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icarus · 08-07-2005, 05:53 PM

The greatest from each nation (as voted in various manners and by various criteria, many controversial) are:

Great Britain
1. Sir Winston Churchill
2. Isambard Kingdom Brunel (?? -- turns out to be an engineer. Weird.)
3. Diana, Princess of Wales
My guess: I would have guessed Shakespeare (5th)

Canada
1. Tommy Douglas (Premier of Saskatchewan, former New Democratic Party leader, Father of Medicare)

2. Terry Fox (athlete, activist)
3. Pierre Trudeau (Prime Minister)
My pick: Frederick Banting (4th). We already had a couple threads on this.

USA
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Martin Luther King, Jr.
My guess: Lincoln, although this one is tough. Although I never would've guessed Reagan.

Finland
1. C.G.E. Mannerheim (president of Finland, 1944-1946, and Marshal of Finland)
2. Risto Ryti (president of Finland, 1940-1944)
3. Urho Kekkonen (president of Finland, 1956-1981)
My guess: Um, the only famous Finns I can think of are hockey players, except Sibelius, so he was my guess. He was 8th. Only two hockey players appeared on the list: 76. Arto Javanainen (ice hockey player, most goals in SM-Liiga); 98. Raimo Helminen (ice hockey player, 330 games with the national team).

France
1. Charles de Gaulle
2. Louis Pasteur
3. Abbé Pierre
My guess: I'm proud of myself that I was trying to decide between the two Frenchmen who were named #1 and #2. I think I would favour Pasteur for the same reason I picked Banting for Canada (worldwide influence), although I totally understand de Gaulle being voted first by the French.

Germany
1. Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany (1876-1967)
2. Martin Luther, leader of the reformation, father of Protestantism (1483-1546)
3. Karl Marx, political economist, philosopher (1818-1883)
My guess: Bismarck (9th), with Beethoven (12th) not far behind. I can't believe I didn't think of Luther.

Netherlands
1. Pim Fortuyn
2. Willem van Oranje (William of Orange)
3. Willem Drees
My guess: Anne Frank (8th), Rembrandt (9th), or Van Gogh (10th) (since they all have their own museum in Amsterdam).

South Africa
1. Nelson Mandela
Kind of confusing, Wikipedia has two lists. Apparently the show was controversial and taken off the air before voting for numbers 2 to 10 was completed.
2. Christiaan Barnard, pioneering heart surgeon (1922 - 2001); or, Gary Player
3. F.W. de Klerk, former president and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936 - ); or, Mahatma Gandhi.
My guess: Mandela.

Belgium
1. Pater Damiaan (Catholic missionary)
2. Eddy Merckx (cyclist)
3. Paul Janssen (scientist)
My guess: Um... hmm... Rubens (4th)?

Czech Republic
1. King Charles IV
2. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
3. Václav Havel
My guess: I was thinking of Grigor Mendel (father of genetics) (54th), but then I thought of Havel just as I peeked at the list.

I don't know the Indian, Australian, or Arab results but I would guess Gandhi, Mel Gibson, and Mohammed respectively. LOL, one of these things doesn't belong here.

08-07-2005, 05:53 PM	#3
icarus Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Singapore Exp:	The greatest from each nation (as voted in various manners and by various criteria, many controversial) are: Great Britain 1. Sir Winston Churchill 2. Isambard Kingdom Brunel (?? -- turns out to be an engineer. Weird.) 3. Diana, Princess of Wales My guess: I would have guessed Shakespeare (5th) Canada 1. Tommy Douglas (Premier of Saskatchewan, former New Democratic Party leader, Father of Medicare) 2. Terry Fox (athlete, activist) 3. Pierre Trudeau (Prime Minister) My pick: Frederick Banting (4th). We already had a couple threads on this. USA 1. Ronald Reagan 2. Abraham Lincoln 3. Martin Luther King, Jr. My guess: Lincoln, although this one is tough. Although I never would've guessed Reagan. Finland 1. C.G.E. Mannerheim (president of Finland, 1944-1946, and Marshal of Finland) 2. Risto Ryti (president of Finland, 1940-1944) 3. Urho Kekkonen (president of Finland, 1956-1981) My guess: Um, the only famous Finns I can think of are hockey players, except Sibelius, so he was my guess. He was 8th. Only two hockey players appeared on the list: 76. Arto Javanainen (ice hockey player, most goals in SM-Liiga); 98. Raimo Helminen (ice hockey player, 330 games with the national team). France 1. Charles de Gaulle 2. Louis Pasteur 3. Abbé Pierre My guess: I'm proud of myself that I was trying to decide between the two Frenchmen who were named #1 and #2. I think I would favour Pasteur for the same reason I picked Banting for Canada (worldwide influence), although I totally understand de Gaulle being voted first by the French. Germany 1. Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany (1876-1967) 2. Martin Luther, leader of the reformation, father of Protestantism (1483-1546) 3. Karl Marx, political economist, philosopher (1818-1883) My guess: Bismarck (9th), with Beethoven (12th) not far behind. I can't believe I didn't think of Luther. Netherlands 1. Pim Fortuyn 2. Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) 3. Willem Drees My guess: Anne Frank (8th), Rembrandt (9th), or Van Gogh (10th) (since they all have their own museum in Amsterdam). South Africa 1. Nelson Mandela Kind of confusing, Wikipedia has two lists. Apparently the show was controversial and taken off the air before voting for numbers 2 to 10 was completed. 2. Christiaan Barnard, pioneering heart surgeon (1922 - 2001); or, Gary Player 3. F.W. de Klerk, former president and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936 - ); or, Mahatma Gandhi. My guess: Mandela. Belgium 1. Pater Damiaan (Catholic missionary) 2. Eddy Merckx (cyclist) 3. Paul Janssen (scientist) My guess: Um... hmm... Rubens (4th)? Czech Republic 1. King Charles IV 2. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 3. Václav Havel My guess: I was thinking of Grigor Mendel (father of genetics) (54th), but then I thought of Havel just as I peeked at the list. I don't know the Indian, Australian, or Arab results but I would guess Gandhi, Mel Gibson, and Mohammed respectively. LOL, one of these things doesn't belong here. __________________ Shot down in Flames!