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
Charles Darwin
1809-1882 · England, United Kingdom
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist and biologist. He was born in Shrewsbury into a wealthy and intellectually distinguished family: his grandfather Erasmus Darwin…
Scientific thinking Environmental thinking Critical thinking Research skills +1
"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms…"
Politics
Elinor Ostrom
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…"
Biology
Lynn Margulis
1938-2011 · United States
Lynn Margulis (1938-2011) was an American biologist and theorist. She was born Lynn Alexander in Chicago, graduated from the University of Chicago at eighteen, and…
Scientific thinking Environmental thinking Critical thinking Systems thinking +1
"Life did not take over the globe by combat, but by networking."
Biology
Robin Wall Kimmerer
1953-present · United States, Potawatomi Nation
Robin Wall Kimmerer (born 1953) is an American botanist, ecologist, and writer who is a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, one of the Indigenous peoples…
Environmental thinking Scientific thinking Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1
"In the Potawatomi language, to be a human being is to be grateful. It is a reminder to say thank…"