Runners-up : It was debated whether Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini , responsible for World War II , The Holocaust , and the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , should have been made Persons of the Century for their influence in politics . The argument was based on '' Time '' 's explicit criterion that the persons chosen should have the greatest impact on this century , for better or worse . In the same 31 December 1999 issue of '' Time '' , essayist Nancy Gibbs addressed the topic with the article '' The Necessary Evil ? '' In the article , she argues that Hitler and Mussolini " were simply the latest in a long line of murderous figures , stretching back to before Genghis Khan . The only difference was technology : Both Hitler and Mussolini went about their cynical carnage with all the efficiency that modern industry had perfected " and present several rhetorical questions such as " Evil may be a powerful force , a seductive idea , but is it more powerful than genius , creativity , courage or generosity ? " The list of the top 20 Artists and Entertainers , in particular , was criticized for not including Elvis Presley , a decision Handy initially defended in the following way : One of the most important , innovative things about rock is the whole notion of songwriters singing their own works , of the immediacy of expression . Since Elvis did n't write his own material , unlike The Beatles or Bob Dylan or Robert Johnson , who 's also someone who could have been included , maybe that cut against him … I think the Beatles pushed the envelope a lot further . Elvis ' most original recordings were his first . The Beatles started out as imitators , then continued to grow throughout their years together . Handy was also asked to defend '' Time '' s decision to include the fictional character Bart Simpson from '' The Simpsons '' television series among the 100 most influential people of the 20th century , and he did so as follows : I do n't see how you can look at this century and not include cartoons . They 're one of our great contributions , along with jazz and film . ( I know , I know . The movies were a 19th-century invention . But we 20th century folks really put them to good use . ) … To some extent , too , we wanted people who also represented important 20th century trends or developments . That would help account for the Barts and Oprahs ... What Bart , or really the Simpsons , have done is merge social satire with popular animation in a way that has n't really been done before . The list also received criticism for its inclusion of Lucky Luciano , who was chosen in part because " he modernized the Mafia , shaping it into a smoothly run national crime syndicate focused on the bottom line " . New York mayor Rudy Giuliani accused '' Time '' of " romanticizing " gangsters , and he stated : " The idea that he civilized the Mafia is absurd . He murdered in order to get the position that he had , and then he authorized hundreds and hundreds of murders . " The selection was called an " outrage " by Philip Cannistraro , a Queens College professor of Italian-American studies , and Thomas Vitale , the New York State vice president of Fieri , an Italian-American charitable organization , criticized '' Time '' for " perpetuating myths " about Italian-Americans . However , '' Time '' business editor Bill Saporito defended the selection by describing Luciano as " kind of an evil genius " who had a deep impact on the underground economy . " We 're not out there to heap glory on these people " , he explained . " We 're out to say these are people who influenced our lives . " Saporito further noted that " every piece of merchandise that came out of the Garment District had a little extra cost in it because of organized crime . "
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century