Most Famous Military Figures in the World

100 Military Figures in view out of 6,506

George Washington American Officer 1732 – 1799

#42 Wiki

Dwight D. Eisenhower American Army 1890 – 1969

#231 Wiki

Ulysses S. Grant American Soldier 1822 – 1885

#336 Wiki

Erwin Rommel German Officer 1891 – 1944

#528 Wiki

Robert E. Lee American Officer 1807 – 1870

#592 Wiki

Douglas MacArthur American Officer 1880 – 1964

#599 Wiki

Adolf Eichmann German Officer 1906 – 1962

#712 Wiki

Paul von Hindenburg German Generalfeldmarschall 1847 – 1934

#719 Wiki

Philippe Pétain French Officer 1856 – 1951

#741 Wiki

Georgy Zhukov Russian Militar 1896 – 1974

#754 Wiki

Horatio Nelson (1st Viscount Nelson) British Officer 1758 – 1805

#761 Wiki

George S. Patton American Army 1885 – 1945

#1,277 Wiki

Hannibal Tunisian Militar -247 – -183

#1,355 Wiki

Karl Dönitz German Soldier 1891 – 1980

#1,360 Wiki

Bernard Montgomery British Officer 1887 – 1976

#1,499 Wiki

George Armstrong Custer American Officer 1839 – 1876

#1,669 Wiki

George Marshall American Soldier 1880 – 1959

#1,747 Wiki

William Tecumseh Sherman American Officer 1820 – 1891

#1,981 Wiki

Sun Tzu Chinese Militar -543 – -495

#1,994 Wiki

Joachim Murat French Marshal 1767 – 1815

#2,000 Wiki

Carl von Clausewitz German Officer 1780 – 1831

#2,030 Wiki

Geronimo American Warrior 1829 – 1909

#2,046 Wiki

William Wallace British Militar 1270 – 1305

#2,324 Wiki

Heinz Guderian German Militar 1888 – 1954

#2,423 Wiki

John J. Pershing American Officer 1860 – 1948

#2,436 Wiki

Hosni Mubarak Egyptian Militar 1928 – 2020

#2,524 Wiki

Charles Martel French Militar 688 – 741

#2,632 Wiki

Claus von Stauffenberg German Officer 1907 – 1944

#2,633 Wiki

El Cid Spanish Knight 1045 – 1099

#2,864 Wiki

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban French Militar 1633 – 1707

#3,163 Wiki

Wilhelm Keitel German Marshal 1882 – 1946

#3,255 Wiki

Benedict Arnold American Officer 1741 – 1801

#3,390 Wiki

Reza Shah Iranian Militar 1878 – 1944

#3,397 Wiki

Chester W. Nimitz American Officer 1885 – 1966

#3,409 Wiki

RE

Richard E. Byrd American Officer 1888 – 1957

#3,440 Wiki

Miklós Horthy Hungarian Admiral 1868 – 1957

#3,616 Wiki

Herbert Kitchener (1st Earl Kitchener) British Officer 1850 – 1916

#3,639 Wiki

Rudolf Höss German Officer 1900 – 1947

#3,788 Wiki

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder German Marshal 1800 – 1891

#3,795 Wiki

Charles Cornwallis (1st Marquess Cornwallis) British Army 1738 – 1805

#3,802 Wiki

Wilhelm Canaris German Admiral 1887 – 1945

#3,821 Wiki

Charles George Gordon British Officer 1833 – 1885

#3,899 Wiki

Stonewall Jackson American Militar 1824 – 1863

#3,931 Wiki

David Petraeus American Officer Born 1952

#4,133 Wiki

Joseph Joffre French Militar 1852 – 1931

#4,142 Wiki

Omar Bradley American Officer 1893 – 1981

#4,421 Wiki

Anton Denikin Russian Officer 1872 – 1947

#4,627 Wiki

Võ Nguyên Giáp Vietnamese Officer 1911 – 2013

#4,640 Wiki

Isoroku Yamamoto Japanese Officer 1884 – 1943

#4,723 Wiki

Albert Kesselring German Militar 1885 – 1960

#4,772 Wiki

Douglas Haig (1st Earl Haig) British Officer 1861 – 1928

#4,783 Wiki

Tecumseh American Warrior 1768 – 1813

#4,837 Wiki

Michel Ney French Officer 1769 – 1815

#4,839 Wiki

Chris Kyle American Officer 1974 – 2012

#5,027 Wiki

Friedrich Paulus German Officer 1890 – 1957

#5,180 Wiki

Erich Raeder German Navy 1876 – 1960

#5,212 Wiki

Mikhail Tukhachevsky Russian Militar 1893 – 1937

#5,468 Wiki

Grigory Potemkin Russian Militar 1739 – 1791

#5,652 Wiki

Michiel de Ruyter Dutch Officer 1607 – 1676

#5,671 Wiki

JL

James Longstreet Indonesian Commander 1821 – 1904

#5,914 Wiki

Alfredo Stroessner Paraguayan Army 1912 – 2006

#5,999 Wiki

Ivan Konev Russian Officer 1897 – 1973

#6,108 Wiki

Patrice de MacMahon (Duke of Magenta) French Officer 1808 – 1893

#6,162 Wiki

Sepp Dietrich German Militar 1892 – 1966

#6,328 Wiki

Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque French Militar 1902 – 1947

#6,584 Wiki

Skanderbeg Italian Warrior 1405 – 1468

#6,678 Wiki

Alexander Selkirk British Sailor 1676 – 1721

#6,912 Wiki

P. G. T. Beauregard American Militar 1818 – 1893

#7,045 Wiki

Winfield Scott American Officer 1786 – 1866

#7,071 Wiki

Andrey Vlasov Russian Officer 1901 – 1946

#7,180 Wiki

Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan) Pakistani Militar 1907 – 1974

#7,198 Wiki

Gerd von Rundstedt German Officer 1875 – 1953

#7,378 Wiki

Ahmad Shah Massoud Afghan Militar 1953 – 2001

#7,385 Wiki

Semyon Budyonny Russian Militar 1883 – 1973

#7,452 Wiki

Louis-Nicolas Davout French Marshal 1770 – 1823

#7,570 Wiki

AV

Alfred von Tirpitz German Admiral 1849 – 1930

#7,601 Wiki

Joseph Radetzky von Radetz Austrian Militar 1766 – 1858

#7,614 Wiki

Adolf Galland German Flying Ace 1912 – 1996

#7,632 Wiki

AD

Andrea Doria Italian Condottiero 1466 – 1560

#7,846 Wiki

Luigi Cadorna Italian Infantry 1850 – 1928

#7,905 Wiki

Rodolfo Graziani Italian Marshal 1882 – 1955

#8,059 Wiki

Władysław Anders Polish Officer 1892 – 1970

#8,060 Wiki

Pyotr Wrangel Russian Officer 1878 – 1928

#8,099 Wiki

Draža Mihailović Serbian Soldier 1893 – 1946

#8,232 Wiki

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Russian Officer 1761 – 1818

#8,341 Wiki

James Wolfe British Officer 1727 – 1759

#8,484 Wiki

Aleksandr Vasilevsky Russian Officer 1895 – 1977

#8,597 Wiki

Henry H. Arnold American Militar 1886 – 1950

#8,709 Wiki

Joseph E. Johnston American Army 1807 – 1891

#8,841 Wiki

Edmund Allenby (1st Viscount Allenby) British Soldier 1861 – 1936

#9,236 Wiki

Koxinga Chinese Militar 1624 – 1662

#9,328 Wiki

Francesco I Sforza Italian Condottiero 1401 – 1466

#9,507 Wiki

August von Mackensen German Officer 1849 – 1945

#9,534 Wiki

TH

Tōgō Heihachirō Japanese Officer 1848 – 1934

#9,609 Wiki

William Westmoreland American Officer 1914 – 2005

#9,642 Wiki

Hans von Seeckt German Militar 1866 – 1936

#9,802 Wiki

Werner von Blomberg German Generalfeldmarschall 1878 – 1946

#9,814 Wiki

Mark W. Clark American Officer 1896 – 1984

#9,820 Wiki

Georgios Papadopoulos Greek Militar 1919 – 1999

#9,847 Wiki

Abd el-Krim Moroccan Militar 1882 – 1963

#9,964 Wiki

By the numbers

Inside Military Figures

6,506 notable people in this slice of the dataset.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the leading figure from Military Figures born in each.

Notable Births by Decade

Notable births among Military Figures peaked in the 1890s with 807 people.

What Military Figures Are Known For

Disciplines inside this family, plus countries that over- and under-produce them.

Biggest Most distinctive Under-indexed

Military is the largest group within Military Figures — 2,993 people, 46% of the family.

Military Figures over-index on russia — 2.5× the global rate.

Military Figures under-produce italy — only 0.6× the global rate.

Military2,99346%
Officer1,68326%
Soldier4737.3%
Army2423.7%
Navy1532.4%
Generalmajor1332.0%
Commander1251.9%
Flying Ace1171.8%

Italy1610.6×

City Hot Spots

Cities that over-produce Military Figures compared to the world average — multiplier shows how much more.