The written word has the power to generate ideas, inspire

revolutions, and change the way we view ourselves and our

place in history. Nowhere is this power more clear than in the
works of the authors on this list. These 25 writers changed the
world and its writing with their style and beliefs, and the works
they created — from fictional epics to philosophical creeds —
have had a lasting impact on people and cultures around the
world. (And more than a few have won the Nobel Prize to prove
it.) Even if they aren’t required reading for an online
college course, you should do yourself a favor and check them
out. Authors throughout history have helped capture something about their lives,
their era, and the society around them. From Homer in the 8th century BC all the
way until now, there is something in the works of these authors that can capture
our imagination and help us expand our knowledge. Here are some of the greatest
authors in history and a little something about the
works that they created.

William Faulkner: One of the most

influential authors to ever come out of
the Southern United States, William
Faulkner churned out a body of work in
the early 20th century that took a few
years to find acceptance among a wider
audience. Between 1929 and 1936, he
released four novels — The Sound and
the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Light in August,
and Absalom, Absalom! — that would
define his stream-of-consciousness style
and his explorations of morality using characters set in his
native Mississippi. He also wrote screenplays for director
Howard Hawks, contributing to The Big Sleep and To Have and
Have Not, but it was his literary body of that earned him the
Nobel Prize in 1949, which brought him a new level of fame.
He’s influenced countless writers from the South and across the
country.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Born in Colombia in 1927, Gabriel
Garcia Marquez first made his literary mark as a journalist,
during which time he and a few other writers formed the
Barranquilla Group to share works and inspire each other. Later
venturing into fiction, Garcia Marquez wrote One Hundred
Years of Solitude, a dazzling work inspired by his home country
and the war he had seen. The book was the author’s first major
work to dabble in magical realism, a blending of genres that
would color his body of work for decades. He also wrote Love in
the Time of Cholera, a non-traditional love story that
approaches romance from a unique point of view. His lifelong
explorations of relationships and isolation have earned him the
Nobel Prize.
Frederick Douglass: Born into slavery before escaping to
freedom, Frederick Douglass was a
leading light in the abolitionist
movement of the 19th century,
and his writings allowed him to
travel the world and speak on
behalf of equality and justice. He
wrote three autobiographies
tracing his life and journeys, and
each of them is a classic: Narrative
of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave; My
Bondage and My Freedom; and Life and Times of Frederick
Douglass.
Upton Sinclair: Upton Sinclair’s work as a journalist and
novelist were integral in some of the biggest changes in the
fields of industry and public health in the first half of the 20th
century. His 1906 novel The Jungle was a peak in the
muckraking movement (the journalistic practice of exposing
corruption at high levels), and Sinclair spent weeks undercover
at a meat-packing plant in Chicago to get the lurid facts for his
book. When it hit shelves, people were so distraught by the
unhealthy conditions he described that meat sales in the U.S.
plummeted. The book’s influence urged the government to play
a better role in food safety and led eventually to the passage of
the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.
Jose Marti: A hero in his native Cuba, Jose Marti is often called
the "Apostle of Cuban Independence" for his writings and
political work in which he argued for Cuba’s independence from
Spain in the 19th century. His writings advocated Cuban
sovereignty from all foreign rulers, including the United States.
Marti died in action in 1895, three years before Cuba achieved
its dream of independence.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Another fierce abolitionist who railed
against slavery, Harriet Beecher Stowe is best known for her
novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, released in 1852. The book detailed
the lives of slaves in realistic ways and helped make the issues
of inequality understandable and accessible to millions of
Americans. How popular was the book? It was the best-selling
novel of the 19th century, and the second-best-selling book of
the century, period, behind only the Bible. Interestingly, while
Stowe intended the title character of
Tom to be a noble, Christian slave,
various "Tom shows" that took
advantage of weak copyright laws
sprung up nationwide, and those stage
plays often differed drastically from
Stowe’s novel and intent. The spread of
these shows, as well as the pervasive
cultural stereotypes inspired by the
book, eventually turned the phrase
"Uncle Tom" into a pejorative term
aimed at African-Americans perceived as too eager to please
white people. Still, there’s no denying Stowe’s tremendous
impact.
Charles Darwin: It’s impossible to underestimate the impact
or importance of Charles Darwin’s work as a scientist in the
1800s. His theory of evolution and common animal ancestry
have polarized readers ever since. He wrote multiple books on
the subject, but his best-known is likely 1859’s On the Origin of
Species, which laid the foundations for evolutionary biology and
changed the world forever. The impact on scientific study and
religious doctrine has been massive.
Thomas Aquinas: Saint Thomas Aquinas, who lived from
1225-1274, was a pivotal theological figure whose writings are
still read and cherished by worshippers worldwide. He’s revered
as one of the greatest philosophers in the history of the
Catholic Church, thanks to his Summa Theologica ("Summary of
Theology") and Summa contra Gentiles. Despite the fact that
the Summa Theologica went unfinished, it became a
foundational text in theological circles and summed up the
Church’s teachings at the time. His works even gave rise to a
school of philosophy about them: Thomism.
Thomas Paine: Long before this Founding Father had his
works co-opted by cable hosts, he was known for his political
writings distributed in the pamphlet Common Sense. He argued
strongly for American independence from British rule, and even
left England for the Colonies in order to be a part of the
burgeoning American Revolution. The pamphlet became a
smash success and helped galvanize public opinion behind the
Revolution.
Karl Marx: The man whose name is still a lightning rod for
passionate argument about the ups and downs of the free
market, Karl Marx penned The Communist Manifesto, one of the
most powerful and influential political texts in history. He
believed that capitalism would eventually crumble from internal
tension, leading to a stateless or "pure" communism. Marx
wrote the book with Friedrich Engels, with whom he also
developed the belief system known as Marxism, the details of
which are much better explained here.