The Ladder

Every ballot counted · rankings move with every vote

1. 2Harriet TubmanActivists33–61722
2. 10Franklin D. RooseveltPresidents15–21663
3. 20F. Scott FitzgeraldWriters17–41652
4. 26Abraham LincolnPresidents11–01639
5. 29Albert EinsteinScientists10–01634
6. 31Alexander Graham BellScientists52–141631
7. 49Frederick DouglassActivists14–41616
8. 54Babe RuthAthletes12–31615
9. 61Mary McLeod BethuneActivists11–31606
10. 65Georgia O'KeeffeIcons8–11605
11. 73W. E. B. Du BoisActivists11–21603
12. 81Mark TwainWriters9–11600
13. 83Milton HersheyMoguls25–121600
14. 90Ulysses S. GrantMilitary10–21597
15. 98Chief JosephStatesmen21–121595
16. 103Duke EllingtonMusicians13–51593
17. 109John MuirActivists13–61591
18. 118Joseph PulitzerMoguls8–21587
19. 120Clara BartonActivists12–51586
20. 123Ernest HemingwayWriters9–21585
21. 136Thomas EdisonScientists9–31581
22. 146Susan B. AnthonyActivists9–31579
23. 150Edgar Allan PoeWriters8–21578
24. 152Henry FordMoguls10–41578
25. 181John D. RockefellerMoguls12–61571
26. 188Ralph Waldo EmersonWriters9–31570
27. 214Dwight D. EisenhowerPresidents8–31562
28. 217Amelia EarhartExplorers7–41561
29. 220Nikola TeslaScientists10–51559
30. 223GeronimoMilitary8–31558
31. 225Theodore RooseveltPresidents9–41558
32. 263Edwin HubbleScientists7–41549
33. 281Cy YoungAthletes9–51546
34. 283A. Philip RandolphActivists9–51546
35. 298Helen KellerActivists7–41543
36. 303Percy JulianScientists8–51542
37. 309Humphrey BogartEntertainers8–51540
38. 316Warren G. HardingPresidents7–41539
39. 321George Washington CarverScientists7–51538
40. 322Herman MelvilleWriters9–61538
41. 333Buffalo BillFolk Heroes8–51536
42. 334Elizabeth BlackwellScientists9–61535
43. 337Ida B. WellsActivists9–71534
44. 346Laura Ingalls WilderWriters6–41533
45. 355Charles GoodyearScientists25–191530
46. 364Sitting BullMilitary10–71529
47. 373Hiram BinghamExplorers7–51528
48. 374Levi StraussMoguls8–51528
49. 382E. B. WhiteWriters8–71526
50. 421Honus WagnerAthletes17–171521
51. 422Groucho MarxEntertainers10–81521
52. 428Matthew RidgwayMilitary6–61519
53. 431Annie OakleyFolk Heroes11–121519
54. 432Emily DickinsonWriters8–61519
55. 436Fred AstaireEntertainers8–61518
56. 438T. S. EliotWriters8–61517
57. 449Grover ClevelandPresidents7–61515
58. 453Madam C. J. WalkerMoguls8–81515
59. 461John BrownActivists9–91514
60. 481Alice PaulActivists6–51510
61. 484The Sundance KidOutlaws6–61509
62. 488Walt WhitmanWriters5–51508
63. 490Henry David ThoreauWriters6–61507
64. 507William FaulknerWriters7–81505
65. 514William Tecumseh ShermanMilitary6–71503
66. 528Booker T. WashingtonActivists7–61501
67. 529Norman RockwellIcons8–71501
68. 533Jane AddamsActivists6–71500
69. 534Buster KeatonEntertainers6–51499
70. 535Wild Bill HickokFolk Heroes10–101499
71. 537Woodrow WilsonPresidents9–81499
72. 540Harry S. TrumanPresidents8–71498
73. 548P. T. BarnumMoguls7–81495
74. 555Bessie SmithMusicians6–71494
75. 561John J. PershingMilitary7–81494
76. 565Herbert HooverPresidents11–141493
77. 577Jim BridgerExplorers20–221490
78. 588Eugene V. DebsActivists7–91488
79. 612James A. GarfieldPresidents5–61482
80. 614Stonewall JacksonMilitary5–61482
81. 618William McKinleyPresidents6–81481
82. 620John Wesley PowellExplorers10–111481
83. 624Calamity JaneFolk Heroes7–81480
84. 632George S. PattonMilitary8–91479
85. 637Crazy HorseMilitary8–121478
86. 640Jesse JamesOutlaws9–111477
87. 641Franklin PiercePresidents6–91477
88. 652Al CaponeOutlaws9–111475
89. 656Robert E. LeeMilitary9–91475
90. 660Scott JoplinMusicians10–121474
91. 673Chesty PullerMilitary5–71471
92. 700George GershwinMusicians6–81467
93. 707John C. FrémontExplorers5–81465
94. 711Nathaniel HawthorneWriters5–71465
95. 716Robert FrostWriters4–71464
96. 717Andrew JohnsonPresidents10–141462
97. 719Elizabeth Cady StantonActivists3–71462
98. 720Frank CapraEntertainers6–111462
99. 723Jack LondonWriters5–71461
100. 726Billy the KidOutlaws6–101461
101. 737Calvin CoolidgePresidents8–131458
102. 743George EastmanScientists4–71457
103. 745Frank Lloyd WrightIcons4–71457
104. 754J. P. MorganMoguls6–91455
105. 757Andrew CarnegieMoguls3–71455
106. 780Ty CobbAthletes19–201450
107. 785William Howard TaftPresidents5–81449
108. 787Jimmy DoolittleMilitary6–101448
109. 804Edith WhartonWriters6–101443
110. 805O. HenryWriters3–71443
111. 807Matthew HensonExplorers5–101443
112. 808Alvin YorkMilitary8–121442
113. 810Fiorello La GuardiaStatesmen3–71442
114. 819Omar BradleyMilitary5–101440
115. 820Upton SinclairWriters6–121439
116. 821Emma GoldmanActivists3–81439
117. 822Louisa May AlcottWriters7–131439
118. 829Emperor NortonFolk Heroes3–81438
119. 835Mother JonesActivists4–101437
120. 862Chester W. NimitzMilitary5–101432
121. 866David FarragutMilitary2–81431
122. 871Frank JamesOutlaws3–91430
123. 872Brigham YoungActivists4–91430
124. 876Lucky LucianoOutlaws3–81428
125. 884Richard E. ByrdExplorers3–91426
126. 889Black BartOutlaws3–101425
127. 891Butch CassidyOutlaws2–81425
128. 904Dorothy DayActivists3–91421
129. 910Robert GoddardScientists3–91420
130. 913Eddie RickenbackerMilitary6–111420
131. 922Benjamin HarrisonPresidents7–131415
132. 925Joshua ChamberlainMilitary4–121415
133. 928Walter JohnsonAthletes4–101414
134. 943Buckminster FullerScientists5–131412
135. 944John Philip SousaMusicians4–111411
136. 951Casey JonesFolk Heroes2–91410
137. 953Conrad HiltonMoguls5–131408
138. 959Douglas MacArthurMilitary4–131405
139. 960Willa CatherWriters3–111405
140. 961George Armstrong CusterMilitary4–121405
141. 962Mae WestEntertainers5–131404
142. 964William Randolph HearstMoguls2–101404
143. 978Cole PorterMusicians4–121400
144. 993Wyatt EarpFolk Heroes1–91392
145. 994James CagneyEntertainers1–91391
146. 995John FordEntertainers2–101390
147. 1003W. C. FieldsEntertainers4–121385
148. 1008George WestinghouseScientists2–111381
149. 1009Joseph SmithActivists15–281381
150. 1011Stephen FosterMusicians1–101380
151. 1012Robert PearyExplorers3–121379
152. 1016Zora Neale HurstonWriters1–131377
153. 1017Kit CarsonExplorers1–101377
154. 1018Rutherford B. HayesPresidents2–121376
155. 1021Colonel SandersMoguls5–181373
156. 1024Chester A. ArthurPresidents2–121370
157. 1026Eugene O'NeillWriters2–121367
158. 1032Belle StarrOutlaws9–311363
159. 1034John Wesley HardinOutlaws2–141361
160. 1036Ambrose BierceWriters1–111360
161. 1038Bass ReevesFolk Heroes5–171358
162. 1041Cole YoungerOutlaws5–191356
163. 1043Millard FillmorePresidents1–141352
164. 1044George MarshallMilitary3–161352
165. 1045Doc HollidayOutlaws4–191351
166. 1046Irving BerlinMusicians2–141349