The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived

[jon1856]

Found this on a AOL site. Interesting to think about...:
http://books.aol.com/feature/_a/exce...20155509990001

Adapted from the book 'The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History' by Allan Lazar, Dan Karlan & Jeremy Salter, copyright 2006 by Allen Lazar, Dan Karlan & Jeremy Salter, published by Harper, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
Top 25:
1. The Marlboro Man: The American cowboy mythologized by legendary Chicago adman Leo Burnett in service of Big Tobacco still reigns at the reins as a global symbol of capitalism.

2. Big Brother: If George Orwell hadn't created him in his novel '1984,' someone else would have had to make him up: the all-seeing representation of the totalitarian ideal is all-terrifying.

3. King Arthur: Man, myth, legend: Arthur, King of the Britons, embodies governmental decency, bravery and competence. He has also inspired more movies than Mickey Mouse.

4. Santa Claus: You better watch out, you'd better not cry -- when you find out Santa Claus doesn't exist. Saint Nicholas of Patara did, but his generous spirit does not fly a sleigh.

5. Hamlet: Arguably Shakespeare's most famous character, the Prince of Denmark is beset by indecision ("To be or not to be") when he finds his mother in cahoots with his scheming uncle.

6. Dr. Frankenstein's Monster: Mary Shelley never wrote a words about bolts in a neck, but her tale of a scientific project gone monstrously wrong still sends chills up and down our spines.

7. Siegfried: His name means "Conquest," and this human's successful challenge of the Teutonic god Wotan is part of the nationalist mythology that propelled Germany into two world wars.

8. Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed fictional creation was a detective who relied on logic, questions and facts in order to solve cases; he was the forerunner of today's CSI.

9. Romeo and Juliet: Doomed teenaged lovers from feuding Italian noble families, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet endure as the example of a couple who stays together against all odds.

10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: When Robert Louis Stevenson conceived of a single character with two identities, it was the first time literature explicitly ventured into the world of psychology.

11. Uncle Tom: This character from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' represents the dangers of remaining quiet and submissive in the face of injustices like slavery.

12. Robin Hood: He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Right? Maybe. But the idea of upsetting the status quo applecart is so powerful that his mythical deeds remain celebrated.

13. Jim Crow: First an African-American folktale character, then a white actor's song-and-dance act, the name "Jim Crow" came to stand for the subjugation of black people in America.

14. Oedipus: He gave his name to Western psychiatry's most famous complex because he was doomed by fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Oh, and pluck out his own eyes.

15. Lady Chatterly: When British novelist D.H. Lawrence wrote 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' in 1928, did he have any idea that his sexually and socially adventurous heroine would be so scandalous?

16. Ebenezer Scrooge: Even if the only Scrooge you know is McDuck, you'll know that the word conjured by Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' character is miserly. Until the end, of course.

17. Don Quixote: Cervantes invented a middle-aged failure -- and his novel was recently voted as the greatest of all time. In it, Don Quixote, a fool's fool, pursues chivalry to the point of no return.

18. Mickey Mouse: Walt Disney's world-famous cartoon character is so important to America that in 2003 Congress changed the copyright laws to extend the Disney Corporation's trademark.

19. The American Cowboy: Tall, handsome, independent, strong … the myths about this figure go on, spawning novels, movies, television shows, and an image projected to the world at large.

20. Prince Charming: His only sure characteristics are his title and a castle, but Prince Charming remains our culture's most eligible bachelor: a blank slate on which any girl can write her dreams.

21. Smokey Bear: At first a figure for forest-fire prevention, the Smokey ad campaign was so successful, it wrongly convinced many Americans that wildfires could be completely eradicated.

22. Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel 'Robinson Crusoe' is not just about surviving a shipwreck -- it's about a certain perspective on character and education. And not for everyone.

23. Apollo and Dionysus: Gods of Ancient Greece who embody reason (Apollo) and abandon (Dionysus); they inspire pairings from Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock to The Odd Couple.

24. Odysseus: Even if you never read Homer's epic poem, Odysseus (Ulysses to the Romans) remains the avatar of epic journeys (20 years of sailing!) and the inventor of the Trojan Horse.

25. Nora Helmer: Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play "A Doll's House" shocked audiences by showing the consequences of a man treating his wife as if she is incapable of independent thought or action.