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

Research skills × Page 6 of 6

Language & Linguistics

c. 760-796 · Persia / Iraq (Basra)

Abu Bishr Amr ibn Uthman, known as Sībawayh (c. 760-796), was a Persian-born Arab grammarian whose book Al-Kitāb is the first comprehensive description of the…

Scientific thinking Critical thinking Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1

"A noun is a word that refers to a thing; a verb is a word that indicates an action in…"

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Technology & Engineering

1912-1990 · Japan

Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) was a Japanese industrial engineer whose work at the Toyota Motor Company produced the Toyota Production System, a way of organising manufacturing…

Problem solving Critical thinking Scientific thinking Research skills +1

"Having no problems is the biggest problem of all."

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1225-1274 · Kingdom of Sicily (Italy, Dominican / Catholic)

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and theologian whose synthesis of Christian theology with Aristotelian philosophy became the most influential intellectual achievement…

Critical thinking Ethical thinking Cultural heritage and identity Research skills +1

"Because in created things the existence differs from the essence, it follows that in them also there is a composition…"

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1922-1996 · United States

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) was an American philosopher and historian of science. He studied physics at Harvard University and then became interested in the history of…

Scientific thinking Research skills Critical thinking Metacognition +1

"Normal science does not aim at novelties of fact or theory and, when successful, finds none."

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Thurgood Marshall

1908-1993 · United States

Thurgood Marshall was an American civil rights lawyer and the first Black Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He spent his life using the…

Critical thinking Ethical thinking Research skills Problem solving +1

"In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute."

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Technology & Engineering

1982/1983 - present · Ethiopia (later United States)

Timnit Gebru is an Ethiopian-American computer scientist. She is one of the most important researchers in the field of AI ethics. Her work has shown…

Scientific thinking Ethical thinking Critical thinking Research skills +1

"We can't take care of all of the problems with our technology by hoping for the best."

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1931-2019 · United States

Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was an American novelist, essayist, editor, and professor. She was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, into a Black working-class family…

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

"If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else."

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Medicine & Health

1930-present · China

Tu Youyou is a Chinese medical scientist. In 2015 she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering artemisinin, a malaria drug that…

Scientific thinking Problem solving Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1

"A bunch of qinghao; soak in two sheng of water; wring out the juice and drink it all."

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1932-2016 · Italy, Southern Europe

Umberto Eco (1932-2016) was an Italian philosopher, semiotician, literary theorist, and novelist. He was born in Alessandria in northern Italy and studied philosophy at the…

Critical literacy Media literacy Storytelling and narrative Critical thinking +1

"A book is a fragile creature, it suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements and clumsy hands.…"

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Anthropology & Culture

c. 1898 - 1975 · Egypt

Umm Kulthum was an Egyptian singer. She was probably the most famous Arab cultural figure of the 20th century. She was born around 1898 in…

Creative expression Cultural heritage and identity Emotional intelligence Critical thinking +1

"Sing a beautiful song with a strong meaning, and the people will love you."

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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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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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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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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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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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1472 - 1529 · Ming dynasty China

Wang Yangming was a Chinese philosopher, scholar, and military general. He is one of the most important Confucian thinkers of the second millennium CE. His…

Ethical thinking Critical thinking Creative expression Emotional intelligence +1

"There is a sage in every person, but they do not believe in themselves and so they bury this sage."

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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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c. 1599-c. 1692 · Ethiopia

Zera Yacob was an Ethiopian philosopher of the seventeenth century. His main work is a short book called the Hatata, which means 'inquiry' or 'investigation'.…

Critical thinking Ethical thinking Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1

"All men are equal in the presence of God; and all are intelligent since they are his creatures."

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1130-1200 · China

Zhu Xi was a Chinese philosopher, teacher, and government official of the Southern Song dynasty. He was born on 18 October 1130 in Youxi, in…

Ethical thinking Critical thinking Research skills Cultural heritage and identity +1

"If we wish to extend our knowledge to the utmost, we must investigate the principles of all things we come…"

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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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