If you could bring 5 famous people back from the dead...

[Father Heathen]

Me, I would have to choose Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Bill Hicks and George Carlin because the world, America in particular, could really use their wit and wisdom right now.

Can't decide on the fifth one.

Edit: Einstein, I guess.

 

[ChristineES]

Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.- for their peaceful way of making change. George Harrison- for the beautiful melodies in his songs. Leonardo and Michelangelo- for some wonderful artwork.

 

[jarofthoughts]

Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman so they can work on reconciling the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Theory.
Mark Twain so that he can continue to comment on the state of the world.
Nikola Tesla so we can give him the credit he is due and so that he can invent some new awesome stuff.
Marilyn Monroe so that I can date her...

 

[9Westy9]

Thomas Paine - I'm sure that he'd love to see the progress America and the Western world has made

Jesus (then we'd know for sure )

Paul Hunter - Died in 2006 at a young age just as he was looking to take the snooker world by storm. I'd like to see how well he would've done plus he was a joy to watch.

Gary Speed - Was turning the Wales national team into a very good side. It's a shame he died.

Isshi (from the band Kagrra) - Not sure if he counts as famous but I'm gonna choose him anyway. I'd bring him back as he was the vocalist for a band that were genuinely unique. They're mixture of rock with traditional Japanese instruments (i.e. the kota) was a joy to listen to.

[youtube]XF5pRuxGer8[/youtube]
kagrra utakata sub pv - YouTube

 

[InformedIgnorance]

I would revive the founding figure of the five most powerful religious groups...

Either the world will end because suddenly religious people would not know who they have to fear and hate without any shred of rationality or else their own faithful would kill them for disagreeing with what their holy books and religious institutions claim.

 

[Penumbra]

Off the top of my head, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Gautama Buddha, Carl Sagan, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Honorable mentions are Nikola Tesla, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, George Carlin, Mark Twain, Aristotle, Gandhi, Emerson, and more.

Actually, there's really no order to that. Just off the top of my head. The reasons are that we could use some polymaths who just "got (stuff) done", or who were future-thinking or completely innovative for their time.

Me, I would have to choose Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Bill Hicks and George Carlin because the world, America in particular, could really use their wit and wisdom right now.

Can't decide on the fifth one.

Edit: Einstein, I guess.

I think that's a really good list, at least from a USA perspective. Much of my list is from a US perspective as well.

 

[Religiousman101]

If I were to bring back any historical figures from the dead, I would choose Jesus Christ (although he isn't technically dead), Nephi, Teancum, Moroni, and Alma - all characters from ancient scripture. Thanks, and have a great day!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Frank Herbert - So he could have finished the Dune series.
Jimi Hendrix - So he could have continued to reinvent electric guitar.
Mozart - The world needs more genius-level musical compositions.
Archimedes - Just to meet the type of person who was a genius millenia ahead of their time.
Picasso - See if both his eyes were on one side of his head.

 

[ChristineES]

If I were to bring back any historical figures from the dead, I would choose Jesus Christ (although he isn't technically dead), Nephi, Teancum, Moroni, and Alma - all characters from ancient scripture. Thanks, and have a great day!

I thought about putting Jesus on my list, too, but we Christians don't believe He's dead.

 

[ChristineES]

Picasso - See if both his eyes were on one side of his head.

:biglaugh: That really made my day!!

 

[Twig pentagram]

Imhotep- Just to find out if all the hype was real.

Yeshua- For the same reason as Imhotep.

Tupac Shakur- Women all across the nation would be forever thankful to ME for that.

Christopher ( Notorious Big) Wallace- I would love to see how far this guy could
of took his lyrical talents.

Malcolm X / Malik El-Hajj Shabazz- I just would love to meet him.

 

[Songbird]

No one...I increasingly believe that no one is a genius of their own merit; everyone stood on the shoulders of people before, were mythologized after death, or were among myriads of others either just as accomplished or who had the potential to be just as accomplished as the famous. Not to mention the fickleness of luck. That may sound cynical...

 

[Father Heathen]

No one...I increasingly believe that no one is a genius of their own merit; everyone stood on the shoulders of people before, were mythologized after death, or were among myriads of others either just as accomplished or who had the potential to be just as accomplished as the famous. Not to mention the fickleness of luck. That may sound cynical...

Nah, you have a point.

 

[Father Heathen]

Tupac Shakur- Women all across the nation would be forever thankful to ME for that.

Psh, I would hope most would have better taste than that.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I would bring back no one. All great people were so mainly because they fit their times so much, had an extraordinary understanding of contemporary life and issues, and helped solve problems and make people's lives easier as a result. Having "great" status when you're dead is better than being just another onlooker, however alive.

 

[Songbird]

Nah, you have a point.

Having said that, there are some folks maybe I'd like to wake, but not for their accomplishments. Oscar Wilde, because I'd like to know how homosexuals experienced life in other eras.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Having said that, there are some folks maybe I'd like to wake, but not for their accomplishments. Oscar Wilde, because I'd like to know how homosexuals experienced life in other eras.

Not well if Reading Gaol is any indication.

 

[RRex]

Adolf Hitler - I've got a few million questions.

Albert Einstein - I've got a few million questions.

Nikola Tesla - I've got a few million questions.

Sir Isaac Newton - I've got a few million questions.

Oscar Wilde - He's my favorite author and I have a few million questions.

 

[LuisDantas]

Badshah Khan - we need all people with his courage and sense of honor that we can possibly find.

Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria Hungary - the guy was the ultimate reaper of bad seeds not his own. He very much deserves a second chance. So does his nephew, come to think of it.

Anne Frank - again, a simple matter of deserving a second, better chance.

Wilfred Owen, the poet - like most of the above, we could learn so much from such a person who dove deep into the realms of true horror and retained his honor and sanity nonetheless!

Philippe Pétain - the guy did his best during two of humanity's worst nightmares and ended up being reviled for it.

 

[Deidre]

My grandmother (she was famous in my eyes)
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi
Wolfgang Mozart
Pope John Paul II
Oskar Schindler