New in OS X: Get MacRumors Push Notifications on your Mac

Resubscribe Now Close

Time Magazine Names Steve Jobs Among 20 Most Influential Americans of All Time

Thursday July 26, 2012 8:53 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Time yesterday released a list of the 20 most influential Americans of all time, with Apple founder Steve Jobs making the cut for inclusion in the list. Jobs is the final entry on the chronologically-sorted list that includes such figures as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, and the Wright brothers.
Jobs was a visionary whose great genius was for design: he pushed and pushed to make the interface between computers and people elegant, simple and delightful. He always claimed his goal was to create products that were “insanely great.” Mission accomplished.
The new Time feature is part of a promotion for the publication's new book covering what it judges to be the 100 most influential people of all time, a list that also includes Jobs.

Time also releases annual lists of the world's most influential people, with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson making the 2012 list back in April.

[ 217 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
kavika411
86 months ago
Hold on, Time, I'm gonna let you finish, but Beyoncé is one of the most influential Americans of all time... OF ALL TIME!
Rating: 31 Votes
Avatar
Michaelgtrusa
86 months ago
He deserves the title. 
Rating: 18 Votes
Avatar
ristlin
86 months ago

because gates isn't dead.


They may add him soon enough. The guy not only created one of the most successful companies in history, but he is also leading the charge in tackling global problems through his foundation.
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
Sixtafoua
86 months ago

I agree, but if he is on the list..how is Gates not?


Because gates isn't dead.
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
kdarling
86 months ago
Unbelievable. Clearly a bone thrown to today's kids.

Jobs belongs in an influential list for sure, but not within the top 20 of all time.

Might as well also put Ron Popeil in the top 20 list (at least he actually invented some of the stuff he sold).
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
Ping Guo
86 months ago
Ben Franklin doesn't make the list but Jobs does?

Edit: Neither do James Madison, writers like Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Hemingway, etc.
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
Bezetos
86 months ago
With all due respect but... top 20... of all time?

I understand that being influential has nothing to do with how much good they have done, how important they were to our society and simply refers to their "influence" and popularity, but still, within the top 20? Top 100 - sure, but 20?

It's just utterly weird to see him amongst Martin Luther King, Albert Enstein, Abraham Lincoln and Louis Armstrong... I can probably think about 50 more influential people before I even start considering Jobs.
Rating: 8 Votes
Avatar
Flood123
86 months ago
Helped lead the united states to victory over the brits and was the first president of the united states. Freed the slaves. Built and flew the first airplane. Created the first assembly line. Developed the iPod .
There is no doubt he was a great man, but to be in those ranks? I'm undecided on that. But hey, my opinion doesn't matter because I didn't write the article. It just seems like putting skrillex or jam master J on a greatest guitar player of all time list.(which actually happened.)
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
G51989
86 months ago

What's with all the Gates love? He built Microsoft on stolen ideas. From apple.


What's with all the jobs love? He built apple on stolen ideas from xerox ;)

Ppl also like gates because he's just a damn good, very charitable person. He does lots of good.
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
Sensation
86 months ago

Sad, but true.


Why do you want Gates dead? He did brilliant work at Microsoft and is now trying to make the world a better place. :confused:
Rating: 5 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]