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In 2013, writers Steven Skiena and Charles B. Ward developed an algorithm to denote historical figures in order of significance. Excluding religious figures, who do Skiena and Ward estimate to be the most historically significant figure of all time?

Answer: French leader Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Napoleon was closely followed by English playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) and US President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).

Source: Who’s Bigger by Steven Skiena and Charles B. Ward

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