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Time Magazine Person of the Year

Try to name the winners of Time magazine's "Person of the Year" award.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 8, 2023
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First submittedJanuary 9, 2013
Times taken62,770
Average score43.5%
Rating4.49
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Year
Hint
Country
Person of the Year
2023
Singer
United States
Taylor Swift
2022
World leader
Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
2021
CEO
United States
Elon Musk
2020
World leader
United States
Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
2019
Climate activist
Sweden
Greta Thunberg
2016
World leader
United States
Donald Trump
2015
World leader
Germany
Angela Merkel
2013
Religious leader
Argentina
Pope Francis
2012
World leader
United States
Barack Obama
2010
CEO
United States
Mark Zuckerberg
2009
Economist
United States
Ben Bernanke
2008
World leader
United States
Barack Obama
2007
World leader
Russia
Vladimir Putin
2004
World leader
United States
George W. Bush
2001
Mayor
United States
Rudolph Giuliani
2000
World leader
United States
George W. Bush
1999
CEO
United States
Jeff Bezos
1998
Prosecutor
United States
Kenneth Starr
1998
World leader
United States
Bill Clinton
1997
CEO
U.S. / Hungary
Andy Grove
1996
Scientist
U.S. / Taiwan
David Ho
1995
Politician
United States
Newt Gingrich
1994
Religious leader
Poland
Pope John Paul II
1992
World leader
United States
Bill Clinton
1991
CEO
United States
Ted Turner
1990
World leader
United States
George H. W. Bush
1989
World leader
Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev
1987
World leader
Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev
1986
World leader
Philippines
Corazon C. Aquino
1985
World leader
China
Deng Xiaoping
1984
Sports executive
United States
Peter Ueberroth
1983
World leader
Soviet Union
Yuri Andropov
1983
World leader
United States
Ronald Reagan
1981
Trade unionist
Poland
Lech Walesa
1980
World leader
United States
Ronald Reagan
1979
World leader
Iran
Ayatollah Khomeini
1978
World leader
China
Deng Xiaoping
1977
World leader
Egypt
Anwar Sadat
1976
World leader
United States
Jimmy Carter
1974
World leader
Saudi Arabia
King Faisal
1973
Judge
United States
John Sirica
1972
Diplomat
United States
Henry Kissinger
1972
World leader
United States
Richard Nixon
1971
World leader
United States
Richard Nixon
1970
World leader
West Germany
Willy Brandt
1967
World leader
United States
Lyndon B. Johnson
1965
General
United States
William Westmoreland
1964
World leader
United States
Lyndon B. Johnson
1963
Civil rights activist
United States
Martin Luther King, Jr.
1962
Religious leader
Italy
Pope John XXIII
1961
World leader
United States
John F. Kennedy
1959
World leader
United States
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1958
World leader
France
Charles de Gaulle
1957
World leader
Soviet Union
Nikita Khrushchev
1955
CEO
United States
Harlow Curtice
1954
Diplomat
United States
John Foster Dulles
1953
World leader
West Germany
Konrad Adenauer
1952
World leader
United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth II
1951
World leader
Iran
Mohammed Mossadegh
1949
World leader
United Kingdom
Winston Churchill
1948
World leader
United States
Harry S. Truman
1947
Diplomat
United States
George Marshall
1946
Diplomat
United States
James F. Byrnes
1945
World leader
United States
Harry S. Truman
1944
General
United States
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1943
General
United States
George Marshall
1942
World leader
Soviet Union
Joseph Stalin
1941
World leader
United States
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1940
World leader
United Kingdom
Winston Churchill
1939
World leader
Soviet Union
Joseph Stalin
1938
World leader
Germany
Adolf Hitler
1937
World leader
China
Chiang Kai-shek
Politician
China
Soong May-ling
1936
Socialite
United States
Wallis Simpson
1935
World leader
Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I
1934
World leader
United States
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933
Government official
United States
Hugh Johnson
1932
World leader
United States
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1931
World leader
France
Pierre Laval
1930
Activist
India
Mohandas Gandhi
1929
CEO
United States
Owen D. Young
1928
CEO
United States
Walter Chrysler
1927
Aviator
United States
Charles Lindbergh
Year
Abstract Concept
2018
The Guardians
2017
The Silence Breakers
2014
The Ebola Fighters
2011
The Protestor
2006
You
2005
The Good Samaritans
2003
The American Soldiers
2002
The Whistleblowers
1993
The Peacemakers
1988
The Endangered Earth
1982
The Computer
1975
American Women
1969
The Middle Americans
1968
The Apollo 8 Astronauts
1966
Baby Boomers
1960
U.S. Scientists
1956
Hungarian Freedom Fighters
1950
The American Fighting Man
100 Recent Comments
+4
Level 86
Dec 10, 2016
Mossadegh is also commonly spelled Mossedeq. I tried several variations of the spelling because I was certain he was the winner in 1951 but none worked.
+1
Level ∞
Dec 10, 2016
Mossedeq will work now
+3
Level 92
Dec 9, 2022
Looks like Mosaddegh is now the preferred spelling in many of the sources.
+1
Level 89
Dec 27, 2023
I tried Mosaddegh, but when it didn't work I moved on. It's the spelling used on his Wikipedia page, perhaps it could be added as an accepted variant?
+2
Level 65
Dec 10, 2016
Nice, you have added the leader of the Divided States of America.
+2
Level 59
Dec 10, 2016
“I’m not president yet so I didn’t do anything to divide"
+3
Level 72
Feb 12, 2017
Along with Rudy Giuliani, and one of our greatest, most beautiful minds, All-American Lunatic, Person of the Year 1995, the sweet Newt Gingrich in its government.
+4
Level 74
Dec 12, 2019
Yep, Obama got it twice, as did Clinton.
+4
Level 67
Dec 28, 2019
Yeah, but they aren't an international punchline.
+8
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
Say what you want about Obama, but he didn't spend half of his time bashing political opponents on Twitter.
+2
Level 81
Dec 28, 2019
half, camus? Two weeks ago the president sent out 123 tweets in a single day.
+6
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
Well, he spends the other half bragging about his achievements and likening himself to Rocky and Thanos on Twitter.
+2
Level 46
May 4, 2021
hardly a problem compared to 90% of msm bashing him and all of his supporters
+6
Level 81
Dec 29, 2021
The media reporting accurately on the misdeeds of those in power is not a problem. People being led to believe by those in power that this is a problem, is a problem.
+1
Level 68
Apr 16, 2017
Oh I just made a quiz in this (facepalm). Its just 21st century winners though
+4
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2018
This quiz will not be updated again until Time chooses an actual person and not a concept.
+1
Level 70
Dec 11, 2019
They have now, so the quiz needs an update.
+21
Level ∞
Dec 12, 2019
2020 winner: Whoever wins the U.S. Presidential election

2021 winner: The Magazine Buyer

+5
Level 81
Dec 28, 2019
Will print media have so declined by 2021 that Time is projecting that it will sell only a single issue that month?
+4
Level 94
Dec 13, 2020
2020, check...
+12
Level 76
Dec 12, 2019
Some of these choices are laughable nonsense. Time's editors are more worried about sales than reality.
+1
Level 83
Dec 15, 2020
I don't think they're all that interested in sales anymore, to be honest.
+2
Level 70
Dec 12, 2019
Interesting thing to consider: If we count everyone who could be considered part of the abstract concepts as having been Time Person of the Year, who has been Time Person of the Year the most times? For example Donald Trump has been Time Person of the Year in 1966, 2006 and 2016 (and maybe 1988 depending on whether you believe Trump is a part of the Earth).
+2
Level 81
Dec 28, 2019
Trump arguably won in 1988, as well, though most of his work endangering the Earth would come later. and Zuckerberg should get credit for 1982, as he is likely a robot of some sort.
+1
Level 81
Dec 28, 2019
I'll be honest, I have no idea who Grove, Ho, Ueberroth, Sirica, Brandt or Adenauer (can make a reasonable guess), Curtice, or Young are. Got most of the rest. I'm also not sure which good samaritans are being referred to in 2005, or why '75 was an especially important year for American women, or '60 was significant for US scientists. Could make reasonable guesses for the latter two.
+10
Level 67
Dec 28, 2019
I have found, generally speaking, that otherwise unknown people who win are the ones whose work is most admirable. World leaders often win because the sheer scope of their power grants them disproportionate influence over world events, but someone like David Ho (an AIDS researcher) or Andy Grove (who pioneered the semiconductor microchip) has to do something truly remarkable to rise above anonymity to national prominence. I know John Sirica was a federal judge who was instrumental in tying the Watergate scandal directly to Nixon. I don't know the others, except Harlow Curtice (CEO of GM), whom I just looked up because I was gobsmacked that anybody but Jonas Salk could be picked for 1955. The fact that Salk was passed over at all is pretty shocking. The fact that he was passed over for the CEO of a car company is incomprehensible.
+5
Level 71
Dec 28, 2019
Brandt and Adenauer are pretty important Cold War figures, so I knew them for that. Agreed on those others.
+2
Level 81
Dec 28, 2019
I wasn't arguing that they were unimportant or not worth knowing. I was just fessing up to the ones I didn't know. I guess if there was any point that I was trying to make it might have been that being famous one year doesn't necessarily mean you'll be well-known for all time? But could just be my own ignorance, too.
+1
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
They are huge in German history, but it's not as if they were key players of the Cold War in the way that US or Soviet leaders were. I guess they're nice to know but not necessarily general knowledge to Americans, or most foreigners for that matter.
+2
Level 74
Dec 29, 2019
Age has something to do with it, too, Kal. I remember hearing those names on the evening news when I was growing up - my mind can remember names from back then better than ones I hear now - for the most part, at least. Couldn't pull Selassie from the memory banks, though, no matter how hard I tried.
+8
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
Brandt (69-74 chancellor) is one of the reasons why Germany is so open about its history today. His direct predecessor had been a member of the Nazi party, while he himself was an opponent. Brandt renounced claims of lands that had become Polish after WW2, which was an outrageous act for many back then (old, conservative guys in my family still call him a "traitor"). Here's a photo of him falling to his knees before a Ghetto memorial in Warsaw. Both are important symbolic steps of coming to terms with the past. He got the Nobel Peace Prize (1971) for relaxing/establishing relations with the Eastern Bloc. The latter policy arguably helped pave the way for the 1989/90 revolutions and German reunification, according to some of the key players of both eras.
+2
Level 81
Dec 28, 2019
cool. :) thanks for chiming in.
+1
Level 78
Jan 26, 2020
The link to the photo leads nowhere now, so here is a new one.
+1
Level 78
Dec 11, 2020
These photos keep getting deleted so I'll just send you here.
+1
Level 91
Dec 10, 2022
He was also the mayor of West Berlin at the time the wall came up and so he was there when Kennedy made his famous "I'm a Berliner" speech. I think it was in this context I first heard of him.
+4
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
Adenauer (49-63 chancellor) was an ancient guy who had been some kind of an antagonist to the Nazis way back in the Weimar Republic. His most notable achievements are probably being one of the founding fathers of what was to become the EU, establishing a French-German friendship along with de Gaulle, and perhaps not falling for Stalin's offer to reunify Germany as a "neutral" state. Nowadays, his chancellorship is often linked with the Economic Miracle, though it probably owes more to historical circumstances, and less to any politician's initiative.
+2
Level 88
Dec 12, 2020
I got Adenauer because the quiz that was featured right before this one was "People who lived a very long time", and he made it to 91 but wasn't on there. His nickname in Germany was "der Alte" (the old guy).
+2
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
By the way, reading the above comments will help you in a quiz of mine...
+6
Level 78
Dec 28, 2019
Also by the way, this may be the reason why so many people complain about US-centrism. What is an important part of my history, is at best a footnote for 99% of the people here. Yes, I can make a quiz about Helmut Schmidt, who is considered Germany's greatest chancellor. But no one takes or comments on it, and there is no counterpart to Jetpunk or Sporcle in my language, or likely in any language other than English. As a foreigner you feel as if you have to adapt to US culture (which admittedly is a good way to learn). You also feel that Americans are in a privileged position, that their knowledge matters more than yours, and this sparks an inferiority complex. The whiners are still wrong, of course, because Quizmaster is as inclusive as makes sense with an audience that only has a diverse minority of foreigners.
+1
Level 88
Dec 12, 2020
Well, to be fair Time is an American magazine. And after the US election quiz about which states switched to Biden in 2020, I offered to make a quiz about which Burundian provinces went for Nkurunziza in 2015. Would you have taken it? :)
+3
Level 78
Dec 15, 2020
mf3, no I would not have taken it because I don't know much about Burundi. Neither do many people here know much about German post-war politics. I mentioned that in my comment, which I don't think you really understood. And while Time is an American magazine, their title doesn't go to the person who influenced the US the most, or the American with the most influence. So it is fair to assume the award is about world events.
+10
Level 67
Jan 3, 2020
Greta did not deserve Time Person of the Year.
+3
Level 87
Jan 3, 2020
Lech Walesa was a trade unionist in 1981, not a world leader.
+1
Level ∞
Jan 4, 2020
Okay
+5
Level 84
Aug 4, 2020
Thunberg was OK until she made the ridiculous statement that politicians had stole her youth . a privileged western European teen. The poor kids in Syria or the refugee kids washed up on Mediterranean beaches ,the kids in war zones or in desperate poverty around the world have had their youth stolen not her.
+11
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2020
He parents stole her youth by cruelly thrusting her into the spotlight. She is not source of wisdom. Neither should she be an object of scorn. She is, like all of us, just a person trying to make their way in world.
+3
Level 78
Dec 11, 2020
I don't think she literally meant her own youth. Also look at this article: '“Our stories have been told over and over again,” the 16-year-old Swede said [...] “It’s really about them,” Thunberg added of the young activists from developing countries already facing the effects of climate change'"
+5
Level 36
Sep 7, 2020
Hint: Use the lyrics from Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire
+1
Level 66
Oct 26, 2020
Could you accept JP2 for Pope John Paul II?
+1
Level 54
Dec 11, 2020
1938= absolute worst choice possible
+10
Level 78
Dec 11, 2020
You don't think Hitler has, for better or worse, done the most to influence the events of the year 1938? Because that's what the award is supposed to be about.
+5
Level 74
Dec 12, 2020
Evil people can also be influential.
+1
Level 54
Dec 12, 2020
I meant in terms of character.
+5
Level 75
Oct 27, 2023
Stalin won twice.
+1
Level 78
Nov 10, 2024
The award isn't about character, though. It's supposed to be about who influenced the world most, and Hitler was pretty unarguably extremely influential on a global scale in 1938.
+10
Level 78
Dec 11, 2020
It's hard for me to see consistency in the choice of winners. If it's really about the most powerful people, many are far from that. How have Biden and Harris, who will not even take office until next January, influenced world events more than Xi (who has never appeared on the list!), Putin, Trump? Or Bill Gates, who after all personally created the virus and the vaccine for it, brainwashed the world's population with the exception of a few freethinkers, and will have most of us chipped and killed by the end of the year (everyone who took that seriously please seek help or go here). In some instances I think they were trying to sum up the year's themes in one person, see Giuliani and Greta. Then why not choose Fauci or some other virologist for 2020? And while I'm not one to often complain about US-centrism, it's bizarre to see a news broadcaster and the guy who investigated the Lewinsky scandal here.
+1
Level 88
Dec 12, 2020
There are quite a few missing from the list even by the magazine's own standards -- Mao Zedong, Bill Gates, Golda Meir, etc. -- and there are some recent ones I don't remember (David Ho? I've heard of his possible brother Don in Hawaii...)
+1
Level 54
Dec 12, 2020
I think that Saddam should've won 1990, if its about influence
+1
Level 78
Dec 16, 2020
Saddam invaded a small country and got kicked out quickly. Surely devastating for many Kuwaitis but there must be better candidates in a year where the Eastern Bloc pretty much collapsed and a new world order was established.
+2
Level 54
May 20, 2021
But George H.W. Bush won that year, who didn't have much to do with the collapse.
+9
Level 73
Dec 23, 2020
I'm disappointed in this year's picks for Person of the Year. Even though Biden and Harris won the US election, they were definitely not the most influential people or embody the difficulties of this especially crazy year. It should have gone to "The Essential Workers," or "The COVID Fighters," or "Dr. Fauci" (even if he is US-centric, still an important figure).
+1
Level 64
May 23, 2021
The most obscure one I got is Ben Bernanke and the most common one I missed was Joe Biden.
+5
Level 76
May 24, 2021
I'm surprised there's no Xi or Mao
+8
Level 79
Dec 13, 2021
What a sad pick for 2021. Tesla's stock value is ridiculous. They are only selling a few hundred thousand Teslas any given year. There are semi-luxury car companies with WAY better sales figures than Tesla (BMW, for instance). Saying that Tesla is the world's most valuable car brand is like saying NFTs are the world's most valuable currency. Sure, gullible people who board the hype train will overvalue it, but it's just all hype. The guy's erratic social media garbage is the only thing that makes his products unique, and I am almost positive his company's stock will eventually fail because Tesla doesn't make nearly enough money to justify the stock price. You know that crazy profit Tesla made last year? It was selling carbon credits to car companies that actually DID sell a lot of cars. Maybe it's a good pick... the man who might single-handedly lead the US into a recession with insipid tweets about crypto, NFTs, and even how his own company's stocks are overvalued.
+4
Level 79
Dec 14, 2021
Also, he named his son X AE A-xii. What a stupid, selfish thing to do. Nothing says that you're an out-of-touch, undeservedly rich person quite like giving your child a super unique name to tell the world that you're different and special.
+3
Level 86
Dec 13, 2021
Mosaddegh should also be accepted for the Iranian leader. And yes its a sad pick for 2021. Xi, for one, is far more influential.
+5
Level 68
Dec 29, 2021
In 2012 Time created an online poll to chose the person of the year and the person with the most votes was Kim Jong-un. The poll was then cancelled and Barack Obama was chosen instead.
+2
Level 68
Dec 29, 2021
2021 should have been Hibatullah Akhundzada
+5
Level 67
Dec 29, 2021
Gesundheit.
+3
Level 71
Dec 29, 2021
Can't believe the honorees from the 90s included Ted Turner, Newt Gingrich, Kenneth Starr, and Jeff Bezos, but no Nelson Mandela...
+1
Level 51
Dec 29, 2021
damn, i dont know any except "you" but you didnt allow that
+1
Level 80
Dec 29, 2021
"Xiaoping" isn't working on it's own.
+5
Level 78
Dec 29, 2021
His family name is Deng. Accepting Xiaoping would be like accepting Barack.
+1
Level 80
Dec 11, 2023
I've only ever seen it listed as Deng Xiaoping, not the other way around.
+1
Level 80
Dec 25, 2023
That's because it's a Chinese name, and the surname is listed first.
+2
Level 64
Jan 1, 2022
who here typed Hitler first?
+1
Level 52
Jan 10, 2022
Me, I remembered it.
+1
Level 57
Sep 28, 2022
I did
+1
Level 52
Jan 10, 2022
It's nice that Stalin was chosen same year he brutally tried to occupy my country (Finland). I underline the word TRIED.
+2
Level 91
Mar 4, 2023
No Mannerheim either? One of the most underrated leaders in world history in my opinion…
+2
Level 76
Dec 9, 2022
You might want to add the 'Spirit of Ukraine' to the right column.
+1
Level 37
Dec 9, 2022
The U.S. Presidents were the easiest to get.
+1
Level 70
Dec 10, 2022
Looking at this list, I don't know why they feel compelled to give it out every year. Some of these honoree's look more like a feel good 3rd grade project before leaving on Christmas break (just add some macaroni art and glued on puffballs) than an insightful profile of an individual that has truly made an impact on the world in the previous year.
+2
Level 73
Dec 13, 2022
Can you accept "Mosaddegh" as a type-in?
+2
Level 73
Dec 15, 2022
I do like trying this quiz every year, but this year seemed very tight time wise. I was still trying to read the years/clues when I ran out of time. QM have you cut the time, or is it just me?

Having to scroll up and down on the ipad definitely doesn't help.

+1
Level ∞
Dec 8, 2023
Added more time...
+1
Level 66
Dec 15, 2022
Wolodymyr Oleksandrowytsch Selensky

If you can't get the first one right, why bother doing the rest.

+1
Level 90
Dec 20, 2022
When I saw an American CEO for 1955, I thought for sure it would be Walt Disney seeing as how Disneyland opened that year. Like (currently) 87% of other quiz takers, I've never even heard of this Curtice guy...
+1
Level 65
Jun 15, 2023
I love how 2006 just labels you as the most important person.

Then 2007 has Vladmir Putin

+1
Level 61
Nov 27, 2023
Great quiz. If you could make 'saddat' valid for 'sadat', or just 'Anwar' it would be great in the next update, especially for Arab speakers.
+2
Level 82
Dec 10, 2023
I wouldn't describe Queen Elizabeth II as a world leader. She was a constitutional monarch, a figurehead. Every other "world leader" on the list had executive power.
+2
Level 91
Dec 11, 2023
That’s where you’re wrong, and that’s precisely why the monarchy is such a devious institution - hardly anyone realises just how much power they have. Look up Queens Consent on Wikipedia for some examples of the British monarchy directly imposing its control on our supposed “democracy” or the countless Orders in Council (issued by the privy council) which also don’t need to pass the scrutiny of the Houses of Parliament.

Urgent reform needed, and a program of mass education for the ignorant British public.

#Notmyking

+1
Level 65
Dec 10, 2023
It surprises me that there are so many worldleaders on the list.
+2
Level 91
Dec 11, 2023
We had a labour government in the lead up to the disastrous illegal invasion of Iraq, and some concerned labour backbenchers wanted to remove the power of the prime minister Tony Bliar to unilaterally declare war. They tabled a motion which would remove that authority without putting the question to parliament - a seemingly democratic notion. Our delightful Queen however, was only too happy to comply with a request by Bliar to withhold Queens Consent, killing the proposed bill dead in the water, before it could even be discussed in parliament. This way Bliar could have the war he so desperately wanted in his efforts to bootlick president Bush, and democracy was once again perverted in the name of profit and war.

#Republic

#Notmyking

+1
Level 51
Dec 24, 2023
I was surprised that neither Gagarin nor Einstein were Person of the Year
+3
Level 64
Dec 24, 2023
Choosing Taylor Swift for this year is the ultimate proof of how delusional Americans are towards their own culture. With all the mess we got in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in South East Asia and even the US, the choice surprised me. Anyway, that's a fantastic quiz idea and a well-deserved feature.
+1
Level 75
Dec 24, 2023
Missed four due to poor spelling. Ueberoth, xiaping, etc
+1
Level 80
Dec 25, 2023
I would have got Queen Elizabeth if she weren't listed as 'world leader'.
+1
Level 72
Jan 11, 2024
Elizabeth was the head of state from 1952 until her death. it would be disrespectful to label her as anything other than a world leader.
+1
Level 53
Nov 20, 2024
'person of the year' has been disappointing the last couple years'