h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, wait a minute, VB = Venerable Bede?

brought to you by that well known Thomas Hardy character, Gnomon the Obscure.

Fair cop guv'

On the original list (IIRC) was Tony Blair - if he can get on the list then anyone can. It ceases to be "100 greatest britons" and becomes "100 british people that we could remember that enough people have heard of to make it not totally ridiculous". An h2g2 list would be much better.

I can't find the conversation about the BBC list, but they are now running the programme in Germany apparently. I haven't seen it, but there is a lot of choice. I wonder if people from abroad are also inviting to nominate and vote. Will check it out.

Now, you can be as subjective as you like, but Germany has quite a lot of thinkers, composers, etc., some that have even been heard of in Britain.

Voting finishes on 15 September and the programme will be broadcast at the end of November. The problem here, too, is, what is Germany? Are Austrians included (Mozart) etc etc

... I mean "invited" in line 3 above!

Alfred Nobel was German was he not ?

I would imagine Bismarck would have to be included too.

Not sure you want to stray too far down the Austrian route, but then if we can choose Oliver Cromwell...

The argument for including Mozart in the list, to the annoyance of Austria, goes something like this. "At the time Mozart was born Germany didn't exist. Salzburg, where he was born, at that time was part of the Holy Roman Empire, which included much (if not all) of modern day Germany. So it's fair to include Mozart in the list of Great Germans." I'm working from memory of what I've read of the argument and I've had to paraphrase, but that's the gist of it.

I don't think there's a British equivalent, although it could be argued that somebody like William Wallace wouldn't qualify as Scotland was a separate country when he was born, so he wasn't 'British'. Mind you, in this case I think the Scots would be arguing to have him included, 'cos otherwise the list would be mostly English. It is anyway? Oh.

Alfred Nobel was, I thought, Swedish, but must check.

Correctamundo - sorry.

Well Einsten and Rontgen (X-ray discoverer) are famous German scientists who'll have to do then
I guess the former is the more likely to make the top 10.

Matin Luther could be another option - he caused a bit of a fuss I hear