists or intellectuals, no matter how many…"

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Simone de Beauvoir

1908-1986 · France, Western Europe

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) was a French philosopher, novelist, and feminist thinker. She was born in Paris and studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, where she…

Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking Relationships and communication +1

"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."

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1946-1977 · South Africa

Steve Biko (1946-1977) was a South African activist and philosopher. He was born in King William's Town in the Eastern Cape, and grew up under…

Citizenship Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Self regulation +1

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."

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1952-present · India, South Asia

Vandana Shiva (born 1952) is an Indian physicist, environmental activist, and philosopher. She was born in Dehradun in the foothills of the Himalayas, into a…

Nutrition and food systems Environmental thinking Citizenship Systems thinking +1

"Seed is the source of life and the first link in the food chain. Control over seed means control over…"

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1868-1963 · United States

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and one of the most important intellectual figures of the twentieth century. His…

Critical thinking Citizenship Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1

"The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour line."

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1942-1980 · Guyana, Caribbean / South America

Walter Rodney (1942-1980) was a Guyanese historian, political thinker, and activist. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana, then a British colony in South America, and…

Systems thinking Citizenship Civic media and democracy Financial literacy +1

"African development is possible only on the basis of a radical break with the international capitalist system, which has been…"

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