NationStates Jolt Archive

Right, the nominations are in, the top 8 have been selected and now it's down to the voting, the top 8 are
Churchill
Cromwell
Brunel
Shakespeare
Hawking
Queen Elizabeth the 1st
Newton
Thatcher

Newton

What about Ron Atkinson?

Newton
Vote for him then!


Sukafitz, he wasn't even nominated.

As a poet myself, i vote for Shakespeare.

As a poet myself, i vote for Shakespeare.
I'm a poet , but I didn't know it. I voted for Churchill though, I noticed that Thatcher hasn't got any votes.

Newton in the lead

Why did you feel the need to include Thatcher?

I'm a poet , but I didn't know it. I voted for Churchill though, I noticed that Thatcher hasn't got any votes.

You do now! :D

btw why would she get any votes?

Eric Idle?

God I hate milk snatcher

Those in your poll, I think you'll find they are English!

Shakespeare especially, and Cromwell.

I mean I don't recognise specifically any Welsh or Scots in your poll.

So to have a British poll full of English people seems a bit odd...

Maybe you should include William Wallace. . . :rolleyes: That's a Brit if I ever heard of one.

If indeed what you were really after was a poll of the English greats you should add maybe Alfred the Great?

He was great though :p!

I had another nominations thread, rthese where the top 8, can't do much about it though.

As a poet myself, i vote for Shakespeare.


christ i hate such pretentious people who put themselves on a pedestal

Look closely folks.

Someone called "LinkinParker" called themselves a poet.


Its Irony.

Charge for Cromwell! I know he won't win but oh well. Does anyone else think that pulling his statue down at Westminster because of a terrorist threat (eh?) is completely unnecessary?

Also, stop moaning about the nominations. Last week you had your chance to put forward any whom you considered deserved of the title Greatest Briton. This is merely a poll of the top 8 most nominated.

Look closely folks.

Someone called "LinkinParker" called themselves a poet.


Its Irony.

What the F**K is that supposed to mean?

christ i hate such pretentious people who put themselves on a pedestal.
:upyours:

Why did you feel the need to include Thatcher?


So everyone could get a good laugh.

I'll go with Churchill.

Where's John Lennon? Had to go with Churchill.

Those in your poll, I think you'll find they are English!

Shakespeare especially, and Cromwell.


How do you go about becoming "especially" English? 0.o

I voted for Churchill.

Churchill was great, but I chose Thatcher because she was a more recent leader who helped Reagan stand up to the Soviets. Go Thatcher!

This ignorant American doesn't know who Brunel is. All the rest are good choices but I have to go with Shakespeare, who set a cultural standard that has endured through 4 centuries and not only in the English-speaking world.
(American Jewish immigrants and their descendants in New York used to delight in Central Park performances of Shakespeare in Yiddish.)

I voted for Churchill.

The correct answer is obviously John Peel. You lot should be ashamed of yourselves for missing him out.

Now go and put on your drum n bass and your black armbands.

Edit: Brunel was an engineer, btw. http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/i/is/isambard_kingdom_brunel.html

Brunel: first suspension bridge. (Clifton) First steam boat (I think) and something else.

I voted for him although the actual choice is obvious. Edmund Blackadder!

This ignorant American doesn't know who Brunel is. All the rest are good choices but I have to go with Shakespeare, who set a cultural standard that has endured through 4 centuries and not only in the English-speaking world.
(American Jewish immigrants and their descendants in New York used to delight in Central Park performances of Shakespeare in Yiddish.)

Who the hell is Brunel?

Who the hell is Brunel?

I just posted a link that tells you who the hell he is.

Edit: Have you got that armband on yet? Why not? Jump to it! :mad:

The correct answer is obviously John Peel. You lot should be ashamed of yourselves for missing him out.

Now go and put on your drum n bass and your black armbands.

Edit: Brunel was an engineer, btw. http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/i/is/isambard_kingdom_brunel.html
Famous for being photographed in front of a load of chains, standing like this: *demonstrates*, while wearing a battered hat and smoking a cigar (which is airbrushed out of most school textbooks).

And R.I.P. John.

Famous for being photographed in front of a load of chains, standing like this: *demonstrates*, while wearing a battered hat and smoking a cigar (which is airbrushed out of most school textbooks).

And R.I.P. John.

They must have awfully good schools in Sevenoaks. Up here we didn't even have books, just etched bark and rocks. When we had to learn about building bridges, all we were given were a few twigs each and then we were pushed into a river.

Shakespear in yiddish. Probably make more sense to english speaker then the origional version.

Thatcher, she might not have been the most popular Prime Minister (understatement I know) but she's set a standard for femanists everywhere. We need more women like her to stop the sexist politics that still continue even now.

I dont think that it is at all posible to pick out the greatest Brit. Every Brit is great, just for the fact that they are British.
Every person you have nominated in the poll has been great in their own way.
Anyway, where is Nelson? Where is Wellington?
Good idea for a poll, but pointless really, as every British person should be proud of every one of their great idols, and they should be proud to have been born, under the glourious gaze of the Union Jack.
Rule Britannia.

Thatcher, she might not have been the most popular Prime Minister (understatement I know) but she's set a standard for femanists everywhere. We need more women like her to stop the sexist politics that still continue even now.


Are you fucking kidding me?

They must have awfully good schools in Sevenoaks. Up here we didn't even have books, just etched bark and rocks. When we had to learn about building bridges, all we were given were a few twigs and then we were pushed into a river.
Interesting varient on Pooh-sticks for the engineeringly challenged. ;)

I'm told we do have good schools around here. My brother even teaches at one. Wish I could afford to send my kids to one of them. :headbang:

Shakespear in yiddish. Probably make more sense to english speaker then the origional version.

Thatcher, she might not have been the most popular Prime Minister (understatement I know) but she's set a standard for femanists everywhere. We need more women like her to stop the sexist politics that still continue even now.

The only reason Thatcher did so bloody well in the gub'mint is because she was not a feminine lady.

She was more of a bulldog than Churchill, and ate hippies for breakfast.

I dont think that it is at all posible to pick out the greatest Brit. Every Brit is great, just for the fact that they are British.
Every person you have nominated in the poll has been great in their own way.
Anyway, where is Nelson? Where is Wellington?
Good idea for a poll, but pointless really, as every British person should be proud of every one of their great idols, and they should be proud to have been born, under the glourious gaze of the Union Jack.
Rule Britannia.

...and that would be my cue to barf. By the way, you're making my ears bleed.


"English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England."

...and that would be my cue to barf. By the way, you're making my ears bleed.


"English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England."

But we ARE great. God save our gracious Queen, I fought in a war for the likes of you etc.

Really, come on, Cromwell? Why is he so great? He is one of the most evil Brits ever. He was a mass murderer!

The only reason Thatcher did so bloody well in the gub'mint is because she was not a feminine lady.

She was more of a bulldog than Churchill, and ate hippies for breakfast.
Yup, they called her the IRON MAIDEN!

P.S. I voted Newton.

I have to ask, but wasn't Churchill once published as saying in a london newspaper that jewish people were no better than dogs? and no, im not talking about hitler. so i voted newton, may have been crazy, but was the father of modern physics.

I dont think that it is at all posible to pick out the greatest Brit. Every Brit is great, just for the fact that they are British.
Every person you have nominated in the poll has been great in their own way.
Anyway, where is Nelson? Where is Wellington?
Good idea for a poll, but pointless really, as every British person should be proud of every one of their great idols, and they should be proud to have been born, under the glourious gaze of the Union Jack.
Rule Britannia.

So BNP members and rapists and Harold Shipman are/were great because they are /were british. that's bollocks and you know it

Churchill did say some pritty outragous things, you know the whole, "If I was your wife I'd poison your coffee," thing. Still he was a great man.

You forgot Basil Fawlty.

not being a Brit, I would say that the Brit most likely to be forever remembered will be Shakespear, with King Arthur (whoever he really was and assuming he really existed in some form) coming in second...

Political leader though has to be Queen Elizabeth, followed by Churchill and Cromwell a distant third (unless you are a Charles I fan)

William the Conqueror was pretty savy too, although technicially he was a Norman not a Brit

Hawking is a twit.

Churchill could not govern in peacetime.

Thatcher had an admirable personality but a disasterous policy.

I would add Milton, a rare genius.

Typical of the 'British' to point out the so called failings of the Great Brits eh ?? What a great country with great people from all through the ages, is there any other country quite full of such brilliant people ?? I doubt it !!! (hawking a twit) ????

Hawking is a twit.

Churchill could not govern in peacetime.

Thatcher had an admirable personality but a disasterous policy.

I would add Milton, a rare genius.

In order:

No.

Yes.

What??? Her disasters were at least partly a consequence of her personality!

Yes. Very much so.

What the F**K is that supposed to mean?
poems are all about love and linkinpark are a rock band :cool:

poems are all about love and linkinpark are a rock band :cool:
you are wrong :mad: :mad:

this is a poem:

I'm going to draw a picture,
A picture with a twist.
I'll draw it with a razor,
I'll draw it on my wrist.
And as I draw this picture,
A fountain will appear.
And as this fountain flows,
My fears will disappear.

Where is the love? :)

you are wrong :mad: :mad:

this is a poem:

I'm going to draw a picture,
A picture with a twist.
I'll draw it with a razor,
I'll draw it on my wrist.
And as I draw this picture,
A fountain will appear.
And as this fountain flows,
My fears will disappear.

Where is the love? :)

:(

I prefer Norman MacCaig or Dylan Thomas myself, but that's me.

:(

I prefer Norman MacCaig or Dylan Thomas myself, but that's me.
seconded.

Churchill in the lead.

:(

I prefer Norman MacCaig or Dylan Thomas myself, but that's me.
This was actually written by a friend of mine.

I mean I don't recognise specifically any Welsh or Scots in your poll.

So to have a British poll full of English people seems a bit odd...

It says a lot, actually.

if you voted for thatcher, kill yourself. :eek:

you are wrong :mad: :mad:

this is a poem:

I'm going to draw a picture,
A picture with a twist.
I'll draw it with a razor,
I'll draw it on my wrist.
And as I draw this picture,
A fountain will appear.
And as this fountain flows,
My fears will disappear.

Where is the love? :)

Shutup! I hate that song! :mad:

hmmm. Of those, its shakespeare. Personally, i think Admiral Nelson should have had at least a nomination. Edward the Second, or what about Johnathan Ross? ant and Dec? (ok, the last two were jokes)

Churchill thrashing everybody....

Newton

and all i have to say about that poll is:

Thacther, Thacther, Milk Snatcher!

Not Thatcher! Never Thatcher! I would have to go for Shakespeare... or Newton... you know, one of those who didn't kill people.

Churchill thrashing everybody....

Interesting to see that gassing the Kurdish people is no bar to being considered the Greatest Biritsh person, but is somehow, for some crazy reason, seen as a bad thing when carried out by someone of a nationality other than British.

Interesting to see that gassing the Kurdish people is no bar to being considered the Greatest Biritsh person, but is somehow, for some crazy reason, seen as a bad thing when carried out by someone of a nationality other than British.
Same thing with ordering the army in against your own people. Wierd.

Churchill. Won us the war.

has to be churchill, his mother was american

has to be churchill, his mother was american

why does that mean he should win?

Newton baby, yeah!

Queen Elizabeth I.

She fought the Spanish, and with that, she did many good things for the Netherlands, who were suffering under the Spanish burden. But after all, with the help of queen Elizabeth I, the two proud Protestant nations kicked the Spanish out and destroyed their economy (-> Armada).

Shutup! I hate that song! :mad:
what song?

Interesting to see that gassing the Kurdish people is no bar to being considered the Greatest Biritsh person, but is somehow, for some crazy reason, seen as a bad thing when carried out by someone of a nationality other than British.
I didn't vote for him!

Interesting to see that gassing the Kurdish people is no bar to being considered the Greatest Biritsh person, but is somehow, for some crazy reason, seen as a bad thing when carried out by someone of a nationality other than British.

Nobody likes a copy-cat.

Churchill was a bastard. Crap peace time politician and some vary nasty notions on the use of gas and the empowerment of women.
Cromwell was a git
and the less said about Thatcher the better.


That's what i love about being British, i even hate the "greatest people of my nationallity."

Churchill was a bastard. Crap peace time politician and some vary nasty notions on the use of gas and the empowerment of women.
Cromwell was a git
and the less said about Thatcher the better.


That's what i love about being British, i even hate the "greatest people of my nationallity."
Yep, we all do.

Interesting side note: Elizabeth I, although termed 'the Virgin Queen' probably didn't die a virgin, but evidence suggests that Isaac Newton probably did...

So its true, scientists dont get laid.

It's amazing what PR could do for the monarchy even then.

Brunel: first suspension bridge. (Clifton) First steam boat (I think) and something else.

I voted for him although the actual choice is obvious. Edmund Blackadder!

The Great Western Railway

So its true, scientists dont get laid.

It's amazing what PR could do for the monarchy even then.
I know it's incredable.

what song?

Where is the love?

Blacked eyed peas-> :( :fluffle: :) ____________ :mp5: <-me

What about Ron Atkinson?

i'd vote for blackadder ron atkinson but not really mr bean ron atkinson!! :D

thatcher and cromwell neck and neck...
thankfully at the back of the pack

good on ya, voters!

i'd vote for blackadder ron atkinson but not really mr bean ron atkinson!! :D

Rowan Atkinson I think you mean.

Ron Atkinson is the satsuma faced football commentator who had to resign for saying the word ****** on air.

That's what i love about being British, i even hate the "greatest people of my nationallity."

you only get that here... ;)

Newton for me. He changed the World. His theories and mathematical proofs gave us the basis for pretty much everything that followed.
Churchill in the lead? WHY?!? He was a virulent bigot who just happened to be right at that moment. And remember it was the Russians and Yanks that had the biggest effect in the winning of WWII. I'm certain that had there been no Churchill another person would have stepped forward to lead Britain.
Can you say the same about Newton?
Without him, it might have taken decades more to discover the same mathematics and physics he gave us.

It looks like Churchills walking it, all thats left is for Newton and Shakespeare to fight for second place, both equal at the moment.

Newton for me. He changed the World. His theories and mathematical proofs gave us the basis for pretty much everything that followed.
Churchill in the lead? WHY?!? He was a virulent bigot who just happened to be right at that moment. And remember it was the Russians and Yanks that had the biggest effect in the winning of WWII. I'm certain that had there been no Churchill another person would have stepped forward to lead Britain.
Can you say the same about Newton?
Without him, it might have taken decades more to discover the same mathematics and physics he gave us.

Sure someone would have taken over apart from Churchill and his name was Lord Hastings, master of appeasement.

Churchill a virulant bigot? Probably as he did get a few things wrong. But he was the first to spot the dangers of Nazism and Hitler's ideology. He was not a brilliant tactician nor political animal or a phenomenal public speaker (not helped because of his lisp and stammer) but he was important in making sure that Britain survived. His genius for boosting morale and for leadership just by being seen to do something even if he wasn't actually doing anything meant that the British people had the stomach to hang on in there. His tough no-compromise position meant that decisions were taken like the bombing of the French fleet of the pro-Nazi Vichy government that helped convince the USA that Britain was serious about staying in the war. Britain provided the landing ground for the largely but not solely American force to invade France and liberate Europe. Furthermore, the Battle of Britain (and lets not forget the people of French, Polish, American and other nationalities who fought for Britain in it) helped prove that Hitler's war machine could be beaten and that was also of fundamental moral significance.

Even though I voted for Cromwell, and still think he is the greatest Briton, I think Churchill deserves absolute respect for the service that he performed in Britain's darkest and yet also its finest hour!

Where is the love?

Blacked eyed peas-> :( :fluffle: :) ____________ :mp5: <-me

Black Eyed Peas, fool. :D

Anyway, what makes you think I care about your opinion. :rolleyes:

Black Eyed Peas, fool. :D

Anyway, what makes you think I care about your opinion. :rolleyes:

Want to eat my fist?! :mad:

you are wrong :mad: :mad:

this is a poem:

I'm going to draw a picture,
A picture with a twist.
I'll draw it with a razor,
I'll draw it on my wrist.
And as I draw this picture,
A fountain will appear.
And as this fountain flows,
My fears will disappear.

Where is the love? :)

*back of hand to forehead*
Woe is me.

This set of my ANGST-O-METER 3000.

*back of hand to forehead*
Woe is me.

This set of my ANGST-O-METER 3000.

indeed.

Of course I had to go for Thatcher, saviour of the UK from rampant cancer of socialism. Destroyer of the parasitic unions.

However the list misses out...
James Clark Maxwell who really founded Quantum Mechanics etc.
Alan Turing who probably helped save a million allied lives cracking codes.
Adam Smith, the first economist.

Cromwell was a hippocrite. He got rid of the King, and then became one under a different title. Plus he was a puritan, and they were SO boring. I mean, They banned Christmas, theatre, dancing, drinking, doing anything on a Sunday besides Praying, The list keeps going!

Um, out of curiosity, where in the hell are:

Alfred the Great (the only English king with The Great appended to his name, so named because he rallied the Brits hold off the rampaging Viking hordes)

William the Conqueror (one of the very few generals in history never to lose a battle, and was actually a pretty darn good administrator once he managed to get everyone settled after conquering England)

Henry II (were it not for the Thomas Beckett scandal, he would be lionized. A brilliant general and administrator, he rallied England from it's King Stephen-era slump to turn it into one of the great powerhouses of the western world, not to mention introduced the concept of trial by jury into the British court system, replacing trial by ordeal)

Simon de Montefort (the founder of English Parliament)

Sir Francis Drake (first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, not to mention besting the Spanish Armada using nothing but glorified schooners)

Any one of those people could best Thatcher in importance. Given a choice from the list, I'd say Newton (even though Liebniz ever-so-slightly beat him to inventing calculus). His work on physics revolutionized the way we see the world today. Were I to pick from anyone, I'd say William the Conqueror.

hey Xeno, I picked William the Conqueror also (see Galveston Bay post), but I pointed out that he was technically a Norman.


I like Henry II and Simon de Montfort also, but its hard to say that either did more for England than Queen Elizabeth I .... who prevented it from being conquered by the Spanish, held the social structure together without civil war or massive slaughter of dissidents at an extremely trying time, or ruled so long and so well. Best ruler of the pre industrial period in my view, of any country.

Simon de Montefort

French, rather than British, surely?

I voted Newton, but personally I think Lennon.

Unfortunatly, this poll lacks the greatest British minds of all time.

John Cleese
Graham Chapman
Douglas Adams

Consider yourselves corrected. :D

John Lennon

Unfortunatly, this poll lacks the greatest British minds of all time.

John Cleese
Graham Chapman
Douglas Adams

Consider yourselves corrected. :D
If you say so.

John Cleese
Graham Chapman :D

Hell yeah, fucking geniuss! LONG LIVE PYTHON! DEATH TO THE JUDEAN PEOPLE'S FRONT! SPLITTERS!

Hell yeah, fucking geniuss! LONG LIVE PYTHON! DEATH TO THE JUDEAN PEOPLE'S FRONT! SPLITTERS!

Yay ther peoples front of judea!


"Brian, you have been a very naughty boy!"




"My fwiend, Biggus Dickus"

Yay ther peoples front of judea!


"Brian, you have been a very naughty boy!"


:mad: Never misquote Python in my presence! :mad:

It's "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy, now piss off!"

:mad: Never misquote Python in my presence! :mad:

It's "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy, now piss off!"

sorry, not meant to be a quote, more a, uneducated paraphrase

We shall never surrender


the others are ok , but without Churchill we wouldn't have had this , we would have been part of the third reich , and not be able to say this the others would be obsulete. possibly not even alive

Churchill is way overestimated. His Generals and advisors were the ones who won the war (go Hugh Dowding, the true winner of the Battle of Britain!)

I voted for!!!...

"Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England (and his wards). Born in 1599 and died in 1658, September!"