10 Terrible People Who Changed History Forever

10 Terrible People Who Changed History Forever

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at figures who had immeasurably negative effects on the world.

Kim Il Sung

Installed as a leader of North Korea by Joseph Stalin and the Soviets in 1948, Kim Il Sung wasted no time in establishing a culture of fear and intimidation. He targeted anyone perceived as a threat and created a totalitarian government centered around his supposed greatness. Seeking to reunify Korea by force, Kim invaded South Korea, thus sparking the Korean War, which saw approximately 2.5 million people killed. The failure to reunify did not deter Kims furthering of his power, nor his regimes human rights abuses. He also created a caste system known as the "songbun, with those at the bottom deemed hostile. Kim ruled until his death in 1994, and his son and grandson have emulated his brutal reign.

Idi Amin

Rising his way through the ranks of the King's African Rifles and the Uganda Army, Idi Amin eventually seized power in a coup. His presidency was defined by human rights abuses and targeting of political enemies. He also expelled thousands of South Asian people living in Uganda. Wracked by paranoia that only grew with time, Amin's reign ended in 1979, following another coup. He fled, living in Libya, Iraq, and finally, Saudi Arabia, dying in 2003. In eight years, as many as half a million people are estimated to have been killed under Amin's reign.

Benito Mussolini

"Fascism" is intrinsically linked to Benito Mussolini, as it was a term he originated. Seizing power amidst instability in the wake of World War I, Mussolini used his skills of charisma and persuasion to create a one-party government driven by subjugation and his being likened to something of a demigod. The Blackshirts, his paramilitary organization, targeted socialists and other enemies of the fascist party. In 1935, under his rule, Italy also invaded Ethiopia, leading to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties. Allied with Germany during World War II, Mussolinis image as a strong leader fell significantly following an ill-fated invasion of Greece. In 1943, Mussolini was deposed and arrested. Then, in 1945, he was executed by a member of the Italian resistance movement.

Genghis Khan

The extent of Genghis Khan's skill as a military leader and conqueror is incredible. But this also means he was absolutely ruthless in his quest to expand the Mongol Empire as far and wide as he possibly could. This means anyone who dared defy their conquest could be assured a swift end. Theres no clear number of deaths under Khans rule, but its almost certainly in the millions. Though Khan displayed some positive traits as a leader, such as uniting divided tribes and emphasizing merit over lineage, the sheer amount of bloodshed enacted by Khan and his armies earns him a spot on this list.

Osama Bin Laden

Even before he orchestrated the September 11th attacks, Osama Bin Laden was notorious for causing violence and chaos around the world. Born into wealth in Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden became radicalized as a militant during the Soviet-Afghan War. He formed the terror organization Al-Qaeda, launching attacks throughout the 90s. Then, in 2001, he oversaw the deadliest terrorist attack in American history, killing 2,977 people and forever altering the course of the 21st century. He was able to spend the decade in hiding before being found at a compound in Pakistan by U.S. military forces and killed in 2011.

Leopold II

Despite its name, the Congo Free State was anything but. It was actually an absolute monarchy privately owned by Belgium's King Leopold II. Though Leopold never actually set foot in the Central African nation, he still oversaw horrific atrocities. His Force Publique military subjected people to forced labor to extract resources and enacted brutal punishments for not meeting quotas or refusing to recognize their authority. Even then, the actions done in Leopolds name were regarded as crimes against humanity. The Congolese population is estimated to have dropped by about 10 million during his reign, or half the population. He was eventually forced to relinquish the Congo to Belgium and died in 1909 from an embolism, seeing no real consequences for the suffering he caused.

Pol Pot

As leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot had an immeasurable detrimental effect on Cambodia, which was known as Democratic Kampuchea under his reign. Though he only ruled for four years, he left his citizens traumatized for generations. His most horrifying legacy was helping to orchestrate the Cambodian genocide, which saw the country's population reduced by nearly a quarter. His rule ended in 1979, when Vietnamese forces took over Cambodia. However, he saw no real consequences for being responsible for the deaths of millions. He continued his involvement with the Khmer Rouge until its collapse towards the end of the 90s. The 72-year-old Pol Pot was put under house arrest in June 1997 before dying of a heart in April of the following year.

Joseph Stalin

A key figure in the Russian Revolution, Joseph Stalin rose from a childhood of poverty in Georgia to become the ruler of the Soviet Union, gradually consolidating power over what was previously a collective government. He implemented five-year plans to fuel industrial growth by any means possible. His policy of taking over farms through collectivization resulted in a famine that saw the deaths of millions. Dissidents and enemies would be sent to the forced labor camps or executed outright. His paranoia furthered amidst the early years of the Cold War. However, he died following a stroke in 1953, at age 74.

Mao Zedong

Known as Chairman Mao, Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China in 1949, going to lengths like seizing land and targeting opponents. Like others on this list, Mao was able to see his ambitions through creating a cult of personality that made him revered throughout China. Though Mao has been credited for positive effects during his reign, such as increased rights for women, he was still a tyrant who persecuted dissidents through imprisonment, forced labor, and executions. His Great Leap Forward reforms resulted in a famine that killed tens of millions of people. While Mao, who died in 1976 at age 82, remains largely revered in China, the consequences of his rule are too great to ignore.

Adolf Hitler

Exploiting peoples fears amidst the Great Depression, Adolf Hitler went from an imprisoned radical to dictator of Germany in just over a decade. As leader of the Nazi Party, Hitler blamed minority groups for the ills of society, stoking bigotries such as anti-Semitism. Jewish citizens were deprived of citizenship and forced to live in ghettos where they were terrorized. Millions more were killed at concentration camps. Two-thirds of the European Jewish population was killed in the Holocaust, considered the single biggest genocide of all time. Facing defeat in the final days of World War II, Hitler took his life on April 30, 1945.

Did we miss someone who altered history for the worse? Let us know in the comments