Most GOATED Historical Figures
- Kiran Koundinya Achyutuni
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
There are certain individuals in our modern age who are just extraordinary; they have elevated themselves to the highest of peaks in their own ways to be universally considered incredible. Such people are those we call GOATs, the Greatest Of All Time.
Cliché cinematic introduction aside, these GOATs are truly incredible when you examine their achievements. But when the acronym GOAT comes to mind, most people’s thoughts tend to shift towards athletes like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, or maybe even Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar if you are a fan of Cricket. While these athletes are certainly GOATs in their own right, many people overlook historical figures who also deserve a spot on that list. Thus, I am here to discuss three of the most GOATED figures in history.
1. Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Isaac Newton was a scientific beast; most remember him as the scientist who finally proved the existence of gravity and quantified it into a formula. His book, titled Principia, holds the iconic Three Laws of Motion. The first being the Law of Inertia: the tendency of an object at rest to stay at rest unless an external force is applied to the system. The second being the Law of Momentum: the acceleration (or motion) of an object is dependent on the force exerted on it, and the more mass the object has, the more force is required to accelerate it. Essentially, smaller objects need much less force to move at the same speed as larger objects. This particular law is expressed through perhaps the most famous scientific formula: F=ma, force is equal to mass times acceleration. The third being the Law of Action and Reaction: every single action/exertion of force has an equal and opposite reaction. For example, if you were to kick a ball with 100 pounds of force, your leg would also experience 100 pounds of force, yet the ball flies forward because it has less mass.
While discovering gravity is already a major accomplishment, that is only the most famous of Newton’s contributions. He is also credited with independently inventing Calculus alongside fellow scientist Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
2. Alexander the Great (356 BC - 323 BC)
While Alexander the Great might be well known for his conquests and military prowess, the scale and meaning behind his battles are often overlooked. He managed to take the Macedonian Empire—which his father Philip II strengthened in his reign— and challenged the Persian Empire. Despite being greatly outnumbered, he took advantage of the politically fractured Persian Empire and annexed all of the land they possessed. He employed military tactics, such as his famous "Hammer and Anvil," which utilized the impenetrable Macedonian phalanx (the anvil) to immobilize enemy troops while the cavalry troops (the hammer) came to finish off the enemy. His achievements cemented him as one of the greatest military leaders ever documented, and he is considered a military example even today. Alexander the Great was considered such a GOAT (he is called “Great” after all) that even other influential military leaders like Julius Caesar and Napoleon considered him a great inspiration.
3. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)
Claude Monet was a revolutionary artist in the 1800s and early 1900s who is known for his work on impressionism, which makes use of visible brushstrokes and color to create beautiful scenes that emphasize everyday occurrences. His most famous painting, “Impression, Sunrise,” depicts a foggy morning in Le Havre harbour (French city). The use of warm and cold colors combined with his impressionist art style gives exactly what the name says: an impression of a sunrise over a city. The warm yellows/oranges of the sun mix with the cool blue of the sea to take a simple rendering of a harbour to something that is calming and also simplistic. His way of painting inspired other famous painters like Vincent van Gogh who went on to take his style of impressionism and create even more influential art like “Starry Night.”
In all the history of the world, there have been many people born and forgotten, who have touched the earth and gone, but few among them have left their mark. Hopefully, you now know just a few more of them.
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