Christopher Columbus is a man with his own bank holiday named after him that some school children also get off and for that reason Columbus gets a lot more praise than he probably should, because he certainly didn’t even discover America. People already lived there and it is said to have been visited by the Vikings many, many years before.
User Zigxy wrote:
“For what it’s worth I think Christopher Columbus gets my vote for overrated… kids think he’s some explorer genius who was the only one that thought the world was round…. When in actuality it was widely accepted the Earth was round and he miscalculated the circumference used the wrong estimate and should have died before reaching the Indies. But lucked out there was a continent (which he wasn’t aware of) right where he’d normally have begun running out of supplies and starved.”
And on top of this, Christopher Columbus and his men were responsible for many war crimes. From rape to murder, pillaging to enslavement, there’s plenty of reasons Christopher Columbus shouldn’t be celebrated in the least.
Douglas MacArthur is a far less capable leader than other commanders in the Pacific theater. He used lives like they were pawns and declared the battle for the Philippines over despite the fight still raging on. Not to mention, he was disliked by the many men who served under him.
Many have felt in retrospect that Douglas MacArthur was also a man who ultimately put forth his personal ambition over the needs of the many. His lack of good judgment ultimately during the pointless Korean war would ultimately be a complete military disaster that ended in defeat for America. Thus most of his accomplishments occurred during WWII.
Che Guevara has become something of a pop culture icon as much as a historical icon. More celebrated than Castro, you can find Guevara’s image on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and plenty of other merchandise. It’s an image used so much it almost has no meaning at all and to add to that, he’s a completely overrated figure, even if you are a communist sympathizer.
According to Reddit user pypski, Che Guevara is easily one of the most overrated people in history, even if you support his cause because, “He shot defectors. A deserter was considered a traitor, and he sent squads to track those who sought to go AWOL. He was anti-LGBT and wildly racist. Yet, somehow people today hail him as some kind of hero.”
Way_2_Go_Donny calls JFK a “Pill-popping, booty-slaying, trust-fund, back alley politician who conveniently only took an interest in civil rights in preparation for re-election.” And indeed it’s true that the man had many flaws but as this user puts it, “He was handsome, charming, and his tragic death made him seem much better than he actually was.”
John F. Kennedy is also responsible for one of the biggest military blunders in United States history: the Bay of Pigs invasion. Nevertheless, he was a great speaker and united the country, but only for a short while since he didn’t even complete his term. And hey, he’s also on the half-dollar – although nobody really uses that.
Henry the VIII did nothing more than strong-arm the church so he could marry another woman, which he’d probably been cheating with. Somehow, he became one of the most recognizable rulers, even though his daughter was a much better ruler, Elizabeth I. He certainly gets more attention than he deserves.
Henry VIII was a selfish king, and ultimately, brutal. He married a total of six times and after the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Spain, he beheaded most of his other wives when he was done with them. While he makes a good movie villain, we really shouldn't be giving a misogynist like him the time of day.
Coco Chanel is well-known for her luxury fashion brand that is basically synonymous with French fashion but the person herself was not so great. Coco Chanel was a Nazi agent who went under the code name “Westminster.” She spent most of WWII supporting German officers and even Himmler. She also insisted all Jewish directors of her brand be removed.
Coco Chanel has closed shop starting at the beginning of WWII in 1939 and as a result, about 4,000 workers lost their jobs. While she cited the war as not being a time for fashion, one biographer had suggested that she seized the opportunity to retaliate against workers who participated in the French general labor strike of 1936 - an effort to earn higher wages and work fewer hours.
Here’s a question: why search for a guy that’s done nothing? The fact that he’s hiding probably indicates that he’s done something wrong. Is he carrying something of value? Perhaps something illegal? Is he a CIA asset or a communist spy? He is wearing red after all. So many questions...
Oh, and he only has one shirt. Gross. And he never seems to be dressed appropriately for the weather. It could be like 100 degrees outside and he's on the beach and he's still wearing a long sleeve and a snow cap. If that's not suspicious then I don't know what is.
According to piinadao Steve Gutenberg is one of the most overrated people in history but don’t take our word for it, we’ll let him explain: “I mean, I liked Three Men and a Baby, but I don't think he deserves to be on all of these "Most Influential People of the Last Millennium" lists.
It is true though that Steve Guttenberg was a pretty big deal in the ‘80s. Three Men and a Baby was a huge hit for the actor and it even spawned a sequel. Then there are the Police Academy movies that also spawned several sequels. Other hits included Cocoon and Short Circuit. But after the ‘80s his career dwindled fast and all he can get these days are bit parts in stuff that nobody watches.
Guy Fawkes didn’t orchestrate everything. He was just a minor cog in a conspiracy that he didn’t even know that much about. He was tasked with a simple objective that he failed. Then, he snitched on every co-conspirator he knew about. He had one job, and he managed to mess up three.
Now he's one of the most renowned screw-ups in British history and every November 5th, It's Guy Fawkes Night, in which a celebration with fireworks occurs. Now his likeness has become associated as the face of anarchy, in part thanks to the graphic novel, and film based on it, V for Vendetta.
Paul Revere played a major role in our nation’s fate, but he wasn’t the only man on that Midnight Ride. He also a few other peers that night, but Revere gets all the credit because his name rhymes easily. The others? Samuel Prescott, Israel Bissel, and William Dawes. How hard is it to rhyme with Dawes, really?
Later in the Revolution, Paul Revere would serve as a Massachusetts militia officer but his service ended in 1779. He took part in the Penobscot Expedition, which was among the most disastrous campaigns in the Revolutionary war. Was it his fault? Maybe, not entirely. But he sure didn't make it a success, did he?
According to parker9832, Jack the Ripper is not only one of the most overrated people in history, he’s also one of the most overrated serial killers. parker9832 says, “He only has 5 confirmed kills. Amateur Hour.” And while not put so eloquently, indeed by comparison to other killers, he didn’t kill many but yet there is much written about him.
Inayath2014 adds: “Axeman (from New Orleans, i think) has a comparatively worse brutal streak. And don't even get me started on the Torso-Killer from Cleveland, man committed twice as many kills, twice as violent. Neither were ever found, but Jack and Zodiac get all the praise.”
In the end, it’s really the mystery of these monsters seems to be the basis of their appeal.
Tutankhamun, or King Tut, was a boy pharaoh that really only lived to be around 18. He suffered scoliosis so bad that he had to walk with a cane and was constantly sickly. Also, he married his sister, who had two miscarriages. He had lots of power, but his rule was anything but epic.
Of course, none of those things are his fault and it would be difficult to fault him for just those things. He did restore traditional art and religion to Egypt, which is either a good or bad thing depending on your beliefs - but regardless, is it even enough to consider him a great pharaoh? Not really.
Did you know that Pythagoras didn’t even invent the Pythagorean theorem, A2 + B2 = C2? One of his students actually did, and he stole it like a chump. To be fair, he did make it better and proved it, but the student is the one that started the whole thing.
Pythagoras was also a huge weirdo and a hypocrite. For one thing, he believed that having intercourse made a person weak and yet he had several children during his marriage. On top of this, he was afraid of beans - or rather - would not eat beans because he believed them to have spawned from the same source as humans, and he didn't eat meat, so that didn't sit well with him.
Garfield…the cat? Yes. Garfield the cat. Sure, he isn't a person per see but don't tell him that! He eats lasagna, pizza, and hot dogs just like the rest of us. Cat food? Forget about it! Everyone hates Mondays, alright? Him hating Mondays isn’t special. Garfield is just like all of us, except that he's a cat.
And honestly, he's one of the most high-maintenance cats around. Not only does he eat all those human foods and his owner just lets him do whatever he wants but he's also a bully to Odie, knocking him off the counter for laughs. And last but not least, obviously the character was not interesting enough for a movie, because the movies they made, totally bombed.
Walt Disney was one of the big reasons copyright laws are so messed up nowadays. The ironic thing is that he didn’t even come up with Mickey Mouse. It was one of his animators, and he ran with it. While he has the record of the most Academy Award wins and nominations by an individual (26 Oscars out of 59 nominations), none of that would be possible without all the hardworking people behind the scenes.
To muddy up his reputation even further, numerous things have been said about him over the years that paint him in a much less flattering light. For one, he was said to be a deeply insecure man who was self-deprecating in nature. He was also allegedly anti-Semitic and racist according to some sources.
Thomas Edison wasn’t really an inventor. Instead, he would take ideas from other people and refine them to be a viable product. He didn’t invent the lightbulb. He just refined it. He was smart, but let’s stop accrediting the light blub to him, please? The dude did a good job getting things patented but he wasn't much of an innovator.
Above all, Thomas Edison was a businessman. While other people had invented the lightbulb before him, he figured out a way to perfect it and actually sell it. Another dark secret about his past involves rumors of him having electrocuted dogs. It is said that he paid children money to round up stray dogs for his electrical experiments.
Sigmund Freud had a lot to do with the development of psychology as we know it today, but he really had a lot of outdated and downright weird views that certainly have nothing to do with factual evidence like that boys want to do gross stuff to their moms. Yikes!
User squaricle says, “So many of his theories have been thrown out by now but still he dominates so many classes and textbooks.”
However, another user, scsm defends him in part, saying “A while ago someone on Reddit had a great comment that yes, while most of Freud's theories ended up not being true, he put on the path of finding discovery and that mental illness wasn't just evil spirits or some incurable mystery.”
Oliver Cromwell is often seen as a powerhouse, but he ruled near dictatorially. Not to mention, he also set out to destroy the Irish peoples to the point where it was practically genocide. He was also quite delusional, as he believed quite fervently that God was guiding him the whole way.
Oliver Cromwell isn't just unpopular with people on Reddit. Historians and historical figures have also had plenty to say about him. Author David Sharp called him a regicidal dictator, while Winston Churchill called him a military dictator. Nevertheless, he is generally favored by the public, having been voted as one of the ten greatest Britons of all time according to 2002 BBC poll.
Henry Kissinger had guided United States foreign policy to support a lot of dictatorships. That, in turn, ended up hurting people all over the world and made the U.S. an enemy of many nations. He was short-sighted, and people call him a genius, according to one user on Reddit.
Henry Kissinger has often been said to have been cold and calculating, capable of acting without remorse. Of course, this all depends on your political alignment but without a doubt, he was a man all about the mission, renowned for his foreign policy expertise. Whether you consider him a sociopath or a dedicated politician, it probably came as a shock at the very least to discover he earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.
Jesus is a popular addition for a few reasons, but one Redditor tackled this using the real, historical Jesus, Yeshua of Nazareth. Yeshua was a small-town preacher who wanted to make a few reforms in the Jewish faith. After Yeshua dies, Saul of Tarsus creates an entire religion based on him. No one would have known about Yeshua if it wasn’t for Saul.
And let's not even forget the Jesus of the Bible who has said some pretty messed up things. For one, he said you need your mom and dad, and yourself too (Luke: 14:26). He also compared a woman to a dog in Matthew 15:24-26, saying It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
Reagan is a popular president, but he wasn’t a great one. Reagan caused huge budget deficits, ignored the environment, and did nothing about the AIDS epidemic that was looming over the nation. Plus, there was the whole Iran-Contra scandal. Yeah, Ronald Reagan was a republican hero for a time, but to everyone else, he was just another do-nothing president.
And before he even became the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was an actor and not a very good actor at that. On top of this, he was also an FBI informant who assisted in ruining the lives of people believed to be communists in the late 1940s. He provided names of actors who he believed to be communists.
Marilyn Monroe was supposedly talented and beautiful. While she was beautiful, she was a mediocre actress at best. Along with her bad hygiene, it was very difficult to get her to show up to work. She was frequently late and made absurd demands of directors. She could have really turned herself into something amazing, but nope.
She also had a difficult time remembering her lines, and at one point director Billy Wilder took to taping her lines to inconspicuous places such as the inside of a drawer where she could just read from them. As for her co-stars, some couldn't stand her, while others just pitied her.
Ferdinand is best remembered for his assassination, which “caused” WWI. The reality of the situation is that WWI would have happened whether he was involved or not. Austria was just looking for an excuse to attack Serbia. So, in essence, the most notable thing this guy ever really did was die.
Rather than establishing himself as a great political leader, he spent a lot of his time on vacation, murdering stuff. He straight-up murdered animals like kangaroos, emus and even elephants for sport. Obviosuly, not for eating, because who is actually out there going "mmm...elephant meat???" Nobody, that's who!
Muhammad is called a prophet of God, but he owned slaves, treated enemies horribly, and has been accused of being a sadist and merciless. He also married Aisha when she was just six years old, which is super messed up beyond all recognition. Why glorify a [explicit] and call him a prophet?
And let's face it: even his name is overrated. There have been so many babies named after Muhammad that it's not even funny. How many babies are there out there that are named Jesus? Well, not as many as Muhammad, I can tell you that. If Muhammad was so special, most people wouldn't even consider naming their kid after him.
Although Lincoln is often credited with freeing the slaves, it’s important to note that nobody has the power to do that. If you are a human or any other sentient being, you already have the right to freedom no matter who tries to take that away from you. Lincoln didn’t gift anyone freedom, and slaves in the South were still slaves because nobody in the South was willing to abide by the Emancipation Proclamation since they didn’t see themselves as part of the Union.
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union or rather the United States as it was before the South seceded. Freeing the slaves was not his priority and it’s difficult to say whether he would have even done it if there was another war. His goal was simply to weaken the South. There’s also writings from Lincoln himself that indicated he was racist and wanted to send them black people back to Africa!
Robert E. Lee is a general who is renowned for his achievements in battle, proving himself to be a formidable enemy early on in the American Civil War, but after that, he really blew it at Gettysburg and got a lot of people killed. And let’s not forget that he was just another traitor to the United States who was essentially fighting to preserve slavery.
CommandoDude also adds, “Lee was constantly making strategic blunders and always focused far too hard on the Eastern theater because he was obsessed with protecting his home state of Virginia. Meanwhile he basically gave up Tennessee and Louisiana to the Union in the interim…He was mostly lucky the men he fought were often stupider than him.”
Cleopatra wasn’t the most impressive Egyptian ruler—that would be Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut accomplished far more for her nation, and she was the only woman to act as pharaoh that was native to Egypt. Cleopatra wasn’t even Egyptian! She was Greek! She was a fraud, a phony, a mere Greek posing as a representative of Egypt.
Imagine if you will Vladmir Putin as the President of the United States or Joe Biden as the President of Mexico. Does that not sit well with you? Of course, it doesn't. Because they don't belong there and obviously the ruler of Egypt should be an Egyptian. Allegedly, Cleopatra committed suicide...sure, maybe...and maybe Epstein actually killed himself too.
Andrew Jackson ignored the Supreme Court and sent thousands of people on the Trail of Tears. No matter how much good he did, there’s no excuse for rounding up and forcing native American peoples to march across our nation. Andrew Jackson's cruelty to the Native Americans and complete disregard for their lives should not be ignored.
Andre Jackson once said about Native Americans, "They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their condition. Established in the midst of another and a superior race, and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority or seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear." And yes, we put this guy on the $20 bill.
Elvis is a musician with plenty of influence on the history of rock n roll but as a human being, his personality leaves much to be desired. User ZestycloseJob1242 says, “Sure he could sing. However, he was abusive to women [and] he preyed on teenage girls. Stories came out such as him having three, 14 old girls, in his hotel room to have a pillow fight and "wrestle" with him when he was 22 years old with him. He dated 15 year old, Dixie Locke, and harassed and controlled her to the point she wanted nothing to do with him. He married 14 year old Priscilla when he was 24, and repeatedly cheated on her, and she claims he raped her once.”
ZestycloseJob1242 continues: “He installed a 2 way mirror in his home to spy on couples having intercourse during his parties. After his divorce with Priscilla, he dated Reeca Smith, who was only 14 at the time. After her, he met and got engaged to 21 year old, Ginger Alden. Yes, finally someone of age. Unfortunately he was abusive. She claims he used a firearm in the house as warning shots, including above her head into the headboard one evening and once shot their TV.”
We’re gonna tell you a secret: King Arthur never actually existed. There may have been a similar king, but the stories are greatly exaggerated so it could be used to promote Christianity and unify the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons. And we certainly agree King Arthur is overrated because he doesn't exist because not existing is super lame.
I mean, imagine not existing in real life. It can be difficult to get things done already while you do exist. But even King Arthur's fictional self couldn't have gotten that much done without the aid of his Knights of the Round Table. And then there's also the fact that the legend of King Arthur is just the story of Jesus retold.
Not much of William Wallace’s life was recorded, so we’re not even really sure what he did. In addition to this, his stories were extremely over-embellished. The only thing that was recorded was the battles in Sterling and Falkirk, as well as his capture and execution. So, besides those things, it's hard to give much credit to unseen accomplishments.
And then there's that awful anti-semitic tirade that he went on about the Jewish people and the sexist remarks that he made to that one female police offer. Very unbecoming of a legend if you ask us! Oh, wait that was Mel Gibson. Sorry, we got confused for a bit. Just remember that most of what happens in the movie Braveheart is entirely made up.
Ayn Rand is a philosopher and author of Atlas Shrugged, who means a lot to libertarians and nihilists, but her views certainly don’t lend much to a cohesive society. Begotten_Glint notes, “She clearly thinks poor=dumb and useless, when she doesn't realize how privileged education is what makes someone "productive" in the way that she imagined.”
Begotten_Glint continues, “And the saddest part is so many people after reading atlas shrugged are like ‘yeah, selfishness is the best, anyone who is poor is weak and stupid. My life is good and it's impossible to have a good life unless you won it for yourself so I must be the best person ever and all you plebs can eat my shit.’”
If you can predict the future, maybe write it in plain text? Nostradamus apparently predicted the future, but he “recorded” his findings in poems that could be interpreted to match any event. Can you imagine if we had to read every piece of news right now in the form of a poem?
On top of this, a lot of the information he left behind was just plain false. On top of this, most of the facts about Nostradamus are actually false and his astrologies are actually filled with errors. And while he was said to have predicted his death, even that's false because allegedly his secretary had edited his writings after his death. Everything is a lie.
Sure, he was a founding father, but some say he was also a social climber. He also wasn’t as honest as our cherry-tree story led us to believe. Washington got pretty good at getting others to take the blame for his mistakes. He was a decent, respected General but that's it.
Do good soldiers make good presidents? Not always, and actually they usually make the most mediocre presidents if you ask us. Sure he helped shape the country, but not always in the best ways. I mean, the man owned slaves. Most of his great accomplishments were not the things he did but the things he didn't do, becoming President instead of a king, limiting his term, and so on and so forth. But most of his strategies as president came from cabinet members like Alexander Hamilton.
There’s no doubt of the influence that John Lennon and the Beatles had on music in the latter half of the 20th century and really for all music going forward. But one Beatle is perhaps celebrated a bit too much and that’s John Lennon. Despite the great things he did for music, he did plenty of bad things in his personal life.
One user TheDPH had this to say: “John Lennon, spoke about peace and love then went home and beat his wife. Sure, he made some catchy tunes but he was just an [explicit].”
Another user, gnomzy123 said, “ I read somewhere that he yelled at his son so loudly that he went partially deaf.”
Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionhearted, is a king renowned for his role in the Third Crusade as a leader of the people of England. But while he was a great battle commander, he wasn’t a great king. YellowForest4 describes him, saying “Dude was a bloodthirsty whack job and for some reason we remember him as a noble king?”
On top of this, Richard I actually spent very little time in England because he was always at war, so he had very little to do with actually ruling. Phtpnk adds that:
“He. Didn't. Even. Speak. English.
Also, even when he wasn't in the Crusades, he spent most of his time in his castle in Normandy. Out of his 11 year rule, he spent only a single year in England.
Also, his wife also never stepped foot in England either.”
Blackbeard is one of the most recognized pirates in history but is it mostly because of his beard?
Landoro_ says, “He was just some pirate in the carribean that was known on the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. No remarkable fighting skills, he wasn't anywhere near the wealthiest pirate, and no, he didn't go into battle with a smoking/flaming beard. And his death was even more unremarkable, he was lured into a trap illegally and secretly by a North Carolina lieutenant. It wasn't even a fierce battle. Pirates are untrained criminals, the navy were trained soldiers so they took no time in cutting his head off and tying it on a pole facing the Chesapeake Bay.”
InvidiousSquid adds that “Hell, most of the famous pirates were overrated. Media presents a lifetime at sea, full of plunder and endless drinking and whoring in seedy ports…The reality is most of their careers were measured in single digit years and ended on a rope.” And indeed, it seems strange we spend so much time worshipping these criminals at sea.
“Someone else has probably already come here to say this, but not only was she a straight-up [explicit], she was venerated as a saint for some pretty awful and shady reasons. The most obvious was just blatant propaganda for the Vatican, and the other was to show-up Princess Diana, whose death was completely wiped from the media when Theresa died shortly after.”
“A lot of older generations, especially religious folks would clutch their pearls and faint if you said Mother Theresa was a [redacted] because a lot of unbiased information about her controversial behavior didn't start coming out until the 2000s and the PR around her was pretty strong…The short-ish story was that she was accepting billions (literal billions) in donations and funding to build churches and missions around the world under the guise of palliative care or some kind of faith-healing and she is largely known for her work with the lepers. She was considered a "saint" for her work in spreading messages of healing and faith, but the reality was that her 'hospitals' were run like prisons, often contained no medication and believed that pain and suffering were part of God's plan so they would literally tell people dying of very-curable illnesses to die with dignity in pain.”
- josiahpapaya
Not everyone on Reddit is a fan of Beyonce, if this one post on r/offmychest is any indication. It's not the most over-the-top critique of someone we've ever seen, but it is particularly specific...and brutal!
"She's gorgeous, somewhat charismatic but not as great as you would think given the amount of importance she is given. She reminds me of Madonna, who also was able to hire some of the most creative minds around, which did far more to keep her interesting to the public than what she had to offer."
Several users brought up the Kardashians among the most overrated people in history and to some extent, this is very true. What is it that they do? What are they known for? They are known for a reality show. But why did they even have a reality show to begin with?
The Kardashians are not blessed with any particular talent. They are merely rich and are celebrated for being rich and for having rich parents and stepparents. But they aren’t even more interesting than the average person nor charismatic. It’s one of the strangest phenomena of the 21st century – how they became famous.
Taylor Swift manages to elicit strong emotions from people in a way that no other celebrity can. Love her or hate her, you probably have strong feelings about her. On Reddit, those feelings are pretty negative! One post from user Brilliant-War-5745 in r/offmychest didn't mince words about the superstar:
"Not only do I think she is vastly overrated, I think she’s a money-hungry narcissist who’s so wildly out of touch that she hasn’t had a real human interaction in years. Any attempt on her part at being humble is so fake and I just wish she would go away so everyone would stfu about how great she is."
