Book excerpt: The history of humanity is littered with great discoveries, great invention, great ideas – and the great people who initiated them. Some of them just had one goal, one great achievement that contributed to the advancement of civilisation in a meaningful way. Others contributed across a wide range of disciplines and achievements. There are different ways to influence the course of history and many avenues of thought and action which can achieve this. We have picked fifty people here whose contribution was undeniably great and lasting. Whether it was discovering new lands and cultures, devising schools and methods of thought or science or inventing new devices or concepts to enhance the life of the populous; these people represent the best of humanity (for the most part) and the world was a better, or at least a different, place because of them.