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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Philosophy 29 History 9 Literature 34 Language & Linguistics 5 Arts 9
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182 thinkers
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Era: Modern × Page 8 of 8
Philosophy
V. Y. Mudimbe
1941-2025 · Democratic Republic of the Congo (later United States)
Valentin-Yves Mudimbe was a Congolese philosopher, novelist, and linguist. He was one of the most important African thinkers of the late 20th century. He was…
Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"There exists an African way of interpreting the world which presents the universe as a totality."
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Literature
Vine Deloria Jr.
1933 - 2005 · United States (Standing Rock Sioux)
Vine Deloria Jr. was a Native American scholar, writer, and activist. He was the most influential Native American intellectual of the 20th century. His books…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1
"We are the only humans who became Indians."
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Literature
Virginia Woolf
1882-1941 · England
Virginia Woolf was an English novelist, essayist, and literary critic. She is one of the most important writers of the 20th century. She was born…
Creative expression Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence +1
"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
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Politics
Vladimir Lenin
1870-1924 · Russian Empire / Soviet Union
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian revolutionary and political theorist. He led the October Revolution of 1917 and founded the Soviet Union, the world's first…
Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Problem solving +1
"Peace, Land, Bread."
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Philosophy
Vladimir Vernadsky
1863-1945 · Russian Empire / Soviet Union (Ukrainian descent, founded Ukrainian Academy of Sciences)
Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky (in Russian: Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky) was a mineralogist, geochemist, and philosopher of science. He helped found three modern scientific disciplines: geochemistry, biogeochemistry,…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"Life is not just present on Earth's surface. Life is a planetary force."
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Mathematics
W. Edwards Deming
1900-1993 · United States
William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was an American statistician and management consultant whose work on quality control and systematic thinking about production reshaped manufacturing in Japan…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"In God we trust; all others must bring data."
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Sociology
W.E.B. Du Bois
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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History
Walter Rodney
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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Politics
Wangari Maathai
1940-2011 · Kenya
Wangari Muta Maathai was a Kenyan environmental activist, scientist, and politician. In 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.…
Ethical thinking Problem solving Scientific thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"It is the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees."
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Arts
Wassily Kandinsky
1866-1944 · Russia / Germany / France
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist usually credited as one of the pioneers of abstract painting in the European tradition. He…
Creative expression Scientific thinking Critical thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"Colour is a power which directly influences the soul."
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Literature
Wole Soyinka
1934 - present · Nigeria (Yoruba)
Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist. In 1986 he became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize…
Creative expression Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Critical thinking +1
"A tiger does not proclaim its tigritude. It pounces."
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Arts
Zaha Hadid
1950 - 2016 · Iraq (later United Kingdom)
Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi-British architect. She was one of the most important architects of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She was the…
Creative expression Problem solving Scientific thinking Cultural heritage and identity +1
"I don't believe in a 'female sensibility' in architecture. I think there are women who design well, just like there…"
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Anthropology & Culture
Zora Neale Hurston
1891-1960 · United States
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was an African American anthropologist, folklorist, and novelist, one of the most significant figures in both the Harlem Renaissance and the…
Cultural heritage and identity Research skills Storytelling and narrative Critical literacy +1
"I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes.…"
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Business & Management
Émile Durkheim
1858-1917 · France
Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a French scholar who is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern sociology. He was born in Épinal, in…
Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Ethical thinking +1
"A social fact is any way of acting, whether fixed or not, capable of exerting over the individual an external…"
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