Nelson Mandela, mourned by millions globally this week, is only rated as the 356th most important person in history by a new internet based programme which ranks the most important 2,000 people of all time.
The first black South African president did not make the historical top 50 which was topped by Jesus, followed by Napoleon at two, Prophet Mohammed at three and Shakespeare coming in fourth.
Steven Skiena, co-author of this programme and professor of computer science at Stony Brook University in New York, backed Mr Mandelaâ??s low entry as he is only four slots ahead of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey.
"In the long term that is probably a fair ranking," he said.
â??Both men could be viewed as founders of their respective nations and therefore of similar significance in the long term.â?
Read Full Article »